When you're spending 8+ hours at work a day, it's easy to let little things fall by the wayside and let certain bad habits creep in. We've all been there, you get busy at work and suddenly taking care of yourself falls aside and is replaced by fast food desk lunches and late nights at the office. Do your mind, body, and productivity a favor and try to cut out some of these bad habits that aren't doing you any favors.
Mindless Snacking and the Desk Lunch
It's easy to get caught up in your work and skip your lunch break or try to eat as quickly as you can at your desk as you work. Stop doing this. When you eat without actually paying attention to eating, it is easy to not only eat those less than beneficial foods for you but it can also cause you to overeat. Avoid this by keeping healthy snacks at your desk and try to change up your environment for your lunch break. Another great way to get away from the desk lunch is to meet up with some of your coworkers for lunch, even if you're just going to the office lunch room.
Drinking More Coffee + Soda than Water
Another bad habit many of us are guilty of doing at work is making the less than healthy beverage choices at work. While you may need your morning caffeine boost to start your day, it shouldn't be all you are drinking. Being chronically dehydrated will not only affect your health, but it can also make your productivity go downhill and your fatigue increase. Try taking a water bottle with you everywhere you go and always have it easily accessible. You'll be surprised by how much more your water intake will increase by simply having water nearby.
Gluing Yourself to Your Chair
We've all read the studies, sitting is killing us. We all usually have good intentions of getting up and moving more at work, but when the workload gets heavy it can seem like an impossible thing to do. Instead of gluing yourself to your desk, try to incorporate a bit more activity into your day. This can be as simple as taking the long way to the bathroom or standing up and stretching throughout the day. If you're looking to incorporate even more activity, try turning a simple meeting into a walking meeting outside or spend a little of your lunch break going for a short walk.
Water Cooler Gossip
While chatting with your coworkers is a great way to bond with them, stay away from the workplace gossip. Getting involved in workplace gossip, especially about sensitive subjects, will do nothing to move your career forward, it may even harm it. When it comes to this type of water cooler talk, your best bet is to not engage.
Dropping bad habits from your work routine will do everything from improving your health to boosting your career and even improve your mental well-being. What bad habit do you want to drop from your routine this summer?