Are You Well?

Practice breathing exercises for two minutes after your stretching, last thing at night, and whenever you notice you’re particularly stressed or lacking focus. Inhaling through the nose for four and exhaling through the mouth for six will naturally lower your heart rate and blood pressure and immediately calm you.

Whether you’re living with a partner or flatmates, it’s important to be flexible and respectful about sharing spaces but clear about when you need quiet. Put a Post-It note on the door when you have a call that can’t be interrupted, but let others know if you’re happy to be interrupted, too.

The best thing about working from home is that you don’t need to use the shared microwave in the office and eat at you desk, so give your lunchbreak the time it deserves and don’t dilute it with work. If you can, aim to prepare your food yourself, step away from your computer when you’re eating, and try to go outside for a while. And always remember to stay hydrated.

At the end of the day tick off your to-do list and, before you close your notebook, write down a few things that you need to do tomorrow. That simple act means that you’ll be able to put it out of your mind and get on with your evening.

It’s not healthy to sit in one space for nine hours straight, particularly if it’s the same place that you sleep in. Rotate desk spots so that you work in your bedroom in the morning, say, and the living room in the afternoon, and make sure that everyone in the house is getting enough daylight. The change will improve your productivity and focus and stop you – and anyone you live with – going stir-crazy.

The stress of squeezing onto the Central Line may be gone but it’s important to physically and mentally separate your home and work life, as well as getting some fresh air and exercise, so bookend your working day with a 20-minute walk.

Chart your daily routine – when you get up, how much coffee you’re drinking and when, what time you finish answering emails – and then note down your moods and energy dips to find out what’s not working and why. You’ll probably find that an obvious change in habit will improve your energy levels and productivity.

That doesn’t mean going for an hour’s run or doing a 45-minute online yoga session; stretching and mobility is more important, especially if your job is sedentary. When you wake up, take five minutes to move and warm up your body and notice where you’re feeling tightness or stiffness. Then take a five-minute stretch break every couple of hours, standing up, squatting next to your chair, expanding your chest by spreading your arms, or doing an online stretch video.