 Now that I've been working from home for almost exactly a year now, I have definitely started to see some of the negative effects on my body and my effectiveness to get things done throughout the day. But over the last couple of weeks, I've incorporated a few hacks and habits in my routine to help flip that around. And in this video, I'll be sharing my three top work from home tips to help improve your overall health and productivity. So let's go ahead and get right to it. Tip number one, plan a week in advance, ideally on a Saturday. Now there's a couple of benefits for doing so. Benefit number one is it helps you to account for distractions and competing priorities ahead of time. A big issue that we face is during the week we can get so caught up in the day to day where time just flies and we aren't able to finish some of the original tasks that we planned in the first place. Benefit number two is it actually allows you to space to separate your planning from your actual preparation. With planning, you have to think through the different obstacles, what might come up during the week, what you have to accomplish. And all of that takes mind share. By separating the two, you could take one day to plan and then use that next day to prep. A good example of this is when you are actually planning your meals for the week. So you take that planning day to figure out, okay, what are the foods that I need? What meals can I make? And then on the actual prep day, you can actually buy the groceries and cook and prep the food for the rest of the week. Now a few apps that really helped me plan are Google and Apple Calendar. They helped me schedule by the day, by the hour, anything that I had that's important, whether it's meetings, workout days, or time that I want to set aside for my passion projects. And I also use an app called Notion, which basically helps to manage planning my YouTube videos, so scripting, filming, and any other important tasks that I have for my side projects. Tip number two is incorporate more movement throughout the day. Now the main benefit here is it allows you to burn more calories throughout the workday and helps you avoid being sedentary on a daily basis. We don't move as much during the day anymore. It's less time commuting, less time going out to hang out with people. Now one way to combat this is actually blocking 30 minutes of your day to dedicate to some sort of physical activity at least three days out of the week. Now this could be anything from doing yoga, working out, maybe it's taking the stairs, walking around the block, just some sort of activity that gives you away from your desk. And I also know it's even hard just to leave the desk during a busy workday. And that's where I think a good option here is figuring out what can you do to incorporate in your actual work area ways for you to stay active. A good option here is getting an actual standing desk, which will encourage you to stop sitting for six to eight hours straight. I actually made a video about my favorite standing desk sometime last year. I'll go ahead and link the video right here. However, I know many of you already have your desk set up or you might not want to invest in a standing desk just yet. So there are a few lower cost options that can help just as much. And those options are the Moveman sit stand stool as well as the Topo standing mat. Now quick note, this video is sponsored by Foley.com but the opinions in this video are fully just my own, no pun intended. The Moveman sit stand stool was created with the idea that healthy sitting includes not just being confined to sitting in a 90 degree angle all the time. One of the main benefits I love about the stool is it allows for an active sitting style with a comfortable breathable fabric seat that you can adjust the actual height between 20 to 33 inches. And it's super easily accessible to do so by just having two buttons under the bottom of the seat. And then at the base, it features a non-slip rubber base plate that provides a solid support system so it won't move when you're sitting down. That base houses a movable joint that can be tilted around four degrees in any direction, which really allows a lot of flexibility when it comes to your personal seating preference. Now, when it comes to how I use it, I love the concept and I think for my desk I've used it a couple of times but for me, I actually have other uses that I personally just find a little bit more beneficial to me. With it only being around 14 pounds, I'm able to take it around my apartment and sit or stand in different activities that I'm doing. If I wanna work at my kitchen island, you know, similar to a bar stool or when I'm watching a game or a movie and I just wanna sit in a more active sitting position, I can. The second item, the Topo Standing Mat, which is actually probably one of my favorite desk items in my current workspace. The main idea here is to keep engaging in your lower body and help to relieve any tension that you might feel in your feet. Across the surface of the mat, there are different mounds and ridges where you could place your feet for a different benefit. For example, you can use the front corners of a mat as a foot rest. Then you can use the back of the mat for a good stretch for your calves and hamstrings. And then lastly, you can leverage the ball in the center for a quick foot massage. Tip number three is to optimize your work energy. Our day can be filled with endless zoom meetings, menial tasks, and super long to do lists. Your body only has a limited amount of energy to be able to be spread across everything. So one of the main benefits of optimizing your work energy is it allows you to protect your ability to save your energy for the most important projects that you wanna get done. Now, one of the hacks that I love to do to optimize my work energy is simplifying my to-do list. I love using Apple reminders on my phone to list out all my to-do list items. I'll probably start between 15 or 20 items and then cut it down to five where I know these are the ones that if I focus on them, they will actually move the needle. So by condensing my to-do list, I know I'm only focusing on the right things and I'm preserving my energy for the most important task. The next hack I do to optimize my energy is giving myself a break after 45 minutes of deep work, which is basically where you are working in time blocks to prevent mental fatigue. I tweak this concept from a book called Deep Work by Cal Newport. The whole idea here is setting time for zeroing in on completing one task at a time without any distractions. But then, after 45 minutes, you could take 10 to 15 minutes to just dedicate to relaxing and allowing your brain to recover for the next work session. So that wraps up my three top tips for improving your overall health and productivity while working from home. What hacks do you use to stay healthy or productive during the week? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I hope this video was extremely helpful. If it was, go ahead and compile that like button, subscribe if you haven't already and you already know, stay healthy, stay productive and embrace the hype. Woo!