As a Person, Even If You Work From Home
On the surface, working from home seems to give a person unprecedented control over their diet. You are not only in control of your schedule, but always close to your refrigerator. What could possibly have gone wrong?
Order lunch, fire up Slack, and schedule an afternoon shower. Work from home week! From our sofas and local coffee shops, Lifehacker gives you tips to keep you productive, balanced, and sane, whether you work from home all day or your entire career.
In short, everything. Working from home gives you a lot of freedom, but it’s almost too free. One of the benefits of working in a traditional office environment is structure and rules . Without social norms and prompting from other employees, it is easy to turn into a wild beast and just sit endlessly on layers of cheese or not eat at all. When you are working on your own, without any real control, you have to believe that you are as productive as you should be, and it is easy to give up prioritizing anything that smacks of “taking care of yourself,” even if you are feeding yourself. or shower.
Fortunately, these challenges are not insurmountable; you just need a plan. Whether you’re a mindless shepherd or one of those weird people who “forget to eat,” a meal plan will make you eat like an adult, not a drunken baby raccoon. Here are some of the common problems with eating out and how to fix them.
Problem # 1: you sleep until the last minute, leaving yourself no time for breakfast
Aside from trying to get up early, which I am completely incapable of, there are a few things you can do to help with this. As with any meal planning, it is important to understand what you are eating. Ask yourself how you ate when you did office work (if you ever did) and pay attention to what you crave first in the morning. If you want to start your day with coffee and pastries, put on the coffee pot the night before and either buy or make a batch of croissants or rolls for the week.
If you prefer to eat in the car, consider a large batch of freezer-safe and microwave- safe burritos and breakfast sandwiches that you can nibble on while you load your laptop. If you prefer a sip of smoothie, pre-arrange the frozen fruit in small sachets so that all you have to do is pour and stir. I also keep at least six hard-boiled eggs in the refrigerator at all times; One or two eggs with clementine or other fruit make breakfast very light and surprisingly satisfying.
Also, feel free to borrow my favorite breakfast trick: ordering a large pizza and then leaving any leftovers on the counter – a step with minimal risk – and stuffing it in your mouth right after getting out of bed, still unwashed and no panties.
Problem # 2: You Can’t Stop Eating
Endless eating is also a risk if a person is left to their own devices. Your best defense against this is by portioning your snacks rather than filling the refrigerator and pantry like a vending machine. I can not believe I’m saying this, but try to limit the supply of chips and candy with one or two items and stock up on fruits. If you think you’re hungry but “don’t want to eat a banana or an apple,” you’re probably not that hungry.
Do you know how you used to pack your lunch for school or office work? There is no reason why you should do this. Grab a few washable containers or a bento box and prepare and pack a reasonable amount of food the next day. If you’ve eaten lunch and are still hungry, eat an apple. If you still want a snack after that, eat it, otherwise it will just distract you from work.
Problem # 3: You Don’t Have Time to Cook
Once again, lunch packing will save you here. Not only will you benefit from having your food cooked, portioned, and ready to eat, but you also have sole control over your microwave (or stovetop), which means you don’t have to wait in line. Depending on how you eat, there are several different ways to pack your snack:
- Make a sandwich the night before: Even if you decide to eat something else, you have a decent piece of food ready to shove into your mouth if things go wrong.
- Make a big batch of something and eat from it for a week: soups, stews, casseroles , salads , suitable for refrigerator , and pasta dishes – all this is an excellent choice.
- Make a Mixed Meal Plan: I don’t want to eat the same thing day in and day out, but I also don’t want to cook from scratch when I’m already hungry, so I prepare a bunch of food ahead of time. things that can be used to create a variety of dishes. I’ll start by making a bunch of chicken thighs ( or a whole chicken ), roasting a variety of vegetables, and maybe taking a bath of pre-washed greens for a salad. I will also use instant tortillas and ramen, and then mix and match protein and vegetables with carbohydrates and herbs to make tacos, salads and soups. (Bonus points if you make a large batch of vegetable broth or ramen broth .)
- Make a bento box or Plafman lunch: A few small portions of your favorites, like good cheese, fruit, and really good bread, will make you look forward to your midday meal and are really easy to put together.
Problem # 4: You are so engrossed in your work that you forget to eat before 3:00 pm, at which point you become a hungry mess.
Do all of the above, but set an alarm on your phone or computer to remind you of food. Name it EAT KETTLE if you need to. If you have a pet that you have to feed a plant that needs watering, consider taking care of your own needs at the same time so you don’t feel like you have to constantly interrupt yourself. And, if you start to feel bad about taking a break to eat, remember that you are not so special that the world will stop functioning if you take half an hour to eat. You are like everyone else, and you not only deserve, but you must eat.