Healthy habit tips while you are stuck at home

As I write this we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and many people are under "stay at home" orders. That means havoc for our usual habits. Assuming that in a normal 16 hour waking day 8 of those hours are spent at work then that means 50% of your weekday habit cues have disappeared! It also means people have probably defaulted to their weekend habits which probably mean less exercise and more comfort food consumption.

So how can you stay healthy while stuck at home? Here are a few habit suggestions anyone can adopt when stuck at home.

1. Stand up when talking on the phone.
   
2. Set an alarm to take a 2 minute movement break every hour.
   
3. Take a short walk during your lunch break.
   
4. Do a bodyweight HIIT exercise routine like the 7 minute workout or the 5BX.
   
5. Take a Youtube exercise class like Yoga with Adriene.
   
6. Stand up and fold your laundry or do the ironing while watching TV.
   
7. Make a new rule: no sitting while TV commercials are on. Or even better do jumping jacks while TV commercials are on!
   
8. Keep a food diary.
   
9. Make healthy snacks easily accessible.
   
10. Avoid eating straight from the package. Serve yourself a portion.
    
11. Keep a water bottle on your desk.
    
12. Set a schedule for watching the news on TV.
    
13. Create a daily schedule.
    
14. Stick to a regular bedtime.

With a little bit of thought you can tweak your habits and perhaps create some good new habits for the long term.