Hacking Your Way to Good Health at the Office

There is probably no group of workers in the world more sedentary than IT workers. Your job is to sit in front of a computer all day fixing the world’s problems. Heaven forbid if you take a lunch break and go get something healthy that’s not from a vending machine — the place could actually burn down without you. Being an IT professional is a thankless life — no one notices when things are going right and they blame it all on you when things are going wrong. It’s really easy to fall into the trap of neglecting your own health just trying to keep your underfunded and overworked department afloat. But you need to take care of yourself before the stress and poor habits take their toll. After all, as they say, you can’t pour from an empty vessel.

Right now today — start doing a few things to make yourself a healthier person:

• Drink plenty of water and ditch the sodas
• Stop putting all that sugar and dairy in your coffee — drink it black if you can
• Observe the 20–20–20 rule — every 20 minutes look away from your screen to a distance of 20 feet for 20 seconds
• Once an hour take a five minute exercise break to walk, do yoga, or just do squats at your desk
• Ditch the vending machine and start bringing fresh vegetables and nuts for lunches and snacks

Learn more about staying healthy at work from this infographic.