Our first installment of the Digital Wellness series continues today with a focus on all things health. As science continues to teach us, physical and mental health are not separate aspects of our well-being, but part of an interconnected, dynamic whole. To celebrate the health and wholeness of mind and body, today we highlight technically enhanced resources for holistic wellness, both in the office and out.
PHYSICAL SPACE & HEALTH
As many of us continue to work from home, it’s important to take some time to assess the “health” of our workspace and its tools. (No, working from the couch doesn’t count!)
Having good ergonomics can be a great asset to mind and body health over time. If you’re looking for advice on how to optimize your space, the Wall Street Journal offers advice from ergonomics experts, while LifeHacker has put together a handy list for DIY solutions on the same topic.
If you don’t have an ergonomic desk or chair at home, schedule more physical breaks to stretch and move. The Mayo Clinic has a series of “Deskercise” videos on YouTube that target different parts of the body, such as trunk and neck. If you’re the kind of person who gets easily distracted by what’s going on in your day and loses track of time, it can be hard to stick to a self-care routine. Set reminders or timers on your phone, or use an app like HydroCoach, WaterLess or Stand up! to help you.
Whether you work at home or in the office, studies show that short naps can increase productivity, focus and well-being, so much so that they increasingly sanctioned in the corporate world. If your office/workspace does not have a dedicated sleeping area, Power Nap app can guide you to a restorative sleep through its relaxing sounds, cat mascot and sleep timers.
MOVEMENT & HEALTH | Digital Wellness
In addition to stretching at the desk, exercise is a great way to protect and improve the health of the mind and body.
If you want to incorporate more exercise into your day, these apps can help: 7 minute workout for short but effective workouts; FitBod for weight training; and bag yoga or Yoga with Adriane for gentler, guided sessions.
If you want to raise the bar and have built-in responsibility, racing is an award-winning social activity tracking app that allows you to practice virtually together, with a friend or your office mates. The Yumuuv Platform Specializes in employee wellness by using AI-based formulas to get your team moving.
Looking for ways to combine online and offline movement? ClassPass offers a free trial that gives you access to thousands of fitness studios, video workouts and experiences around the world. It also support booking offers for appointments at gyms, salons, spa, and studio near you.
RELATIONSHIPS & HEALTH | Digital Wellness
if FastCompany reminded us at the start of the pandemic, “a risk with remote work is that people will spend too much time online with no natural transitions during the day, and work unhealthily long hours.” For this reason, it’s important to set an example for other colleagues by sticking to balanced hours and letting others know when you log out at the end of the day.
Building trust and Bonding are also important elements in the conversation about our health. Consider setting up activities and rituals that help team members connect in informal and supportive ways (but make them optional so people don’t feel overwhelmed with one more task to accomplish). Activities can include virtual lunch and learning, with a digital lounge area for fun, and others ways to build trust online. You can also introduce tools to invite more meeting participants, for example by using the whiteboard and co-annotation feature on Zoom.
Or consider including your trusted colleagues in your journey to self-care and personal growth. It is difficult to develop new habits and achieve your goals. Doing it alone is even harder. So why not do it with people who can help you stay accountable and motivated? Of Habitat, you can track your goals and habits within a group environment. Or give look on: stickK, one of the most popular apps on store to help you set a goal and stay on the track – it uses a financial incentive for extra motivation!
ENCOURAGING WELL-BEING AT WORK AND AFTER
The Covid-19 pandemic has created space for a much-needed conversation about the importance of mental and physical health at work. However, much remains to be done, generally when it comes to designing structural interventions and furnish material resources to support the health of the country’s workforce over time. Change will have to come from all levels – from the personal to the administrative.
In honor of this reality, we provide a preliminary summary of resources and pointers below to help us start these conversations with our teams and beyond:
Selfcare.tech is a repository of self-care resources developed by tech workers for tech workers (and others!) It provides worker guides, for employees, as well as bots that send you reminders for self-care practices.
Taking care of our digital body: reflections of a virtual team is a free online handbook published by the Urgent Action Fund of Latin America and the Caribbean, an international non-profit organization. It contains practical tips and pointers to continue thinking about creating increasingly healthy and ‘caring’ spaces for working online.
Consent technologies are digital applications and spaces built at their core with consent that support the self-determination of people who use and are affected by these technologies. The Consentful Tech Project raises awareness, develops strategies and shares skills to help people build and use technology responsibly. considered as a community conversation starter rather than a comprehensive guide, their digital zine was written with input from dozens of community organizers, technologists, and designers. Also see From protecting ourselves to taking care of each other: a curriculum for building and using technology consciously.
Since 2020, SmartSync.me has been tracking the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic and working to publish practical articles to help the non-profit sector navigate these unprecedented times. How Nonprofits Can Facilitate Inclusive Online Meetings provides actionable and accessible recommendations for promoting anti-oppression in the workplace, as well as promoting inclusivity and team health in online meetings and beyond. See also on this topic: Healthy group responsibility: learning how to learn and the Conflict Culture Assessment Worksheet by The Wildfire Project.
Finally, the OnBeing is a globally leading cultural platform whose libraries and thematic collections offer digital care packages for our time. See for example their starter parks about support caregiversto help the exhausted and overwhelmedfacilitating racial healing and more.
Also Read: Digital Wellness: A Guide to Digital Detox
