Hey, it’s refreshing to see somebody acknowledge that web workers have stress, isn’t it? Most of the time our acquaintances will be all, “What are you complaining about, all you do is sit around and type all day?” So this list of tips for reducing the stress of web work really hits home.
Some particularly strong points that need emphasizing here:
Exercise One of the things they don’t warn you about is that a life of sitting in a chair staring at a computer screen will make you fat. There’s no way around this; it doesn’t matter what you eat, if you never burn calories, you will gain weight. So yes, taking a walk will also help burn some pounds off your chunky waistline.
Socializing Those of us with families are far luckier – working from home means that we share space with the people we love instead of those annoying co-workers. If you have pets, kids, or roommates, try to learn not to shut yourself into a shell when you’re working and invite them to join you in your den or office. You can tolerate a lot more distractions than you thought you could. It really helps fight off the stress if you can carry on a casual conversation and type at the same time. Dropping by the park or coffee shop with your laptop can be a nice change of pace, too.
Non-electronic recreation It’s funny when you think of it, but you spend all day staring at a computer screen, then get off work and for recreation spend a few hours staring at the telly screen. Or you code web pages all day, and then for break time you play video games on the same computer. This is a recipe for burn-out! try recreational activities that are completely non-digital: do the crossword puzzle in the newspaper, walk your dog, play ball with the kids, work in a garden, or even just get to a park and climb a tree. We bounce around from computer to television to MP3 player to mobile phone to PDA and back to computer like there were nothing else in the world. Build a ship in a bottle or something!