You’ve finally leaped from bedside nursing into a remote role-congratulations! And while remote nursing comes with a host of benefits, you may have wondered how you’ll stay active sitting at a desk all day.
After all, the typical nurse walks a staggering 8,000 steps in one shift alone! So you can’t possibly stay in shape sitting all day, right?
Wrong! With the right strategies, you can stay active and reap all the benefits of your new position.
Keep reading to learn how to maximize your movement as a remote nurse.
Remote Nursing Challenges
Listen, every professional transition comes with difficulties, even remote nursing. It’s not all sunshine and roses.
One of the biggest challenges new remote nurses cite is staying active in a significantly less physically strenuous role.
Transitioning to a new job is often demanding, but applying all your skills to an entirely new way of nursing can be twice as stressful. While these obstacles are real, know there are many ways to stay active and healthy in your remote nursing role.
Tips to Stay Active as a Remote Nurse
Choosing the best strategy for you is the trick to staying active when you have a desk job. Then, with some preparation, the right equipment, and a positive mindset, you can enjoy your remote nursing position and keep moving.
Take mini-movement breaks: Whether you do phone triage, case management, or remote utilization-there are usually small moments of downtime throughout the day. These are your golden opportunity to get some steps in, increase your heart rate, and even do some chores. So throw a load of laundry in, do 30 jumping jacks, hit a few yoga poses, or go for a walk around your house.
No matter what kind of remote position you have, you can take advantage of the little breaks throughout your day to squeeze in some exercise.
Incorporate desk stretches: Another challenge many remote nurses face is the toll that sitting can take on your posture. Desk stretches are a great way to combat poor posture, fight back pain, and move throughout your day without getting up from your desk. Check out this desk stretching routine for inspiration.
Try a standing desk or under-desk treadmill: If you can make the investment, a standing desk or under-desk treadmill is a phenomenal addition to your home office that can take your fitness to the next level.
There are many affordable variations. Check out the complete list of our favorites in the NurseFern office essentials.
If you don’t have the money or the space for either of these, you can use the things you have on hand to raise your desk height for the same effect. Try standing at your breakfast bar or stacking study boxes or books on top of your desk to create more height.
Make the most of your lunch break: Unlike when you had to chart through most lunches in the hospital, remote nursing offers a much more relaxing break. This is an excellent opportunity to fit in a quick bodyweight workout, a yoga flow, or a walk or run in your neighborhood.
Pack your gym bag: Plan ahead if you prefer to work out before or after work. Removing choice from the equation is the key to building consistency around your health habits. Contrary to popular belief, discipline should have very little to do with your health choices.
Instead, you want to engineer your life so that the healthiest option is also the easiest. So what does that look like?
The night before, make sure your gym bag is completely packed, your water bottle and protein shake are ready to go, and your pre-workout snack is too.
Walk while on the phone: If your role requires time on the phone, try pacing while you talk instead of sitting down. This is an easy opportunity to increase your step count without thinking about it.
Get Moving!
No matter your remote nursing role, maximizing your movement and staying active working from home is possible. Find activities you enjoy and work them into your day wherever possible. You should also plan ahead to increase the likelihood of following through with your workouts.
Staying active as a remote nurse comes with challenges, but the freedom and stress reduction you get from remote nursing makes it all worth it.
Interested in remote nursing but need help figuring out where to start? First, check out the Nurse Fern blog, and then take a peek at the job board for all the latest remote nursing job postings.