It’s been a glorious week across most of the UK, and temperatures in London are due to hit the 30s today – far from ideal conditions for spending your day in the office.
And if you work from home, the temptation to down tools can be even greater.
So to make sure you stay at your most productive as the temperature rises, here’s how to keep your cool whether you’re working from home or the office…
Drink plenty of water
A simple enough one to start with, but how many of us actually drink enough water during a normal working day, let alone one when the sun is cracking the flags?
The daily recommended amount for an adult is 2.7 litres, or around 10 glasses, but this should be increased in hotter weather. Making sure you’re fully hydrated will also help to keep your concentration levels up, which means your productivity shouldn’t wane quite as much – even if you mind is on going out for an ice cream.
A good tip is to replace your tea breaks with water breaks as this also gets you up and out of your seat.
Eat little and often
Do you sometimes get a little hot, maybe even get a bit of a sweat on, when you’re eating a heavy meal? This is because the boys needs to generate more metabolic heat to digest larger, heavier meals.
So stick with salads and light sandwiches, and eat little and often instead of in one big go to try and keep the ‘food sweats’ at bay. And if you can get into the habit of doing this, try to keep it going as eating little and often is much better for the body’s digestive and metabolic system so it should help regulate your weight – provided you eat healthily!
Get plenty of air
Another seemingly obvious bit of advice but if you’ve not got a fan, get one – you’ll be amazed at how much difference opening a window and sticking a fan in the corner of the room can make. It’ll help keep you cool and focussed on your work.
Or, you could go one better and…
Step outside
Alright, so this is another rule-breaker as your home office space is normally your sacred work place but it the weather is particularly nice why not take advantage of your work-from-home status and get out in the garden?
Getting in the garden means you get to make the most of the good weather, you should be able to use your home wi-fi and if you need anything from the office you can just duck inside and get it.
Dress for summer
OK, so one of the golden rules for better productivity when working from home is to get dressed as though you were going to the office – but no-one wants to be sat at home in work gear when it’s 30-odd degrees in the shade!
So cut yourself some slack and dress as the weather dictates when it’s hot – you’d put an extra layer on in winter so don’t afraid to take one off in summer.
Work at different times of the day
One of the main benefits of working from home is that, by and large, you get to choose when you work, so why not re-jig your schedule so you’re not working at the hottest times of the day and you can instead get out and enjoy the fresh air.
And, so long as you’re still contactable and meet your deadlines no one will know – and why should they care anyway?!
How to keep cool in the summer heat
Have you got any more tips to keep cool in the summer? Let us know…
