A little bit of housecleaning

You read it in the newspaper almost every week: more and more people are suffering from back and neck problems due to working from home. Working from home turns out not to be so ideal after all. People sit too long and move too little. Every time I read a message like this, I think there must be a different way.

With Wigli we have been using the motto 'never sit still' from the start. Literally, of course, it means 'move while sitting', because no wobbly stool allows you to move as much as on a Wigli. But this pay-off also fits well with our philosophy in a metaphorical sense; 'Move!'.

Health problems are often caused by insufficient exercise. The back collapses and the vertebrae have a hard time. But due to a lack of oxygen, the brain (and other organs) also work more slowly. Prof. Erik Scherder has already created a lot of awareness with the App 'Ommetje' and his years of efforts in this area. Walking, cycling, exercising; it's all good for body and soul. And therefore also for the brain, because that is Erik Scherder's most important area of attention.

But what do you do with that when you work from home? By working from home you sacrifice a lot in terms of exercise. You no longer have to travel to work, the kitchen is a lot closer than the canteen at work. You call colleagues, never drop by their desk again. And getting coffee... you only do it for yourself.

There are other ways to exercise at home. Maybe not everyone likes to hear it, but doing the housework is an excellent way to get some exercise. It is precisely the variety of movement that is important. Vacuuming a room or mopping a floor (also has to be done) provides that variety. Mopping a 400m2 industrial floor is repetitive work and offers no variety. Your own home in particular has smaller surfaces and therefore provides a lot of variety in movement. And an additional advantage... (you can already imagine it): you have a clean house.

Another piece of advice is to maintain the lunch break. You can also take a walk, get some fresh air and exercise. After all, you no longer have to travel to work. Then use the time you have saved to take a walk. Or do some shopping by bike.

It may sound lame, but thanks to all kinds of useful functions and devices, we have excluded a lot of exercise from our daily lives. Shopping? Just via the App. Food is also brought home at the touch of a button. And you don't even have to leave the couch to turn on the light. And now let a robot vacuum cleaner do the work if you can do it yourself? I do not think so...

I have worked as a freelancer for larger companies for quite a long time. What you often see is that freelancers are not allowed to park their car on the company grounds, but have to walk a distance to the office. I always loved it. Move a little. To my considerable surprise, I often saw other freelancers taking an electric scooter out of their car. Handy, because then you don't have to walk! But why miss this excellent opportunity to get some exercise?

Never sit still!