When I first made the decision to be a home-based small business owner, I thought for sure that it would provide me with the opportunity to be super healthy. I was going to go to the gym daily and only eat whole foods and get piles of movement every day and take meditation breaks.

Reach for fresh fruits & veggies where possible!

Somehow, my healthy workplace hasn’t quite been all the I dreamed it would. Although I have a lot more opportunity to be flexible by being a home-based small business owner, somehow I don’t end up eating as well as I expected, or exercising as much as I anticipated, or living quite as much of the zen life as I assumed.

It’s something I need to work on, and something that I’m looking forward to working on in the coming months!

That being said, there are a few small ways that I ensure I stay healthy every day when working from home:

• Drinking water. Water is always close at hand. My workspace is situated inside our kitchen (the kitchen takes up about 1/3 of our entire 700-square-foot home!), which can be detrimental because it is way too easy for me to get snacks throughout the day, but it also means that the water pitchers are always easy to reach. I rarely have difficulty meeting my hydration requirements for the day.

• Working at a standing desk. I have two desks in my workspace: a standing desk and a sitting desk. Some days I spend more time at one over the other, but I always spend at least an hour working at my standing desk (and sometimes I work the entire day at my standing desk). It’s good for getting in extra movement!

• Taking time for me. My days are so funny. Since I’m still not quite a full year into working full-time as a freelancer, my client work varies a lot and the amount, type, and urgency of my work changes on a daily basis. It keeps things interesting, but it also means that my breaks throughout the day can be wildly different from one week to the next! Regardless, I always make sure I take some time for me during the day, whether it’s to read a book, putter around the house, or go for a walk. I’ve gotten pretty good at recognizing when I need to step away from work and take a break for some “me” time.

• Eating a good breakfast. A good breakfast doesn’t often mean a big one, for me; I usually enjoy a grapefruit, an apple, a green smoothie, or a small plate of homemade hash (Mr. Science’s concoction of potatoes / eggs / tofu / mushrooms / bell peppers) with several cups of high-quality green, white, or peppermint tea. I like starting my day this way. I don’t need a huge amount of food in my belly to get me started in the morning, but some fruit and / or dark leafy greens always start me off right!

One of my favorite things about life is that there is always so much room for improvement. I’m excited by all of the healthy changes I can make in my life, and all the ways that I can be healthier (and more organized, and more productive) at work. They might not all be doable immediately, but recognizing where we are lacking and where we can make small, incremental changes it’s a fantastic way to continue on the journey to being healthier, happier versions of our selves.

What do you do to stay healthy at work? Have you experienced a situation in which you THOUGHT you’d be healthier but your expectations and reality didn’t quite match up? Share in the comments section below!