How to Get More Steps When You Work From Home

Working from home truly is a blessing. 

Blessings aside, no matter what they tell us, we are NOT meant to sit behind a computer for 40 hours a week. We’re just not.

Your body and mind probably scream that at you 24/7.

In your aches and pains. Your mental despair. The mental exhaustion. Your inability to do anything meaningful after work. Your depression.

While I can’t really help you quit your job and retire at 28 (rude, I know), I can give you some tips on how to make the most of your workday from a physical perspective.

Because you see, office workers sit for at least 2/3 of their day staring at artificial blue light, hunched over, uncomfortable, and unhappy.

Based on personal experience, I find I sit even more working from home than I do when I work in the office.

Everything you need is just…. right there. I’ve spent far too many days propped up on the couch barely moving except to use the bathroom, refill my water, or get food that’s all mere feet away.

Comfy? Yes.

Good for my physical health? Not a chance.

Related: 18 Easy Ways to Get 10,000 Steps a Day When You Work in an Office

After gaining 25 pounds and finding myself out of breath just going for a walk (not to mention all the aches and pains), I knew something had to change, and unfortunately it’s not my job. 🙁

How to Walk More When You Work From Home

A large study concluded that the risk of death from *any cause* is 16% higher among sedentary people as opposed to active people.

Can someone say “holy guacamole?”

Another study of more than 226,000 people concluded that 4,000 steps a day is enough to reduce the risk of dying prematurely from any cause.

And each additional 1,000 steps (up to 20,000 daily) reduces the risk of dying early by 15%.

So turn that computer on and let’s get walking, my friend.

Set yourself reminders.

First and foremost, set yourself hourly reminders to get up and move.

Most smart watches and smart phones have this option, so set it, and don’t ignore it!!

If you’re anything like me and are thinking, “gosh, but they’re so annoying!!” You’re right. But so are aches and pains and weight gain and dying prematurely.

You’ll never regret getting up and taking a much-needed break from your work, so remember that next time your move reminder goes off and get your booty up!

Set a daily step goal.

It’s so easy to make it to the end of the work day and realize you’ve only walked a thousand steps. Even when you DID get up every hour to move a little.

Having clear goals makes it much easier to succeed because you know exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it.

I personally have started aiming for a minimum of 4,000 steps each day. It’s not too extreme that I’m obsessing over it like with a goal of 10,000 steps a day, but it’s not too low that I’m still sedentary.

Before I set this goal, I found I really struggled most days to get more than 1500 steps if I wasn’t doing other things, especially in the winter.

Set hourly step goals.

Once ya got your daily step goal, you can break it up into hourly increments so it feels less daunting (and breaks up the monotony of sitting for hours on end).

It really depends on your day and how much walking you do before and after work that dictates how many steps you want to aim for during your work day.

For example, 500 steps an hour equates to 4,000 steps spread across your 8 hour work day.

500 steps an hour is really attainable, considering I took 110 steps in 1 minute. Doing that math, you could easily reach 500 steps in just 5 minutes of pacing back and forth in your home.

If that seems too easy, you could aim for 750 steps an hour, which is about 8 minutes an hour, and 6,000 steps in 8 hours. Or even 1,000 steps per hour, which is closer to 10 minutes of walking per hour, and totals 8,000 steps in 8 hours.

Or you could break it up based on how many hours you’re awake, rather than just during your 8-hour work day. The choice is yours.

When you break it down like that, it seems much more attainable.

And remember, you don’t have to do it all at once — you can spread those 500 or 1,000 steps out across the hour.

A water refill break here.

A bathroom break there.

A trip to pet your furry companion there.

Take a morning walk.

Since you don’t have a commute to the office, which is mere feet away from your bed, use the time you would have spent commuting on a morning walk instead. That rhymed. Unintentional.

But seriously.

Jolting yourself awake in the morning and immediately logging on to work is not a great way to start your day.

It doesn’t even have to be outside. If you have a treadmill or walking pad, that works as well.

Taking a little time for yourself in the morning to go for a walk before rushing to sit behind a computer for 8 hours truly does make a difference in how your day plays out. And it’s a great way to get some much needed activity in.

Drink more water.

If you drink more water, two things happen:

1. You have to refill your water more often = more steps.
2. You have to pee more = more bathroom breaks = even more steps.

Mind-blowing, I know.

Pace while in meetings or on the phone.

During your breaks or calls, get up and just walk around your house.

If you’re confined to your office for a meeting (and can turn your camera off), pace back and forth in your office while you attend.

Get a walking pad for your standing desk.

The beauty of working remotely is you can do literally whatever you want without distracting or annoying your coworkers.

I finally bought a walking pad to put under my desk and it has been *the easiest* way for me to reach my daily step goal when working from home. In less than 2 hours, I can walk close to 10,000 steps and be a couch potato for the rest of the day if I really want to.

I like to walk while in meetings I don’t need to talk much in. I’ve also found walking at a slower pace allows me to still do my work without any issues.

Aside from being an efficient way to get more steps in throughout your workday, a walking pad is also SO helpful for your posture. Try walking while hunching over your computer and working — trust me, you’re gonna have a hard time doing it.

It’s also a nice break from sitting or standing still while you work the day away.

If space and budget allows, I highly recommend a walking pad. This one is reasonably priced and well reviewed. There are also models that fold, which are great if you’re tight on space or want an easier way to transition from your walking pad to just standing or sitting.

Or try a mini stair stepper.

If walking just isn’t your thing but climbing stairs is (lol?), why not give a mini stepper a go?

No, but really. Mini steppers are much more compact than a walking pad and come with a smaller price tag.

Take a mid-day break and go for a walk.

When I work in the office, I always take a mid-day walk so I don’t lose my mind sitting in my sad little gray cubicle staring at a computer screen for 8 straight hours.

But for some reason, I don’t usually do that when I work from home, and I have no idea why.

One thing I do know is that taking a mid-day break to go outside, get some fresh air, and stretch your legs is worth the effort and a great way to get more steps in your sedentary work day. Even when you work from home.

Bonus points if you have a furry 🦮 friend to join you.

March in place.

No treadmill? No mini stair stepper? No problem.

With no coworkers to distract, you can march in place while you work to get your blood pumping, muscles moving, and steps increasing.

Walk during your lunch break.

If you get a designated lunch break, use some, or all, of that time to take a walk.

You can eat at your desk before or after your walk while you get some work done.

Reaching for your phone?

Think again!!

Every time you reach for your phone to scroll, scroll, scroll, say “SIKEEEE” and go do a lap around your house instead.

You’d be surprised how many times you do it!! It’s a great way to rack up those steps.

Step it Up

Working remotely from the comfort of your own home has its perks, but unless you’re intentional about how you spend your time, the day will slip right past you while you sit and stare at your computer.

Before you know it, it’s time to make dinner, clean up, and get ready to do it all over again.

Don’t keep neglecting your health. Be mindful of how you use your time. You don’t have to completely ignore your health while you work. They aren’t mutually exclusive.

So set some attainable goals to get up more throughout your day and most importantly, follow through.

And don’t forget to stretch and roll out your feet!!