Whether you’ve been working from home for years, or are just getting started due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are mental hurdles to overcome. Not to mention the feeling of isolation, especially if the only voice you’ve heard all day long is yours as you talk to your dog or cat.
The idea of getting out of bed and starting to work in your pajamas sounds amazing. In reality, it does more harm than good to your physical and mental health.
How can we create connections with our colleagues and improve our health at the same time? This Healthy team challenge might be an answer for you.
What is “Healthy Team Challenge”
Workplace Healthy Team challenges are a great way to promote health amongst your team. The idea is to set up health challenges and incentivize team members to stick to their health goals and build a health conscious community .
There are many health goals you can challenge depending on which area of health your team members are most interested and keen to improve.
Why should you do it?
Imaging that if you and teammates have one more common goal to achieve together which is not about your tasks or projects on work.A healthy team challenge can drive participants to do something as a biggest task to accomplish their own challenge goal.But still having common shared experiences with your team through the activity.As if you need to have gone from work at office and switch to work from home due to pandemic situation and quarantine.In this way, a healthy team challenge will be working on your free time after work or weekly time.
What are the key benefits?
- Practice goal setting
- Improve health and well being
- Build community and connection between health-focused people
- Overcome personal obstacles both internal and external factors
- Build self-discipline to do action
- Increase energy
- Be patient to achieve an action
How does it work?
Step one: Choose one of the Challenges below (or) Create your own Challenges for your team
- 14 days healthy meal challenge
- 21 days no junk food challenge
- 30 days running challenge
- 30 days squat challenge
- xx days xxxx challenge
Step two: Vote within your team
After listing out all interesting challenges, it is time to vote within your team to decide which challenges that everyone must suffer!!
Step three: Establish common rules and consequences amongst your team members
There are many fun rules and consequences you can set up together. However the most important thing to keep in mind while listing rules is to “Define your team goals” that you and your team must achieve for each day.
For example: “14 days healthy meal challenge” the idea of the rule can be defining the number of healthy meals which they must eat per a day such as 3 healthy meals per a day and covering 5 food groups every meal which included Protein,Fibre,Carbohydrate,Vitamin and fat.
Step four: Setup your start and finish date of challenge
You can learn something valuable after a few days of challenge but you will never touch your full potential until your team challenges itself to go. It is rarely about daily tasks and more about what comes from .
Step five: Record your Progress
Recording your progress during the challenge is a great way to track advancement of both physical and mentally health.You can only learn from your past and improve to become better in the future.
For example : “14 days healthy meal challenge” the track can be focusing on the number of calories which they eat in each day.The calculator of Bmr and Tdee can define them that how much calories which they can eat per a day and they need to manage it on their meals.In addition,you can download applications to be more easier to calculate food calories such as “Track it application”
Step six : Share your Experience
Encouraging everyone to share their experiences and support each other after each daily challenge helps everyone to feel that they are not alone when faced with tough times. Plan a comfortable time once every week to share their experiences.
Step seven : Reward the winner
Setting a reward to whoever completed the challenge will motivate your team to overcome difficult situations and create a competitive environment within your team members. The most important lesson after the challenge is that the highest reward for a team’s hard work is not what they get for it (Reward), but what they become by it. (Healthier)
Here are some examples how we set the challenge for our team
Example 1
Topic : “14 days healthy meal challenge ”
Rules : 1.Calculator BMR and TDEE
2.Eating healthy food 3 meals per a day
3.Every meal covered 5 food groups
Track : check it out on the application named “Track it”to calculate calories of your food
Sharing and supporting time : every 3 days at 17.00 pm. On GoogleMeet application
Rewards : Healthy Snacks Gift Basket
Example 2
Topic : “100 squat challenge ”
Rules : Squat 100 squats within 30 days
Date : 1/04/2020 -30/04/2020
Track : Section 1 Day 1 : 20 squats Day 2 : 25 squats Day 3 : 25 squats
Section 2 Day 5 : 30 squats Day 6: 35squats Day 7:35 squats
Section 3 Day 9 : 40 squats Day10 :45squats Day11:50 squats
Section 4 Day 13 : 55squats Day 14: 55squats Day15: 60squats
Section 5 Day 17 : 65 squats Day18: 70 squats Day19: 70 squats
Section 6 Day 21 : 75 squats Day 22: 80squats Day23: 80 squats
Section 7 Day 25 : 85 squats Day 26: 90squats Day 27: 90squats
Section 8 Day 29 : 95squats Day30: 100 squats
Sharing and supporting time : every 3 days at 17.00 pm. On GoogleMeet application
Rewards : Healthy Snacks Gift Basket