How then shall a developer stay healthy and mentally fit?

The mental health of 80% of developers is at stake, as to how to stay fit as a developer. How then are we supposed to stay fit as developers?

“I shall get up as early as 4:00 am, make myself a cup of tea and probably start hitting the keyboard till whenever it’s time for standup or Mr. A meeting time”. This is probably the most morning ritual for 80% of developers, they pay more attention to the calendar schedules and pay almost no attention to their state of health.

However, I am writing this as a developer, who was caught up by the 2020 coronavirus outbreak and was forced to adopt the newer method of this generation’s working style “Remote”. Before then, I’ve had this normal routine of almost every developer, wake up in the morning, look at my schedules for the day and probably head over to the office. While in the office it’s mostly about, writing that piece of code for the next feature from my company, and meetings from the HR to the tribes. This process goes down from Monday till Friday. On Saturday I feel so weak that id off my alarm and slept till my neighbors come knocking at my door the following morning.

Moreover, this recycling life of most developers and in turn same as mine is one of the problems we have as software engineers. It might not bother you, but everything you do as a developer or a non-developer largly depends on how active you are to notice things around you.

One of the biggest factors we as developers should pay attention to is our ability to think critically in a healthy state of mind. Most times, it’s not always about writing those codes but ensuring we are actually in the best state to solve those problems with our code. I will go on and list some of the things developers are expected to do to ensure the best state of the mind and increase productivity at work:

1. Develop that attitude of exercising at least two times a week. in as much as your activities may be always include free time to exercise and make sure you stay fit. Being physically active can improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday activities.
2. Build self-awareness and observe what’s going on inside your mind. Let go of all those things that create clutter in your mind. Try to forgive people unconditionally and be free. Try to figure out your dharma.
3. Socialization often prepares people to participate in a social group by teaching them its norms and expectations. Socialization has three primary goals: teaching impulse control and developing a conscience, preparing people to perform certain social roles, and cultivating shared sources of meaning and value.
4. Take good care of your diet. A healthy diet is essential for good health and nutrition. It protects you against many chronic non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Eating a variety of foods and consuming less salt, sugars and saturated and industrially-produced trans-fats, are essential for a healthy diet.
5. Don’t forget to pay attention to your eye, protect it at all costs. I was a victim of this and I got my right eye damaged after staring for a long time at the screen without taking eye precautions. Use anti-blue light glasses and make sure you give your eye the necessary care it demands. Eat more fruits. Reduce the use of blue lights in your setup rooms and also bedrooms to make sure you give your eye the necessary relaxations it requires.
6. Finally, make sure you don’t remain introverted, relationships are one of the most powerful feelings we have as humans. Meet with your family members and loved ones in your free time.

Now, at this point i feel like youve learnt one thing or the other to help your maintain a stable state of mind as a creative and productive developer. By paying attention to our health we tend to prevent pretigious treat to our level of productivity and help us focus more and be more productive.