Working from home as a freelance writer, I spend the majority of my day staring at the same four walls for hours at a time. Well, that’s not completely true. I spend the majority of my time staring at my monitor as I mash out articles, update this blog, edit some photos, and surf the web. Whatever the case, a good amount of time is spent indoors sitting in the same chair. This can’t be healthy and I imagine that the situation is much the same for most people who work from home, whether they be professional bloggers, e-commerce gurus, or affiliate marketers.

For the sake of your own health and sanity, it is of paramount importance to try and go outside each day. It could be something as simple as walking down the block to grab a newspaper or heading to the local coffee shop for a vanilla latte. This is also true for people who are stuck working in cubicles all day, because again, you are stuck staring at the same four walls. This is madness in the making.

Grab a Little Human Interaction

While this point isn’t quite as relevant for people who work in an office setting, people who work from home are typically limited in their amount of human interaction. With everyone out of the house, it can be eerily quiet and that’s partly why I try to either keep the television or some music on in the background. Even so, the majority of human interaction comes through the online channels (Twitter, IM, email, etc.), and so you should make an effort to get some real human interaction.

By going outside to grab that cup of coffee, you can at least have a brief conversation with the barista. Maybe when you walk out to grab the newspaper, you’ll bump into your neighbor and say hello. These serve as reminders that there is a real world beyond the Internet. Hard to believe, I know. Even when it comes to mommy (and daddy) bloggers, wouldn’t you love to have an adult conversation once in a while?

Stretch Those Legs with Fresh Air

There’s nothing quite like breathing the same stagnant air over and over again. Working from home, it can get pretty stuffy. By taking a brief stroll around in your neighborhood, you achieve two huge objectives. First, you are able to stretch those legs and get in a little bit of much-needed exercise. Sitting at a desk all day wreaks havoc on your back, your posture, your hips, and pretty much the rest of your body. A little walk never hurt anyone.

Second, you are able to breathe some nice fresh air (assuming that you don’t live in a heavily polluted city). I find that taking a walk in the spring and the fall is particularly helpful, because there is a certain “crispness” to the air. It can be very refreshing.

A Mental Break to Recharge the Batteries

We all need breaks. While you may want to be as productive as possible and just pound away at that keyboard all day, you will actually be more productive if you take well-timed breaks. This lets you recharge the batteries and refresh the mind. It can also present an opportunity to develop some new ideas that can then be implemented in an article, your business, or whatever else that you do online. Fresh ideas come from a fresh mind, not a tired and weary one.

The long and the short of it is… you need to go outside. Make an effort to step away from your home office and breathe in some fresh air. It’ll do you good, I’m sure.