Aug
13
- Living A More Active Life - Part 1, Start At The Office
- Living A More Active Life - Part 2, Continue At Home
- Living A More Active Life - Part 3, Have Fun With It
On Monday I wrote that the two basic truths of fitness are eat in moderation and be more physically active. I believe that wholeheartedly and it was the realization of these truths that helped me get to where I am today. In the past, I’ve gone over my rules for eating, now I’d like to share with you some ideas for being more physically active.
Physical Activity and Exercise Are NOT the Same Thing
I’ve talked about this before, but physical activity is not a replacement for a workout. A workout challenges you, physical activity just means you’re not sitting on your butt doing nothing. So just because you’re going to be active, doesn’t mean you can stop working out. That said, where do we start adding activity into our lives?
The Office
Why the office? Easy. Because it’s where a lot of us spend a lot of our time. For example, I spend a good 10 hours a day in the office, 5 days a week. That’s 50 hours, or about 45% of my waking time. However, how am I going to add to a work day when I already have too much to do? Well, there are a number of ways.
- Stop emailing / calling and start walking - Got a question for a coworker? Don’t call or email them, just walk over and talk to them. I once calculated that I walk more than a mile a day just within the office. Best part of all, this actually makes me more productive. First of all, it stops me from shooting off useless emails and calls. Second, I find that face to face conversations tend to resolve issues a lot quicker.
- Use the stairs - Do you work in a multi floor office? Yes? Then stop using the elevator and start using the stairs. Unless you work in some sky scraper, you’ll actually save time by not waiting for the elevator and you’ll get a decent workout in the process.
- Take a walk meeting - Got a 1 on 1? How about taking it outside and walking around the building? I had a boss who used to do this and it was great. Not only did it eliminate other distractions and let us have our meetings in peace, it also felt much better than sitting in some office reporting on goals and objectives.
- Park further - Stop looking for that ideal parking spot and take the spot a bit further. Your car will get dinged less and you’ll end up walking more. Speaking of which…
- Use a bike or walk for your commute - Most people write off this idea as taking too much time but it’s easier than you think. Take a look at this old post where I compare my drive and bike commutes. The bike commute ends up taking 10 minutes longer but I spend less money overall, I’m active and I get to spend 30 minutes on the train (working) rather than 30 minutes in traffic (being annoyed).
- 5 minute stretch - Need a break? How about instead of heading to the water cooler you stand up and do some stretches in your cube? A series of 10 lunges, 10 squats, 10 arm raises and 10 toe touches done really slowly and with no weight are an amazing stretch routine. You’ll feel better and be more productive afterwards.
Work More Efficiently
Note that none of these ideas take time away from the workday. In fact, many of these ideas will make you more efficient overall. That’s right, being more physically active doesn’t have to cost you time. In many ways, it can save you time.
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Stop treating the office as a place to spend 9 hours sitting down. You spend way too much time there to be sedentary.
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Comments
2 Responses to “Living A More Active Life - Part 1, Start At The Office”
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“Stop emailing / calling and start walking” - good advice ; we are way too lazy
Numbers 1 and 4 are my personal favorite - and I totally agree on number 1 as far as resolving things quicker. Working in software this was my biggest challenge - to simply get out of my office and go talk to folks. It makes all the difference, not only physically, but in job effectiveness.