[personaldev] Breaking and fixing healthy routines
I've been spending the last couple of weeks working out of our new office in Mountain View. Despite the fact that a couple of friends are generously offering me places to sleep in the south bay, the commute from SF is driving me crazy. I'm going to need to move down to Mountain View soon.
It's taken me two weeks to realize that this has broken a lot of the healthy life routines that I'm used to.
- I used to take morning hill-walks up Bernal Hill, which is next to my house. I had recently been using the hill-walks for walking meditation experiments.
- I've been using a makeshift sit/stand desk at home; I modified a cheap IKEA desk to let me switch from sitting to standing in a couple of minutes. About a month and a half ago, I started developing pain from sitting too long, and this became very motivating.
- I have been making most of my own meals, and I've found a range of ingredients that is very healthy yet easy to prepare.
- I have been going to the gym regularly. It's very near my house, so going there has been very convenient. In addition to the rock climbing, I have been following the protocols from Body By Science, which is deserving of its own post. In any case, I have continued to build a modest amount of muscle despite only going to the gym once a week.
Anyway, all of these routines are now broken because I'm rarely home now, and I've realized just how much this is affecting me.
I've been working on fixing them:
- Hill-walks -- Morning hill-walks are still feasible if I get up earlier. Once I move to the south bay, this will be more difficult. I've found walking on flat ground isn't physically invigorating enough, and running doesn't have the same meditative aspects.
- Sit/stand desks -- I'm about to drop $600 on the frame for a GeekDesk. It's the cheapest motorized sit/stand desk I can find, and the option to buy just the base is not linked to from the rest of their site. http://www.geekdesk.com/default.asp?contentID=629
- Food -- I've worked with the people at our startup incubator office space to set up the components of a real kitchen. The social pressure to go out to eat with others is strong though. :-)
- Gym -- I work from home one day a week, so that's giving me some time to get to the rock gym. Otherwise the gym is usually closed by the time I get home from work. There is a rock gym in the south bay, but it's way down in Sunnyvale, which is 15-20 minutes from work (more during rush hour).
It's taken me two weeks to realize that this has broken a lot of the healthy life routines that I'm used to.
- I used to take morning hill-walks up Bernal Hill, which is next to my house. I had recently been using the hill-walks for walking meditation experiments.
- I've been using a makeshift sit/stand desk at home; I modified a cheap IKEA desk to let me switch from sitting to standing in a couple of minutes. About a month and a half ago, I started developing pain from sitting too long, and this became very motivating.
- I have been making most of my own meals, and I've found a range of ingredients that is very healthy yet easy to prepare.
- I have been going to the gym regularly. It's very near my house, so going there has been very convenient. In addition to the rock climbing, I have been following the protocols from Body By Science, which is deserving of its own post. In any case, I have continued to build a modest amount of muscle despite only going to the gym once a week.
Anyway, all of these routines are now broken because I'm rarely home now, and I've realized just how much this is affecting me.
I've been working on fixing them:
- Hill-walks -- Morning hill-walks are still feasible if I get up earlier. Once I move to the south bay, this will be more difficult. I've found walking on flat ground isn't physically invigorating enough, and running doesn't have the same meditative aspects.
- Sit/stand desks -- I'm about to drop $600 on the frame for a GeekDesk. It's the cheapest motorized sit/stand desk I can find, and the option to buy just the base is not linked to from the rest of their site. http://www.geekdesk.com/default.asp?contentID=629
- Food -- I've worked with the people at our startup incubator office space to set up the components of a real kitchen. The social pressure to go out to eat with others is strong though. :-)
- Gym -- I work from home one day a week, so that's giving me some time to get to the rock gym. Otherwise the gym is usually closed by the time I get home from work. There is a rock gym in the south bay, but it's way down in Sunnyvale, which is 15-20 minutes from work (more during rush hour).