… to dust off this blog. Or do I?
We’re having a little blog battle here at SEP, so chances are you’ll see me post a bit more than I have in quite a while. And maybe even a few of the other blogs here will see some posts as well.
It is interesting, because we also have a walking challenge going on at the same time. SEP bought fitbits for those who signed up (about half the company) and we’re walking “to” New Orleans (site of our company trip next year). A few people have already made it (approximately 1.6 million steps), but most of us are severely lagging behind (currently at less than 1/3 of the way there).
Part of the reason I’ve lagged behind? Starting out, I just “didn’t have any time” to do much walking (even though I could really use the exercise). I’ve actually heard several others express the same concern. But then I started to look for opportunities to fit more walking in. And wow! I’ve gone from struggling to get in 5,000 steps a day, to hitting 15,000 a day for the last two weeks. Not enough to catch the leaders, but enough to definitely notice the difference.
So, obviously something must have had to be given up to make time, right? Well, no, not really. The truth is that I had plenty of time all along. I just find walking incredibly boring. Mind numbingly boring. And with so many other things that I don’t find boring, it was easy to do those instead of walking.
So then… How to make the walking more interesting? Why not walk while doing those other more interesting things? Technology to the rescue! Tablet + walking at home + wireless signal gives us:
- walking while streaming Netflix / Hulu
- walking while reading books
- walking while playing games
- walking while surfing the net
- walking while writing this blog entry
Yes, I realize there is no earth-shattering revelation here. People have been doing this for ages, mixing work with fun to either make the work more palatable, or even just distract from the fact that it is work in the first place.
But maybe having made this post will help me remember to give it some thought the next time I “don’t have time” to tackle something unpalatable. How can I mix it with something I enjoy?
