Exercise and the Freelancer

I know, I know...this old topic again!

We all know the theory - you must build daily exercise into your routine to stay healthy, boost your productivity, avoid postural and stress related ailments...but it's often so much easier than done. Let me be the first to raise my hand and say I haven't been "moving" enough over the winter months - injury, cold, rain, too much work, general laziness - the excuses are always the same. But what I notice that while I'm cosily tucked up in my office with a steaming cuppa and a blanket, tapping away for hours on end, is that lethargy sets in and my work soon begins to suffer. So I choose to do some kind of exercise, even if it's only for 15 minutes, every single day.

The important thing about this is that it is a choice. If you choose to build some exercise into your daily routine then all of a sudden it stops being a chore and becomes a pleasure, even a necessity.

Obviously everyone is different and we all have to choose what, when, where and how we will exercise... but one thing we all have in common is that our busy lifestyles dictate that it doesn't take up too much of our precious time.

I just wanted to throw out some suggestions which work / have worked for me:

Walking / Running / Cycling

This gets you out of the house and into the fresh air. I am lucky enough to live in a rural area, and I have a dog, so I have plenty of scenic, lung cleansing and enjoyable routes on my doorstep. Half an hour after dropping the kids off at the school bus before settling down at my desk is all I need sometimes to blow out the cobwebs, work up a bit of a sweat (or a lot, if I'm running or cycling - we live on the side of a hill!) and get into a focused and productive state of mind for the rest of the day. If like me you always have your phone/iPod with you when you're out and about, then you can listen to the radio and catch up on the news etc while you're exercising - killing two birds with one stone and leaving your desk time free for working.

Gym / Exercise Class

One of the major advantages of organised exercise is that not only does it have a pre-established time and duration (thus helping on the routine side of things), it also provides social interaction. One of the huge drawbacks of freelancing is that it can be isolating and your only contact with the outside world is via email and the internet. Your fellow gym-goers don't have to become your best friends, but it's good for us to get out and about and talk to other people from completely different walks of life from time to time.

The one downside to this option, apart from the potential expense, is that most activities require at least an hour - or more - which once you've added travelling there and back, showering and changing can take a big lump out of your working day.

Exercise DVD / Working out at home

Obviously this is very flexible - you can fit it around whatever else you need to do that day, and you can exercise however you want. There are loads of different options for keeping fit from home, a quick search on YouTube or Amazon throws up endless possibilities and combinations of programmes for cardio, strength, flexibility, yoga, pilates, abs, bums and thighs...you name it. But you do have to be very disciplined and not wimp out. I find a full-on 20 minute workout (Jillian Michaels is one of the best) is truly invigorating and really sets me up for working hard, as well as not taking up to much time.

Swimming

Swimming, as we all know, is the king of exercise, beneficial to practically everyone and anyone of any shape or size, and computer slave freelancers  are no exception. Personally I only swim in the summer, as local indoor pools are scarce on the ground, expensive and too time-consuming - but I miss the suppleness, stamina and overall sense of well being I get from bashing out those lengths. There is also something incredibly liberating about swimming - it must be something about the complete tranquillity and silence you can only find under water. No ring tones, email beeps, doorbells, mewling children or background telly noise. You can't beat it!

Set your own goals

You may have noticed that I go for quite full on, intense forms of exercising. That's just my way of doing it - not only for health reasons, but for professional ones too. I find that pushing myself through a run or a workout helps release stress, frustration, tension and worry, leaving me in a better frame of mind for work. I have more clarity of thought and the words flow more easily if I have exercised properly and I usually get much more done in less time. That's not to say that other types of exercise - for example, working out more gently for longer, or doing two or more different kinds of exercise in one day - don't work for others. Of course they do. As I said at the beginning of this post, this is all about choice, and the whole point is that just as we freelancers control our own professional lives, we can - and should - control and make choices about our own fitness levels and health as part of that. So, if a gentle stroll for an hour in the afternoon is what you find works for you and keeps you energised, then that's what you should do. I really believe that we should all do something: 8, 10, 12 or even more hours in front of the computer each day can really take its toll on your physical and mental health, and we owe it to ourselves to compensate for that.

Happy exercising!