Two ways I’m inviting more movement into my daily work routine
I've been wanting to spend less time working on a computer at my desk. Partly because it causes discomfort in my body—tension in my neck/shoulders and pain in my low back. Also because, if I were to die tomorrow, I think maybe I would regret how much time I spent at my desk, instead of being out in the world, doing something else, having an experience.
That being said, I really like to work. Specifically, I like to create. I'm also realizing that, even though I used to resist it, I have fun playing the game of business.
Lately, I've been doing work that combines all that together—creating content on topics that are interesting to me and monetizing the content with digital product sales and affiliate marketing.
Currently working on Break Into Tech Sales and AI Writers Academy.
Coming soon: Feel Good Forum and Mindful Work.
Which brings us back to the original point about spending less time at my desk.
Because doing this work of creating content requires a lot of time at the computer—writing blog posts, recording YouTube videos, building websites, sending emails.
Especially while I'm in this phase of trying to grow these content brands, there seems to be a direct correlation between growing the brands faster and me spending more time working at the computer.
So I've been kinda stuck. I want the brands to grow. But I don't want to destroy my body working 12-hour days. Health is wealth. It's not worth it to grow a business if I ruin my physical health in the process.
Still, for some reason, my solution until recently was just sacrificing my body in the short term to get sprints of work done.
Until I was struggling to hold dolphin pose, halfway through an 8:15am yoga class (which I took mainly because my low back was bothering me so much I just had to do something), when I got a message on the somatic level that roughly translates to: "Dude, what the f*** are you doing?"
And then my mind and my body had an argument in a language I didn't fully understand. My mind was saying, we have to get the work done. And my body was saying, but we're in so much pain.
Eventually, they reached a compromise, for me to make two specific changes to invite more movement into my daily work routine:
1. Write with my voice instead of typing
More than half of my current work is writing SEO-optimized blog posts to generate traffic for websites.
Before, I would sit at my desk and type on the keyboard.
Now, I'm writing more with my voice.
I use an app called Otter.ai, which is a transcription software that records what I'm saying and turns it into text.
I find that I can talk much faster than I can type, and my ideas tend to flow better.
I've tested this a few times and discovered that I can write a 1000-word blog post in about 20 minutes using voice dictation, whereas before it would take me 2-3 hours to type an equal-length post on a keyboard.
The best part is that I can multitask. While my mind is working on creating the content, I can also be moving my body.
I can go for a walk, go to the park, do yoga, cook breakfast, pace around the room, do push-ups—anything to get my blood flowing, joints bending, and muscles flexing instead of just sitting like a statue in my office chair.
Once I finish the recording, Otter.ai automatically generates a text transcript, which I then plug into ChatGPT for editing.
Then I end up with a blog post that's about 80% complete and I only need to sit down at the computer for the final 20% of the editing process.
Here's my full process for how I write 10x faster using Otter.ai and ChatGPT.
2. Stand up from my desk in between tasks
I've noticed in my daily workflow that, after completing a task, I often sit there, pondering what to do next. Sometimes I procrastinate by checking email or watching YouTube videos.
It's a perfect opportunity to stand up from my desk, take a break, stretch, just do something else for 10 minutes. But instead, I stay at the desk, which is what I'm changing.
Now, after I finish a task, I stand up and do some form of movement.
So I already get the physical benefit of less tension and soreness in my body from sitting in a chair all day.
But there's a productivity benefit too.
Because while I'm doing the movement, I can contemplate what I should do next.
This mental break gives me time to make sure I'm working on the most impactful task. It's like playing chess. If you're forced to make your next move immediately, it's probably not your best move. Whereas if you take a step back and look at the board, you'll probably see a better move.
I've realized this when I meditate. I always have work-related ideas when I meditate. But I'm meditating, so I can't immediately work on them. And that's when something interesting starts to happen. The idea develops. And almost always I have a more refined idea of what I need to do after a few minutes of sitting with the idea and mulling it over, rather than jumping right in to start working on it.
During these mental breaks with movement, I first go through a few options before I decide on the next task I want to work on. Then I visualize what it looks like to complete that task on the computer—what apps or software I need to open, the mouse clicks, the words I'll type.
And I make sure the task is a bite-sized chunk that I can complete in 30 minutes.
Once I have a clear idea of what I need to do, I sit back down at the computer and execute the task without checking other notifications or procrastinating.
Once the task is finished, I repeat the process by standing up, reflecting on what I just did, and considering what I want to do next.
Conclusion
I've been having this recurring thought for a while that it's not healthy for desk workers to engage our minds so intensely with computer work while our bodies are completely stationary in a desk chair.
There are some solutions, like desk treadmills. But I think there's a lot more we can do to invite more movement and physical health into our daily work routines.
If you have any other ideas about how to get more movement during the working day or just how to develop healthy work habits in general, leave a comment below!