Get Moving


Get Moving

Walk me, please?

Since I started Crossfit a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a major change in my work habits, with my memoir client work and fiction writing.

My new routine:

  1. Get up, roll out of bed.
  2. Go to Crossfit.
  3. Do the workout till it’s done.
  4. Shower.
  5. Eat breakfast.
  6. Work on client memoirs or fiction.

Nowadays, I have a lot more going on early in the morning, and yet, I still manage to be at my work desk by 9. By midday, I’ve gone through my memoir work and crossing things off my to-do list. I also seem to have more energy to putter around the yard and house doing the chores that need to get done in between.

The secret? It has to do with the law of inertia.

It is harder to get going when you are at rest. And it is hard to stop once you get going.

♦ ♦ ♦

How does this apply to writing?

Writing is a sedentary profession. It exercises the fingers and not much else. My chair is dented from where I sit on it for hours at a time. That is why I decided to start some sort of exercise regimen. Not only to lose weight and to be svelte again (though that would be a great side benefit). But I was literally feeling sluggish all the time. And feeling unmotivated to write.

Exercise stimulates the blood and the brain. It gets one moving.

Your regimen may be different than mine. It might be walking down the street and back. With the dog (like the one above). Or doing a workout video. Reading on the treadmill. Whatever your choice of exercise, do something, anything. Instill the habit early in your day.

Then, once you are moving, don’t stop. Don’t let the distractions get the better of you. Move from one to-do item to the next until you have done a few, or chip away at that writing project, then take a well-deserved break.

Get moving and your work will get its move on, too.

♦ ♦ ♦

Has exercise helped you be more productive? What gets you moving?