​homeplaceofthefuture daily log 5200

The homeplaceofthefuture has been a busy place these past few weeks with trips, trips and more trips. Events, conferences, in-person meetings all seem to pop up at the same time and I’ve had to play eeny meany miny mo for where to go and who else could go in my place – last I checked most of us can’t be in 2 or 3 places at once and if you can be please reach out to me, I’ve got an opportunity of a lifetime.
 
In-between these bursts of activity and having to be presentable in my non-homeplaceofthefuture uniform, I have been deliberate in getting up more and being active….and I hope you have been too. In September I felt my age and then to get these health updates around my bloodwork I have been determined to mix up my working from home routine. Averaging 8000 steps a day and eating way less meat, how much is way less? Let’s just say I have cried at some work dinners where I’ve gotten the chicken or fish vs. the steak. First world problems I know, but boy is it tough!
 
Let’s cover one last piece of the health puzzle and it is social. Working from home is isolating. Most of my conversations all day are directly related to work and much less about sports, technology or really anything not related to work. The longer and longer I sit at home I am finding that I really like my home and I’m grumpy when I have to leave – there is a comfort that has set in and a sense of being bothered when I have to be presentable. I am so used to getting my job done in my space, in my uniform and with my pets at my feet that the thought of going anywhere makes me question the why. 
 
In the early years of the homeplaceofthefuture there was definitely a dark spurt of never leaving and feeling sorry for myself – I know this is common for all of us. Once you realize it, you have to make some changes and that includes going somewhere. Mrs. Homeplaceofthefuture never lets me pass up a guy’s game night or a tap takeover at the local bar – anytime there is an invite to go somewhere socially I have an encouraging spouse that says GO! Does it mean I go out all the time? Absolutely not, but I find that just having something in the books every other week is good enough for me socially during the week to branch out. Other homeplaceofthefuture folks I know will go out to dinner almost nightly just to get out of the house – whatever you need to do to get out of the house and ideally be with other people is encouraged.
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• Does being social help with cholesterol? Doubtful.
• Does being social help with stress? Depends on what kind of people you’re with?
• Does being social help, me stay skinny? See first question above.
• Does being social help with hygiene? Yes, you took a shower I hope
• Does being social help me realize there is still a life outside of my home office? YES

 
Pretty simple concepts here from a pretty simple guy who works from home. Go for a walk, eat less meat and for God’s sake take a shower and hang out with some people.

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4812

Something they don't tell you when you get a virtual job is that you'll be sitting a lot. Oh sure there's flexibility, productivity and some freedoms, but all of that is tied to a computer and/or headset. Occasionally I look down at myself wearing the same clothes, sitting in the same chair, deleting the same emails and talking to the same clients and wonder what am I doing here and why am I still sitting!

After 4812 days of working from home (give or take a few years).....I proactively went to my doctor today with the results of some bloodwork and years of sitting. I was given no drugs, which was fine with me, but I walked away with a brochure called "Improving Your Cholesterol with Diet & Exercise"

So there is it kids.....you work from home, you continually battle the inbox and fight those urgent emails and you get high cholesterol. My doctor said all my numbers in my bloodwork can be attributed to sitting down all day, but there has been some progress with my purposeful calendar invite to go outside and move (see previous posts).

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4774

Let's talk about movements. Have you made a movement yet today? Where am I going with this?

Starting this week I've decided to move more often usual. No longer will my Fitbit only say 667 steps taken in one day, I'm going all out and lacing up my shoes and going walking. That's the kind of movement we're talking about here and it's very important that we are more active than our workplaceofthepast (in-office) colleagues because let's face it - somedays it's the walk of shame to the pantry, to the home office and to the bathroom. All those trips for me can add up to less than 1,000 steps a day and no I'm not exaggerating.

At this point I'm starting small, just a few more "movements" than usual with the goal of building out a habit of consistency. Today it's 3500 steps, tomorrow it could be a walking desk. The key is movement!