You know what I hate? I hate getting out of bed. Even if I have an exciting day planned — the first day of vacation, breakfast out, a light work load — I would rather doze away the morning and get up when I feel like it. I am LAZY and I admit it. But one of the best things you can do for yourself is get up in the morning and take a walk. Seriously, just typing that makes me think of cool, soft pillows and warm, but not too warm, sheets.
If you do a lot of computer work when you work at home, it's easy to get lost in what you're doing and only get up to go to the bathroom or get a cup of coffee. There isn't any co-worker to chit-chat with, or someone else's desk to walk over to to check on a project or share a bit of gossip with. But remember, now that you're working at home, you have the flexibility to get that breath of air whenever you want.
Even as I’m walking, I’m thinking about the work I have to do or the exciting things coming for the day. But after awhile I feel the way my body is working, I smell the air (even if I’m walking downtown), and the articulation of my spine and limbs makes me focus on what I’m doing. It makes me focus on how I’m alive. And, to be honest, it makes me feel just a little bit superior to people who aren’t doing anything.
And that’s a good way to start the day. I don’t always take my own advice (who does?), but if you haven’t gotten up out of bed and taken a walk, try it. Even just going up and down the stairs three times in your apartment building will make your thighs twitch a little bit when you’re done. Then you can start the day feeling like you’ve done something. When you work a home, you need to take it where you can get it — whether “it” is exercise, time on your own, paid work or leisure time. Your walk doesn’t have to be with just the right shoes in a park or a wooded trail. Walk around the block. Walk up and down your stairs. Walk up and down your driveway — no, seriously, who cares? You’re doing something, you’re moving your blood, and the rest of day, you’ll get a payoff from it. Who knows — you might even get up and do it tomorrow, too.
