The boots were made for etc
Sep 27
I’ve been working from home again for almost two months now, and the temptation to turn into a mindless slob who spends all of his time staring mindlessly at a glowing computer screen is so strong, I’ve recently begun forcing myself to get up and go for a walk. Sure, I walk up to the shops with my little Thermos mug and get a large takeway cappuccino ever morning, but I’m talking about a decent, mile-munching late afternoon/early evening leg-stretcher.
And what a difference it makes. After a day at the coal face—others may call it a 15 inch Mac LCD screen of course—there’s nothing more mind- and lung-expanding than striding about the back streets of your neighbourhood for half an hour. I’ll put some good walking music on the shuffle (today happened to be Turin Brakes, Coldplay, Spain and Aimee Mann) and head off in my chosen direction. Slowly I’m forcing myself to remember to get a good whiff of the flowers I pass, or register the tasty smells of what people are cooking for their evening meal. I’ll stop and say hello to the odd friendly cat. And in just a few minutes I’ve forgotten about the design I’m working on and my senses take over and give my brain a rest.
I highly recommend it. But you may have other ways of rewinding after a long day’s work, especially those of you who work from home. What are they?
Sep 28, 2005 @ 11:06:01
What a lovely thing to read. My saving grace is grabbing an apple (the crunchy kind) and going for a walk too. As it’s getting warmer, soon it will be: grab towel, ride bike to beach, have glorious swim, lie in hot sand for a few minutes, return to honey and kids feeling uplifted.
Sep 28, 2005 @ 11:52:56
It’s good to have a dog that demands a walk, too.
So the Shuffle has come out of the cupboard again!
Sep 28, 2005 @ 17:43:52
Yes, it’s finally getting some use – then again this whole episode could just be a sneaky way of convincing myself I need a iPod nano …
Sep 28, 2005 @ 17:47:07
That sounds wonderful Annie. When I lived in Bronte near the beach I’d often walk the coast path to Bondi and back in the mornings – what a mind-clearer that was, the sheer cliffs, the horizon line and the smell of the ocean. A late afternoon swim at Bronte was pretty amazing too, though for some strange reason, I did these things less and less the more I lived there …
Sep 28, 2005 @ 22:48:23
‘Need’ an iPod nano? Hmmm.
Sep 29, 2005 @ 00:57:54
I’d hardly be doing a convincing job convincing myself if I just ‘wanted’ it, now would I?