Wind-up overworked employeeIf you’ve read my About me page, you’ll know that one of the reason’s I came out of IM a few years ago was because of the health issues I was suffering after spending so many hours/days/months etc sat in front of a computer.

I was reminded of this last night when I was doing a training session on Back Care for the volunteers at our church (I used to be a back care advisor in my previous life) and thought it was probably a good topic to write something on as it’s so important.

Funnily enough and despite my having back problems through so many years spent in nursing, it was never my back as such that caused my problems. (I was always pretty careful from that aspect). My problems were caused by sheer exhaustion, I had a full time demanding offline job and a successful business online. The problem was I loved doing both and ended up over the years ruining my health by burning the candle at both ends. Now I try to be a lot more careful. it can be incredibly tempting to fall back into old bad habits, but I try and structure my day so I’m not working for too many hours. (And night time is sacrosanct family time)!

So how do you get past the problems of sitting in front of a computer?

It’s simple really, you do it in bite sized pieces!!

Sitting in front of a computer without a break can be deadly, (I speak from experience), so it’s really important you structure your day carefully so you’re not sitting for hours on end without taking a break.

Here’s how I do it!! 

* I hate exercising, I’m sure my daughter was swapped at birth because she’s an exercise freak and is always at the gym, but I recognised part of my problem (if not most) last time was I didn’t get enough exercise, so I joined the gym a few months ago. Tracey (my daughter) does moan a tad because she insists lounging in the jacuzzi isn’t exercise though I do try to get the energy up to do at least ten lengths swimming, The other night when I went I just went straight in the Jacuzzi and she found out, I swear she has people spying on me!!

The thought of running a treadmill is exhausting in itself and who wants to stand on a treadmill next to some bloke running like crazy with sweat flying all over (Ugh). Anyway I go swimming about three times a week in the evening after hubby has gone to bed. It may not be much but its a lot more than I used to do (and I can feel the benefits),

* I structure my day. For example, I did an hours housework before I sat down at the computer this morning (I hate working online when I know it needs doing), and as soon as I’ve written this post I’m going to take the dog for a walk and post a letter, then I have a lunch date with some friends. I’ll sit back down for a couple of hours later this afternoon and do some more work, then I plan on tackling some ironing that’s been looking at me woefully for the past few days. I’ll probably do another hour or so before I cook dinner and finish for the evening.

* I also pick my grandkids up from school a couple of days a week and we often go off doing something involving swimming, going to the park or watching Adam my grandson slay something on his Xbox!

* I work one or two days a week as a nurse. For many folks the idea of working from home full time is awesome but I’m someone who craves company. I hate the thought of sitting at home day after day only able to speak to others online. When I retired three years ago I lasted exactly a month before I cracked and joined the nursing bank at our local hospital, (I love it). I wouldnt want to go back to working full time though.

It’s a quick peek into my daily life and it’s all mundane stuff but it breaks my day up nicely so I’m not sitting for long periods at the computer, and surprisingly or not, I still get oodles of work done. In fact I’m probably a lot more productive.

If you’re lucky enough, you will have periods of time when you are going to be really busy, launches etc, its just a case of remembering to shift from in front of the computer every so often even if it’s only to make a coffee and/or go for a walk.

You may be surprised to discover taking an hour or so for yourself and your family isn’t going to make a huge amount of difference to your biz but it will make a huge difference to your health.

Don’t make the mistake of concentrating so hard on your business that you lose other aspects of your life. It’s great  having pots of money coming in from a successful business, but would suck if you’re to ill or dead to spend it!

Till next time…


    2 replies to "Are you looking after your health whilst online…"

    • Pauline

      Hi Kim, I think you must be aiming this post at me.

      I spend nearly all my waking hours at the computer, and it has got me NO WHERE.
      Maybe I should take more breaks but my blog is not drawing in traffic at the moment and I just don’t know why.

      Anyway,following your advice, I will now stop and go for a walk around the garden now that the thunderstorm has passed over.

      Thank you for your post
      Take care
      Pauline

    • kimstanderline

      Hi Pauline

      I think its probably aimed at everyone who spends much of their working day online 🙂

      Hope you’re keeping it up

      Cheers
      Kim

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