Think this topic doesn’t belong on a domaining blog?
Think again.
This is something that affects all of you because what most domainers don’t understand is that from a health perspective, what we do for a living is quite dangerous. It may sound weird since, after all, it’s not like we’re involved in extreme sports, activities which involve explosions and so on.
In those cases sure, the threat is obvious.
Injuring yourself during a training session, as a result of a workplace-related accident and so on.
When it comes to domaining, running online businesses or let’s call them sedentary occupations in general, the threat is more subtle and it’s precisely why you should pay more attention to this topic.
We often say things like “I’m too busy to go for a walk today, maybe tomorrow” and it turns into a vicious circle as a result of which we end up losing out across all areas of our life.
On the one hand, our health can and will deteriorate.
On the other hand, our productivity can and will be way below its real potential as well. Try an experiment. Eat very healthy food for a week, go for a walk each day and try to be as active as possible. You’ll notice something interesting: a very powerful productivity boost.
At least in my case, that’s the way things stand. Staying in shape has not only positive health consequences but positive consequences when it comes to productivity as well. It’s actually quite ironic how people don’t get in shape because they’re too busy without realizing that in the long run, their productivity could skyrocket if they adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Now I’m not saying you should go overboard to the point of becoming addicted, not at all. A few healthy habits can and do make a difference. Going for a walk each day, using the stairs as opposed to the elevator whenever you’re in an apartment building, shopping center and so on, all of these things add up if you do them on a regular basis over an extended period of time.
My conclusion is simple: do everything you can to stay in shape because if you don’t, your sedentary lifestyle will undoubtedly take its toll on your health. If you’re not careful and constantly use the “I’m too busy” excuse, your quality of life will gradually deteriorate and ironically, you’ll get considerably less done in the long run due to less than optimal productivity levels.
February 11th, 2014 at 5:21 pm
I would recommend to anyone interested in boosting fitness levels to do some research on high intensity interval training.
February 11th, 2014 at 6:13 pm
Walking won’t do it. If you don’t walk you die. High intensity interval training and you get to live. Amazing what you can accomplish when your body helps you towards your goals instead of fighting you. Ask Sweetman
February 11th, 2014 at 11:19 pm
@Leonard Britt and Shane: I agree with you guys but please keep in mind that quite a few of the people who are reading this are severely out of shape. Starting out with HIIT might therefore not be the best approach.
I’d say walking more and developing healthy habits such as using the stairs as opposed to the elevator is a decent enough starting point. Then people can take things one step further by adding brisk walking (walking at a faster pace) to their routine. Brisk walking is quite fascinating and there are reasons to believe it’s just as healthy or even healthier than running.
There was a study last year, reported in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology involving 33,000 runners and about half as many brisk walkers. These people were followed over a period of 6 years and the conclusion was that brisk walking might actually provide more “bang for your buck” than running (traditional running, if you will, not high intensity interval training).
And of course, people can start adding HIIT (also a fascinating concept) to their routine when they’re ready but in my opinion, for a person who is severely out of shape like many domainers most likely are, I think small but permanent habit changes represent a good starting point.