Blogging is time consuming, especially as a full time blogger. Most of the time is spent sitting in front of a computer screen writing articles, churning out ideas and content, checking, updating and engaging on all your social media accounts, sometimes looking for events and places to go to that relate to the blog and of more importance researching ways on anything and everything that pertains to blogging.
Sitting down for too long being the main activity, this poses a major health concern to the longevity of your life. Research has shown that people who sit for too long face a higher risk of obesity, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels. Sitting down for too long also seems to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Although this is scary, we cannot avoid sitting down for very long hours since our blogging will be at a disadvantage especially if most of ones income comes from the blog. We can however find ways to reduce the amount of hours we sit down for too long and instead create activities that will reduce the chances of us posing a major risk to our health.
The idea is to move more often and engage in mobile activities though out the day.
Here are 5 things you can do to reduce the amount of hours you sit down on a daily basis also described as the sitting disease.
- Stand while talking on the phone
Answering a call is very easy and requires no effort. Unless you consider lifting your arm too much effort. More often than not, we choose to sit, relax and answer the call. The conversation may be long or short depending on the subject. Consider standing and pacing as you answer all your calls. This will reduce the number of hours you sit during the day as you work.
- Take the stairs
If you work or live in a building that has elevators, you tend to be more reluctant to using the stairs. Take the stairs as often as possible. This is good for not only reducing your sitting period but also helps your cardiovascular system and also burns more calories.
- Set short breaks
When we have a lot of work that needs to be completed in the shortest time possible, we forget (or choose to forget) to take breaks. This is not good for your health. In fact, it is very harmful for your long term well-being.
Plan your work from the moment you wake up and schedule breaks in between. The breaks could be focused more on taking short walks around the office or at home, depending on where you work. You could also do short exercises for even 5 minutes. Eating as you walk could also be included in the scheduled breaks.
Remember to not overschedule your life and compromise your health.
- Have meeting walks with colleagues
Meetings are always inevitable. To avoid the normal sit down, take a walk with your colleagues especially when the weather is conducive for walking. Walking increases your mental activity and will eventually generate more ideas. This is a plus for not just your physical being but also your mental being.
- Pack your car further away from your destination
Or use the longest route to your destination. This will definitely counteract the time you sit down in a day. The muscle activity needed for walking seems to trigger important processes related to the breakdown of fats and sugars within the body resulting to a healthy lifestyle.
Even as you focus on buiding your brand as a blogger, it is important to also consider your well-being.