Making Exercise Part of Your Everyday Routine

If you're anything like the average American, you may not be getting all the exercise you need for a healthy lifestyle. The American Heart Associationrecommends adults get at least 75 minutes of vigorous exercise or 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. Meantime, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends undertaking moderate or high-intensity muscle-strengthening activities, like using weights or resistance bands, two or more days a week.

Yet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports less than half of adults meet these aerobic recommendations, and barely 20 percent get both aerobic and muscle conditioning workouts in regularly. With long hours at work, taking care of the kids and little leftover time to socialize with friends and family, it's no wonder exercise doesn't receive high priority.

Exercise doesn't just help you look fit and firm; it improves mood, sleep, sexual activity and energy levels, in addition to helping prevent the risk of stroke, arthritis, type 2 diabetes, depression, cancer and falls, according to the Mayo Clinic. Use these tips to give exercise the preferential treatment it deserves.

Hold Yourself Accountable

A study by Dominican University of California found that more than 70 percent of participants who updated a friend every week about their exercise and weight-loss goals reported success compared to the 35 percent of those who didn't share their goals or write them down.

While recording your goals could become burdensome, smart devices focused on fitness, like the Apple Watch Sport, allow you to view progress on daily goals related to moving, exercising and standing. Since wearable technology measures your every movement, you can more accurately gauge your fitness progress beyond the scale and be inspired by every victory.

Make Exercise Fun

"Exercise is boring" is not a valid excuse for being a couch potato. Whether you enjoy being one with nature or enjoy pairing music with aerobic movement, exercises such as hiking, dancing and yoga offer plenty of enjoyable ways to burn calories and strengthen muscles. If weight lifting intimidates you, make it more approachable by taking a class at a local gym that plays energetic music and gives explicit guidance. Or, use an app or video featuring a trainer you can relate to for direction.

Grab a workout buddy to get moving. This allows you to still have a social life but participate in an activity that benefits your body, rather than overloading it with harmful calories from fatty foods or alcohol at a meal or happy hour.

This One Trick Makes It Easier To Work Out On The Road

I was talking with a coach of mine about how to get workouts in while traveling. He told me about a mind game he plays, and I have found it to work very well. Instead of writing "Workout" on my task list, I now write "Movement."

The subtle difference? In my mind a "Workout" is a specific kind of activity, and I can often say "I don't have my equipment with me," or "I don't have time to do a full workout," so I end up skipping it. However, "Movement" is very liberating - it could be a 10 minute walk, a longer jog, a hike, or anything else the is convenient at the time. Give it a try and see if this trick helps you.

Exercise Without Knowing It

Making small, incremental changes that get you more active is an easy way to naturally progress to a healthier lifestyle. Think about how you can incorporate more exercise into your daily life, including:

• Bike or walk to the grocery store
• Walk around your office to avoid long periods of sitting
• Stand rather than sit at social gatherings
• Take a 10-minute walk with your dog
• Walk a few blocks to a food cart, or bring your lunch and walk to the park to eat it
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Park far away from the door of the mall or store when you go shopping
• Carry your luggage through the airport instead of rolling it on its wheels

Stay motivated to continue your healthy lifestyle by setting up rewards when you accomplish your goals. Think about the money you will save on future medical bills by avoiding the instinct to super size your fast food meal. Instead, treat yourself to a massage to soothe the muscles you've worked.

Avoid hitting plateaus by trying new fitness routines that keep exercise interesting. Be grateful for taking the time to give your body the respect it deserves, and watch how the extra energy from exercising uplifts you and gives you more time to accomplish goals and pursue hobbies.

The Benefits of Writing By Hand

Many traditions just aren't appreciated like they once were. Technology has changed the way people communicate, interact and play. So why wouldn't it change the way people learn too? College, high school, and even intermediate classrooms have integrated computers, in part because more time outside of the classroom is spent on computers or mobile devices. But the benefits of hand written notes do have some advantages. Handwriting is important, even in this digital age.

Notes By Hand vs Laptop

While most students can type much faster than they can write by hand, this doesn't mean it's a better way to take notes. While it's true that people who take notes with a laptop will, on average, take more notes than those who write notes by hand, there is a difference in memory retention that is reliant on the medium the notes are taken in. According to the Scientific American three experiments were done by Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer that tested different aspects of the handwritten word. In one study they had half the subjects take notes on a lesson with laptops and the other half take notes with pen and paper. While those with pen and paper took considerably fewer notes, they nevertheless showed a stronger conceptual understanding of the material. They were also more successful when asked to apply said knowledge.

I sometimes take notes by hand, and sometimes on my computer, and I've noticed that I retain and recall information from handwritten notes better, even when I don't go back and review the notes. I am not sure how much of that has to do with my bias toward visual learning, or whether there is something about how handwriting a note engages my brain - I just know it works well.

Verbatim vs Conceptual

Those who use computers for notes typically take down larger portions of information, mainly in verbatim chunks, because of the ability to take notes so much faster than those who take notes by hand. However, Mueller, via The Atlantic, said, “The people who were taking notes on the laptops don’t have to be judicious in what they write down," which causes some problems in retention. Those who write by hand simply don't have time for verbatim notes, and because of this, must conceptualize and write down ideas in their own language. This helps people internalize ideas instead of simply listen to them.

While notes by laptop should hardly be discouraged in the classroom , K-12 teachers should encourage handwriting whenever possible. For instance, word search puzzles help young students spot patterns, recognize words and practice handwriting.

In the workplace, handwritten notes are always fine, but I believe you can map the type of note taking (digital or handwritten) to the kind of meeting or notes. If I need to have a detailed account of a meeting, or if I know I'll need to share it with others, I gravitate to digital note taking using OneNote or Confluence. Examples of those meetings are status meetings, technical meetings, or project working sessions.

If the notes are more for my own use, or to capture concepts and ideas, I tend to use handwritten notes. I also take handwritten notes when a computer might interfere with the mood of the meeting. Examples of meetings where I take handwritten notes include  idea generation / creative sessions, customer "discovery" meetings, and listening to speeches or lectures.

Other Benefits

While notes by hand help people retain and conceptualize information more accurately, there are a host of other benefits. Writing by hand soothes people. Cursive connects the left and right side of the brain, and for young children, handwriting boosts cognitive skills that technology-aided writing doesn't. For older people, it keeps the mind sharp and some psychologists even believe it improves memory over time.

Perhaps the most basic, yet one of the most important perks of the written word is that a pen and paper limits distractions when you write. For young students with already short attention spans, this focus can be invaluable in the course of their education, and for older students, even those in college, the lack of social media may be painful, but ultimately helpful.

I've been doing a lot more journaling lately, and I get different results when I type and when I write thoughts out by hand. Like with note taking, I go back & forth between digital and analog journaling.

Practice and Improve

A couple of things can get in the way when you start taking more handwritten notes: if you're out of practice, you may have lousy handwriting and you may not be able to write very quickly.

Both of these can improve through practice. A friend of mine gave me a practice drill that works really welll:

• Get a legal pad and a pen, and start watching a TV show.
• Concentrate on one character, and try to write down everything that character says, doing your best to keep up.
• After you get the hang of the content aspect of this note taking, begin to focus more on your handwriting - strive for clear, legible writing.
• When you get really good at taking notes on one person's dialog, you can up your game by trying to record the dialog of two people.

This exercise can help you if you practice regularly (a couple of hours per week, for example).

CardNinja is a great minimalist tool

As the year begins, I am looking for ways to move gradually toward a more minimalist lifestyle. I recently ran across an item that can help - it's called the CardNinja and it is designed to add a wallet-like pocket on the back of your smartphone so you can slim down what you carry.

The CardNinja attaches to the back of your phone (or directly to your phone case) with some strong, yet safe adhesive. It holds fast, but can be removed without damaging your phone or leaving behind a sticky residue.

CardNinja has a flexible (stretchy) pouch on it and will hold 6-8 cards and some folded cash without interfering with the use of your phone. The profile is slim, so you can still put your phone in your pocket or purse and barely notice that the CardNinja is on there. Check out my gallery for some pictures.

I started out with a sort of teal-colored version and just ordered a black one so it will blend in a bit more in a business environment (there is a wide variety of color and designs to choose from).

It you're looking to slim down what you carry and possibly do away with your wallet, check out the CardNinja.

Life Over Work: How You Can Balance Your Lifestyle

Stress can often times feel suffocating. It destroys relationships with both friends and family, and can leave you uninspired, and even hopeless. Don't let the stresses of work take over your life. With some simple steps you can detach your mind and body from work so that you can live a simpler, less stressful life when you go home to your family.

Make Home Feel Like Home

Don't let your home become a work space. That's what your office is for. Don't let your house become cluttered with projects, papers, invoices, and documents. These work-related items are constant reminders of what you've worked on or what you need to do tomorrow and in the coming weeks. With those reminders come stress and the thought of the future or past. Stay in the present by eliminating these reminders.

Boundaries and compartmentalizing things can help, as well. When I used to work from home, I used a spare bedroom as an office. This helped in a couple of ways - first, I was able to keep all my work-related stuff in that room so it didn't intrude into the rest of the house. Second, it provided a physical boundary that helped enforce the separation - when I went into that room, I was "at work" and when I left I was "at home." That kept me from working all the time, and also helped my family because they knew when I was available for home things and when I wasn't. Tricks like this help ensure that you feel at home when you aren't supposed to be working. 

If home still doesn't relax you, consider treating yourself to an act of self appreciation. Live a little with a gourmet gift basketfull of chocolates, cookies, or even some spa accessories, if you're a fan of baths.

De-stress Your Schedule

Most people don't schedule in downtime. Their daily planners or Google Calendars are filled with appointments, deadlines and obligations. Nowhere does it say spend a night out, or relax with a drink and watch a movie, or simply read. Schedule time for your hobbies, interests, time with the kids, or even volunteering. Selfless acts such as this can make you feel like something larger, and take your mind off the negative aspects of your own life.

More Meditation

Balance doesn't mean an equal amount of work and relaxation. Balance is achieved within the mind as much as with your schedule and actions. Meditation is a skill that can be learned and when learned is a practice of acceptance of the way things are, rather than the way you wish things were. A healthy habit of meditation, especially when you first wake in the morning, can start your day off right so you lead a more balanced day, even while at work. Studies have concluded those who meditate often respond better to stress, both physically and mentally.

I used to think that meditation was not for me, and was skeptical of its value. That has changed and I'm now a convert. Meditation isn't some new-age, religious kind of thing to me - it is a great way to slow down, focus, and mentally recharge.

If you're skeptical about meditation, or simply don't know where to start, Headspace is an accessible and friendly place to start with a free 10 day trial that introduces the basics of meditation. If you find this isn't enough, there is a subscription option that unlocks a plethora of guided meditations that focus on everything from stress and anxiety to creativity and relationships.

Exercise

Physical activity is proven to relieve stress. It pumps up your endorphins, which make you feel better and be generally happier. Exercise can take many forms. While the feel-good endorphins exercise releases are known as a runner's high, any exercise can give you the same effect. This includes a game of soccer, some ultimate-Frisbee, or a brisk, 20-minute walk around the block. Of course exercise is always more fun with a friend. Seek encouragement and partnership if motivation is a large obstacle for you - a workout buddy not only makes things more fun, it introduces some peer pressure that makes it more likely you actually go out and do something.

From my posts here, you may also realize that I'm a fan of exercise tracking gadgets. Not only do they help you track exercise and sleep, many of them can also notice when you've been sedentary for too long and remind you to get up, get out, and move around. That is a great way to make sure you don't get too focused on work and forget to take care of your physical health.

What about you - have you discovered techniques that help you lead a more balanced life? Leave a comment with your insights.

Can't afford a standing desk? Build your own for under $22

Lately, I hear about standing desks all the time - from podcasts, random conversations, and so forth. Recently, I started using one at work (we have a bunch of the ones from Varidesk at our office), and I love having the ability to stand up while working, particularly on conference calls.

If a standing desk sounds interesting to you, but you don't want to break the bank, here is a great option: build it yourself!

I got a tip about this from another person located in Portland, who kindly sent me a link to this infographic. Enjoy! If you decide to do this, let us know how you like the results.

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