Is adulting bad for our health?
Over the last 6 years, the word "responsibilities" has taken over my life.
Q: What time is it?
A: Responsibilities
Q: What are you doing later?
A: Responsibilities 😐
Adult indie hackers would know that on top of our job, family, bills, chores, etc, we have to fight to find time for personal projects. But what about our health? In 2014 I consciously stopped going to the gym/exercising and decided to put all my money and time into education. I wasn't making much money and I reasoned that learning to code would put me in a much better place financially. The result? It totally worked! I moved from a junior WordPress Web Developer to a Software Engineer with a decent jump in salary, but there's more.
I also thought I'd be able to get back on the exercise train after 2 years, but boy was I wrong! It took 6 years of being slapped in the face by "responsibilities" and a COVID19 pandemic (which literally gave me nothing else to do) for me to rebuild a somewhat consistent exercise habit - 4 months and counting.
I had to sacrifice 6 years of my health in order to get to where I am now and while I feel like it was worth it, I don't think I would've have restarted exercising if I didn't already form the habit earlier on in life.
So how about other indie hackers out there? Is exercise and staying healthy even a consideration? If any of you have managed to find time in the day for it (without a global pandemic) I'd love to hear your secret. Cheers!
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I make exercise a priority despite not always being so excited to do it. One of the motivations for me is that I'll have time to listen to a podcast, audiobook, or music.
It helps me if I keep my goals small, such as telling myself I only need to bike for X amount of time or do Y amount of exercises and giving myself the option to stop there or do more.
I really need to exercise more but it’s so easy to skip.
This is something I've struggled with for years. I've found that doing something fun that can also count as exercise helped a lot. (This way it doesn't feel like a chore) For example, I've always been interested in boxing so now I take a virtual boxing class every Saturday. I actually look forward to this even though the training is really intense!
Also doing a bit of pre-planning on what you're going to workout today helps. That way, when the time comes to workout, you don't have to also scramble through google/youtube to find a program.
Thanks Imanuel, some good ideas!
I just went on a run because of your post, it had been a while but it felt good 😊
That's awesome! 🙌 You just took a great first step, and I hope you find time to go on more runs in the future! Just remember how good this one felt if you need some motivation.
Feeling guilty? Haha I also feel so...
You need to make space for other things apart from your responsibilities. Exercising and staying healthy is one of those important things. While I saying that, I have found the COVID-19 situation has made it hard for me to stay motivated as I'm not getting as much from my workouts as I normally do.
Is it because you can't go to the gym anymore? It different for me because I now have more time during the day to actually work out so during COVID I'm working out more than usual. Maybe the gym is your mental cue to go harder and you can't fully replace that with home workouts.
I used to play rugby but the team does not exist anymore. I hate gyms ...haven't done exercise since 2016.
I ditched the car and I walk to work...
I also have responsibilities, daughter, wife, own house and full job.
You ditched your car!!?! That must've been a tough decision.
😅 yeah..i live on an island where you do not really need it if you don't live really far... and is everything near here.
We kept my wife's to take our daughter to work...
For me exercise is important, but it's easy to down prioritize it to make room for a project outside of all other responsibilities you have.
I find it easier to head to the gym as the last thing I do during a day. When the clock hits around 10 in the evening I head over to the gym. It makes me feel like I've been productive, and done what I need to do. I do also try to make shortcuts where I can, instead of cooking every evening I prepare several meals in one cooking session. I always do 10 minutes of tidying at home as soon as I arrive home, in the end I feel that is more effective then cleaning once a week.
Working out 3 times a week allows me to do the household chores on my off-days. So Mon, Wed, and Sat are training days. Tue, Thurs, and Sun are for cooking and household chores (I also cook enough for more than one day). Friday is doing absolutely nothing, lazing around and being a couch potato. (very important lol)
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If you manage to do all that while working a day job, fulfilling family responsibilities, and working on your side projects, you sir, have my applause! 👏
I totally agree with your point on the science of exercise and productivity however. I've heard some people complain that they are more tired then they exercise but I've realized recently that I have a LOT more energy whenever I work out!
My mind is also sharper and it relives the day's stress as well.
P.S. I think Elon could lose a few pounds.