A Fit Place For Blogging #writebravely
I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #6‘.
7 prompts for 7 days.
Day 3
I am playing catch up as a whirlwind trip to Mumbai derailed my train of thoughts and blog posts 🙂
The day three (7 Aug/Mon) prompt was: Feature a map and write about a place either real or virtual. I am tweaking it a bit and writing about my ideal place and ways of blogging to stay fit and healthy.
DON’T BLOG SITTING DOWN
Invest in a high table and stand in front of it and blog away. Stay fit, feel good and have more energy throughout the day.
I have this adjustable laptop cooling table (Foldable) I placed it on the dining table and voila, a tall desk for writing standing up. 🙂
There is an interesting article, Stand up while you read this, by Olivia Judson. The opening line is, ‘your chair is your enemy’.
Another article, The truth behind standing desks, was an eye opener for me. Although the calories burnt while standing is negligible compared to sitting down, it lists potential health benefits of a standing desk.
TAKE REGULAR BREAKS
Set a reminder on your phone and take a mini break every hour to move about to avoid leg cramps/aches from standing. It helps if the ringtone is on the lines of ‘Bhaag Milkha…’ or
MULTITASK
Put in a load of laundry in the washing machine while you mull over the elusive plot of your story. Stir fry the vegetables during the time your fictional character thinks of ways to gate crash a party.
DANCE WHILE YOU WRITE
I do that. I had taken the ball room dance course at the Naval Officers Institute in Goa a long time back. The week-long course was taught by The Vasco Alvares School of Dance, then. My husband had been posted at the Naval Air Base, I.N.S Hansa at Vasco, Goa in the year ’97. I wanted the pilot in him to put his feet firmly on the ground and just dance with me :). Recalling happy incidents from the past brings a smile on our faces and fills our present with joy too. Though the hubby is too busy with his career to dance with me, I keep trying to do the waltz/fox trot alone, while thinking about all the fun we had learning to dance. It keeps me moving and releases endorphins that in a way help my creative process.
GREET EVERYONE WITH A SMILE
When you are sitting down and writing, getting up to open the door when someone rings the bell is a task. But when you are standing and typing, you walk across to the front door with a smile, thankful for a break in the routine and a welcome chance to stretch your legs. The postal worker, courier person, sales people and even your relatives and friends don’t dread your gloomy and negative disposition. You gain more smiles than frowns 🙂
References-
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/stand-up-while-you-read-this/
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-truth-behind-standing-desks-2016092310264
More Reading-
http://streamlinerg.com/blog/pros-cons-standing-desks/
I have listed my reasons for blogging while standing, what are your thoughts on the same? I would love to read how you prefer to write?
By Sulekha Rawat
I believed that sitting comfortably would relax and make you think/write better. But your post has busted some beliefs. I do take breaks, I move around and do some chores and then come back to the laptop. It helps immensely!
We must see you dance next time when we meet. Dance cannot feature in my writing time because I have 2 left feet! 😀
And yes, smiles can do wonders not only for the other person but for us too!
Great pointers, Sulekha.
Shilpa, try dancing. I have two left feet too 🙂 The idea is to have fun while writing. Walking enhances creativity, read somewhere:)
You took dancing classes! That sounds awesome. It must be fun to watch you blog and dance all at the same time. These are great tips for bloggers, specially when they spend a lot of time sitting down at one place.
I have a framed certificate:) I was putting on weight sitting down and writing. This helps and I write faster because I want to rest after I finish writing 🙂
This is something I never thought of Sulekha – standing and writing. I do take breaks and multi-task, probably in between these breaks and multi-tasking, I manage to blog. Dancing and me, simply not happening!
Try it, Kala. Your name is so creative:) There are standing desks online, even fabindia
Hey Su share some dance moves or better still next time we meet, you are teaching them to us 😉
I cant imagine writing standing up – it looks too uncomfortable in my head so I am going to take your word for it. I agree with the short breaks and multitasking to not stay glued to the desk!!
Jive, cha cha cha 🙂 my brother had started working standing up and told me about it a few years ago but I didn’t think of trying it then. Just thought of doing it now and seeing how I feel.
Not something I had thought of, though once I did a piece on writing habits of famous authors and found some who wrote while standing up – Hemingway, Nabaokov, Lewis Carroll to name some. So that’s proof that you;re right. I like to sit, though my favourite nooks keep changing through the day. Dancing while writing sounds even better.
Tulika, will try and read your piece on writers. As I grow older I try new things, standing while writing is one such thing 🙂