04 Sep Avoiding writer’s butt
Health tips for copywriters
Writer’s butt. Copywriter chub. Freelancer fat.
Whatever you call it, the risk of not taking care of your health as a work-from-home copywriter is real. There’s no walking as part of your commute. Lunch breaks can become two Tim Tams and half a pack of chips eaten while standing at the pantry door willing a healthy meal to magically appear by itself.
So how can you banish those keyboard kilojoules?
Strategy 1: These boots were made for walking
When you work in an office, there’s often lots of incidental walking as part of your day. When I used to commute, there was the walk to and from the bus stop at either end of the journey, walking to get a coffee or lunch, walking to client meetings at nearby offices, and just generally walking around the office to chat to colleagues, make a cup of tea, go to the loo etc.
But working from home, I need to make a conscious effort to get up and move. Here’s some of the tips that work for me:
- Walk the kids to school. They whinge, but it’s good for them too.
- Jogging on the spot while waiting for the kettle to boil rather than scrolling through Facebook on my phone.
- Get a dog. Even my lazy dog needs a gentle stroll around the block once a day.
Strategy 2: Start as you mean to go on
What’s the saying? The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And so it goes with your good intentions to get your exercise in “later in the day.” Next thing you know, you’ve had five client calls in quick succession, that deadline is looming, school pick up is in one hour and 27 minutes, and going for a walk is the last thing that’s going to happen.
Look, I know that it’s nice and cosy in bed and getting up early is kind of crap. But it’s the easiest way I know to make sure that exercise happens before life railroads your plans. Sorry.
Strategy 3: Everything is more fun with a friend
Since it seems that writer’s butt isn’t a phenomenon that only effects me, a bunch of my copywriting chums from The Clever Copywriting Community have banded together this year to attempt the Steptember challenge. Steptember is a fundraiser for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, with participants aiming for 10000 steps each day. In the past, this is something that I’ve found difficult to do, but already the motivation that comes from being part of a team is really helping!
If you want to help spur us on and motivate us further, you can throw a few dollars our way here.
Fighting writer’s butt in Steptember
What are your best tips for getting up and moving when you work from home?
Let me know your ideas in the comments.
