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keeping fit kind of tip.

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nudone:
i recently bought an exercise bike at the beginning of the DC GTD experiment with the hope that i'd be able to use it without giving in after a week.

thankfully, i'm still using it but i have only just started to not hate it - and so i come to the tip...

i thought watching TV whilst using the bike would take my mind off the ordeal of sitting there peddling away for 30 minutes. NOT True. i don't think it made any difference from just staring at the wall or out of the window. every time i looked at the clock it looked like time had actually slowed down - i'm pretty convinced that my perception of time did change as trying to guess a one minute passage of time proved that i was way off.

now, the good news is that instead of watching TV and experiencing time grind to a halt, i find that if i read something whilst using the contraption then it seems that time is either running about right or maybe even a bit quicker. i assume that reading requires more effort than watching TV and so my mind is more occupied and so, i forgot about what my legs are doing and the tedious exercise.

i really believe there is a dramatic difference between the two methods of attempted distraction.

if you have recently started a similar exercise routine and you are able to read at the same time then i thoroughly recommend trying it.

maybe listening to a podcast would be just as good as reading but i doubt it - afterall, listening to something is not much different to watching something on TV.

i guess if you could do something that engaged the mind even more than reading, like doing a puzzle, then the passage of time might seem even quicker.

mouser:
good tip!
i think we should all be trying to get in a bit of shape during gtd as well, might help positively reinforce the thing.

app103:
I could never deal with a stationary bike or treadmill. It's too boring for me.

I want to see the scenery change...feel the wind in my hair.

And there is definitely something to be said about having a purpose & a destination. Unlike some stationary bike or treadmill, if you leave your house with a destination & purpose, you won't stop till it's completed and you are home again. And at the same time, you can accomplish some getting things done, if it involves a trip to a store for something you need...or the mailbox...etc.

And if you use the time to clear your mind of stresses and soak in what you are seeing/hearing/feeling around you, you will find that a lot of creativity will start to flow.

Make it even more enjoyable...take a walk & bring a digital camera...snap pics of everything...stuff you wouldn't think of taking pics of normally....street signs...cracks on the sidewalk.

Do you recognize this picture? (hint: look at my avatar)
keeping fit kind of tip.

It was taken while on a walk...right on my own block...in front of a neighbor's house.

Keeping fit isn't just a physical thing...it should involve your whole being.

nudone:
yes, i can agree, BUT for the millions of people like me, exercising outside the house just isn't going to work - just yet.

i have a good mountain bike - it's in the shed with flat tires. i used to go out jogging - i have a pair of practically untouched good running shoes in the cupboard. i used to skateboard every day - there's ramp on the next street to my house - i'd be embarrassed to use it.

so, perhaps just for the near future, i'm using the indoor exercise device. it's the easiest thing to do - i don't have to prepare in any way - it takes half an hour and then i forget about it and get on with stuff i would rather be doing.

now, i admit, it's not as fun as other exercises i can think of but i really can't be bothered to do anything else - i just want something that i can turn on and turn off - and now i've realised i can be reading at the same time then i'm obviously getting even more done. i might even start reading some novels i've been meaning to get around to.

in the not too distant future then maybe i will be doing something similar to what you are doing, app, but that will depend on what else i manage to complete first.

brownstudy:
When we got a treadmill, I got a subscription to Audible.com because I knew I'd be bored out of my mind just listening to whatever was on the radio. Have gone through several books that way.

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