Walking for Lent

Lent begins March 5, so I've been trying to figure out what to do for Lent this year. One of my goals this year is to be more active, something that is very difficult for me to actually accomplish, and here's why:

Commute to work: 1.25-1.5 hours 
Normal workday: 8 hours with a 30 minute lunch. 
Commute home from work: 1.5 hours

I get two 15 minute breaks per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. 

When I am not at work, I am at home, writing. Some days, due to other obligations, household stuff, etc., I barely have time to write in the evenings, but I do my best. I really do try to write something every day. 

Because I have to get up so early for work, I go to bed early at night. When I get home from work on most days, I have about 3.5 hours to feed the cats, the bunny, and myself, do general household chores, write, and anything else that might come up. Some days I might actually be caught up enough to weave during the week, or sew. That doesn't happen often, however. 

I sit in front of a computer all day, and I have a 3 hour a day commute. Coming home to sit and write and then going to bed means my activity level is Not Good. 

And it's also not healthy. 

At the moment, I can't do anything about my day job. I'm working on that; I would like to end up with a more active day job that is closer to home so I am not sitting all the time. That's the goal, but right now I have to work with the reality. 

The reality is that I can't do anything about the day job or my commute. Writing is also off the negotiating table, because if I had to choose one thing to do for the rest of my life, that would be it.  I also obviously can't not do household chores or stuff like that. And I can't not feed everyone; not if I want to keep living, at least. :)

When I turned off my home Internet in July, it was with the understanding that I would then be less likely to sit in front of my computer on the Internet (and on Ravelry) for hours at a time. This has worked, but I'm still sitting too much. I need to make time to be more active, without taking time away from writing. 

Lent is a good time to start such an effort. 

So here is what I'm proposing to do, every day during Lent: (which will hopefully get me in the habit of doing this) 

Since I write during lunch, I will take a walk during one or both of my fifteen minute breaks. 

At home, weather permitting, I will take a walk around the block of no less than a mile. If weather does not permit, I will either ride 5 miles on my exercise bike or do 20 minutes of yoga. 

On days I am not at work, I will combine the two, or walk farther. Or, you know, actually ride my actual bike. If I am working outside or in the garden, that will also count as activity. 

During this time, I will also be working towards paying off the rest of my credit card debt, which will mean some eBay auctions, but I can also walk to the post office on Saturday mornings, so that will also count. 

Anyone want to join me?

Comments

Grey Walker said…
Yes, please. I do want to join you. Let me think of how I can. :)
Jennifer said…
Ok! I am trying to find my "mile" by walking around the neighborhood a bit beforehand.

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