Taking time from work to work out

[hoytster]

Does anyone else have this issue?

I have a daily reminder to go work out at 10:00. I'm spending $39/month for a nice club an 8-minute drive from the office. A good work-out takes 65-70 minutes, with the commute. That's a 4.5 mile run while watching "24" on a DVD player on the treadmill. A weight-lifting session gets me back to the office in only 45 minutes, since I hit the exhaustion point pretty quickly.

So I figure, it's my 60-minute lunch hour, on average. Actual lunch is 8 minutes at my desk, working.

I go work out only about once a week, despite the daily reminder.

One problem is wanting to be there in the office when someone's looking for me. "Where the hell is Hoyt?" I imagine someone (my boss) saying. I'm waaaay focused on succeeding here, and don't want to create any basis for complaint.

Another problem is being caught up in the task of the moment. I spend my day solving puzzles, as many of you do, no doubt. When I'm into a puzzle, it's hard to put down. When I figure it out, there's another to solve. When I look up, the exercise window has expired.

Then there's meetings. I have a couple per day, on average. They eliminate the meeting time and the 65 minutes before (or 45 minutes).

Then there's the usual procrastination and resistance to working out. I'm procrastinating right now, writing this post.

Years past, I've had good luck with "stand up at 10:00 and go work out." That's when my reminder goes off. I picked that time in part because I have no meetings at that time. Also, I have some energy!

But I keep not doing it.

Do y'all suffer from anxiety that you'll be missed if you're away from the office?

Do I need a stiffer spine, or better self-image? (Or more in-demand job skills -- oh yeah, that one's a given, since I'm still still still doing PowerBuilder).

Anyone else have this problem? How did you overcome it?

- Hoyt

[TRexx]

Quote:Do y'all suffer from anxiety that you'll be missed if you're away from the office?

No.

I see no problem with scheduling regular time away from the office, as long as you let people know so they won't waste time coming to look for you. I can think of any number of occasions where one of more co-workers were absent from their desks at a certain period on a regular basis.  I work with a guy now who takes off for an hour every Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon. I happen to know why but most people don't. They just see "unavailable" on his calendar and we know not to bother scheduling meetings with him at that time.    

When I did a gig at AT&T in the early 80s they had a TV in the lobby and every day about 50 people were there from 2 to 3 watching some soap opera.  

I once had a manager who met with 4 or 5 other guys in his office every day from 11 to noon for Bible study. (Personally I thought they were playing poker  )

There are some people who will be upset if you are not available whenever they "need" you, regardless of the time.  But most people are reasonable and understand that you can't be available 24/7 (although I've had a few clients and managers who expected that).

I've found that you really have to make time for yourself or you'll burn out.  And I'd have lot more respect for an employee that was spending an hour at the gym as opposed to watching "Days of our Lives".

[JBB]

I agree with Trexx in that I have absolutely no problem scheduling time away from the office, even when I have something pressing to do.  I'm on vacation Friday, Monday, and Tuesday while working on a project that's a month behind schedule.  So be it, I need me time too.

Further, I go to the gym A LOT more than you do and fit it into my life.  Admittedly, I'm not married and have no kids, so I fit it in fairly easily when I'm not on a date or out of town for some reason.  Well, even when out of town, I've fit it in when there is a gym nearby.  I generally work out 2 hours a day, 5 days a week.  Mostly weight lifiting but with cardio worked in 3 or 4 days a week also.

It's all a matter of motivation and deciding what you want and what's important to you.  This is true of many things in life but sometimes difficult to make a reality.

[hoytster]

Hi, J and T,

Are y'all working by the hour, or for a salary.

That's one of my favorite things about being a contractor. I've  done two marathons, once as a contractor and once as a FTE. As a contractor, I had no problem taking off for a long run on a beautiful day, because it didn't cost my client a thing.

With FTE, however, there's more a sense that I'm supposed to be there during normal working hours.

A bold move would be to put the work out schedule on my Outlook calendar, where my boss could see it. I'll think about that. It would resolve any uncertainty about "Where's the Hoyster?"

My boss is a bit younger than me and a bit fatter. He might understand and support my desire to lose weight (I should lose 50 pounds).

Two hours a day!

I do have a family. Baby Paul is now 7 months old. He's a great baby. At this age, he's not that much of a time sump, because he's out for the count at 7:00 PM. There will be less time in future. His older brothers are 11, 13 and 13, so Paul will be an only child, sort of, by the time he's 7. Only kids take a lot of time, because parents are the default playmates.

I better get on it now. I'm the age (54) where my dad started to manifest heart disease and diabedes.

Thanks for the encouragement. Here I go.

- Hoytster

[Rastus P Shagnasty]

As a FTE I used to go 3 times per week.  One day after hours, one day first thing in the AM and then Saturday.  As a FTE I always worked a little over every day so I always had more than 40 hours per week.  As a contract/whore I'm always aware of the fact that I'm not billable when I'm at the gym.  
Both ways I'm feeling guilty.  Sigh, life is like that I guess.  The gym (health) is too important.

[I D Shukhov]

Because exercise clears one's mind and de-stresses, I think it's essential for a desk worker.  It doesn't matter what works for you, anything is okay, and it's a net benefit for your employer because he gets better work out of you.

[Jim in Chicago]

I get up at 6am and work out for 1/2 hour lifting weights or stationary bike.  I have a universal weight set in my garage.  I'm even out there in January wearing sweats and gloves.

I think it helps circulate the blood and gets the day off to a good start.  If I sleep late and miss my workout, I'm just not as sharp all day.

[ResortDBA]

The guy at the local store said 'wow you like you could eat me for breakfast' then I hit my auto repair shop and the owners office guy comes back from a bike ride and sees me and remarks 'man your ripped'.  LOL thats what my shoulder doctor said, I think he said 'your pumped'.  I had gatalinium injection to improve the contrast during the MRI 2 weeks ago because I have titanium in each shoulder.  Apparently whatever is wrong with my shoulder does not require surgery this time.

I am reading that I need to work out less, not over train.  I have a full gym at home, rubber floor and killer weight system I dropped 5k on when I was playing IPO stocks.

But there are no women to stare at here, one advantage of going to a gym.

Everyone at my office bike rides daily at noon.  I did not even go into the office the last 2 days, worked on digging concrete piers for my deck instead.

You should leave the office every day for an hour at lunch,  even if its to just walk around.  They dont deserve your 'maintenance' time and let them feel it when your not there.

P.S. checkout TUT - time under tension I am hoping its going to help me pack some weight on.  Every set is now 40 seconds minimum.

[Colonel Angous]

That way, no one can schedule a meeting for your workout time.  Make sure you include the extra time it takes to get there and back.  You don't have to mention that it's your workout as Hoyster suggests, but simply "Out of the office", or something like that.

[The Original Dinosaur]

Your schrinck, Herr Doktor Professor Schiesskopf, wonders if there is some underlying angst about your tenure or whatever?

If you're OK with leaving the office, and have negotiated it with your boss, maybe you should look at why you don't really want to work out?

[David Randolph]

There are two issues here that I can see.

1. Being available for other people. This is an issue if you are being paid to respond to calls and interruptions. If you are on a service desk or needing to respond to requests for service, then the time away from the desk has to be scheduled with those who would cover your absence.

2. Quality vrs. Quantity. Once we are not simply there to respond to other people but are there to make decisions about how things should be done, then the quality of our decisions is more valuable than the quantity of our decisions. If we are making all sorts of good $500 decisions but are so stressed that we make the wrong $1B decision, then we have done the client a grave disservice.

The quality of my decisions goes up when I take a bunch of time away from the office.

Ergo, taking the time to work out is the best thing I can do for my clients (and if I had more guts, I would charge them for that time).

[Dan]

If I HAD taken time from work to work out, I would not  be taking Warfarin and 2 injections of Lovenox (at $81.50 per) every day for the past seven weeks to TRY to dissolve the DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in my thigh.

Oh, and trying to get rid of the extra 65lbs that sitting 14x6 for 3 years got me. Oh, the things we'll do to TRY to keep from being laid off. From a half-rate job, at that.

[Dan]

Really, now, just how many of us have found bosses/clients who do not demand both quality AND quantity?

[I D Shukhov]

[codger]

I once worked for an asshole who loved to say "I want the three Qs". By that he meant Quality, Quantity Quickly.

Unfortunately, I would usually respond something like "Do you want it right? Or do you want it now? Take your choice." Sometimes I'd say, "Performance, Price,  or Quality - Pick any two." He didn't appreciate me very much. The feeling was mutual.