The first five months of this year were very hard for me. I worked too much, worried too much, and ended up getting sick. I decided to take measures to stop this.
Of course, measures, like new year’s resolutions (which I never make), tend to be too abstract: stress less, have more time, enjoy more. Yes, of course, but saying it does nothing. One thing that has been helping, though, is that I’ve been very tired. Not really able to drive myself to exhaustion right now. But little by little, I’m getting my energy back.
The best thing I’ve done so far is to change my commute. For over a month, I’ve been taking either the company shuttle, or the public bus, to work. For both, my stop in Seattle is a 15 min. walk from home, and my stop in Redmond is a 15 min. walk from my building. Door to door, then, it’s 50 to 80 minutes, compared to 25 to 135 minutes when driving. I don’t understand how a small city like Seattle can have such traffic jams.
That’s why I used to drive: choosing my departure times carefully , it was much quicker than taking the bus. But driving makes it too easy to become engulfed in work. Arriving home at a late time, after having had no exercise for the whole day, only to get some dinner, and continue to work. Hell. Now, taking the bus, I walk for an hour every day, and that helps me relax. I’m using the time in the bus to read or nap. I’ve finally started catching up with my pile of unread books, after months of neglect.
It’s funny that this tiny difference in my commute is having a big impact on my whole week. I should have known, though: walking is my preferred way to think. It probably has something to do with feeding my brain new images. Perhaps.
4 responses so far ↓
Javier // June 22, 2009 at 12:25 am |
Pues sí. Ir en coche a todas partes es propio de salvajes, y andar es muy sano. Me alegro de que vayas estando mejor.
elena // June 22, 2009 at 8:42 am |
Pues sí, lo de andar va muy bien. Yo te recomendaría el yoga, a mí desde luego me va muy bien para descansar, desconectar y a la vez estar flexible.
Tiene gracia pero, al menos a mí, me parece que hace falta más disciplina para todos los días tomarse un descanso y un tiempo de relajación y ocio que para trabajar.
Espero que cojas carrerilla y cada vez vayas ganando más esferas.
Un abrazo
viejecita // June 23, 2009 at 6:14 am |
Si pudieras ir andando al trabajo, sí sería magnífico. Es la parte del autobús la que me espanta;
La espera en la parada, primero, que a veces se adelanta y a veces se retrasa, por lo menos aquí. Luego lo de ir de pié, que te mareas con facilidad.
Así que, en un sitio sin metro,y tan desperdigado como Seattle, me parece que usaría el coche siempre, y en cambio me daría un paseo por el barrio, tempranito por la mañana.
Janet // August 3, 2009 at 1:51 pm |
I was reading so many books when I was busing from West Seattle to downtown. Ever since we moved away, I’m very behind with my reading.