This blog is about programming and software engineering and this post may look like yet another “how to be healthy and happy” blog at the first glance, but it is not! I think being productive is very important, especially if you are in the software business. And this post is all about productivity!
I tried something new this week for being productive: I ran to the office in the morning and then back home at the end of the day.
Now why is this relevant in a tech blog?
Because I believe that unhealthy people cannot be productive. Don’t get me wrong: I know that there are many people having health issues, where they really did not do anything bad. Nevertheless, if you work in front of a desk you have to do something to stay healthy, otherwise you will lose your health and then your productivity.
My choice is running: I started about 4 years ago and currently I run ~100km every month. But this is time consuming, so I came up with the idea that I should connect “running” with “commuting to work”, so this week I “runcommuted” twice. As it turned out this thing is really big on twitter!
Before I go into the details I want to show some pictures.
This was the first morning on the way to the office:
And this was on the way back home:
And this was on the way home the second time, just before the thunderstorm (As you see in the "parameters" section that run was the fastest this week :) )
If you have a somewhat optimal distance (this is for me ~4-8km) between your home and your office this can be a great activity for your health and for your productivity. The other requirement is a shower in the office. Fortunately, I have both!
This Monday we had public holiday in Austria, meaning this week we only had 4 working days. Optimal for two "running" and two "resting" days!
Here are the parameters:
- Distance: 5,4 km (one direction) – 10.8km/day
- Route: Linz, along the Danube
- Time I need for this distance: 1. Day: 31:29, 30:01, 2. Day: 30:33, 28:56
- Pace: Between 5’17” and 5’39”
Equipment you need:
- Normal running cloths with running shoes (nothing special for runcommute..) and a towel.
- A backpack for your office cloths.
Regarding the backpack, I recommend something, which is specifically designed for sport and make sure you can pull the straps tightly, otherwise it will be very uncomfortable when you run. I have a backpack from my childhood, which I bought about 10 years ago and was design for cycling. I basically never used it until now, but it turned out that it is perfect for running.
Regarding towel, I recommend something like this. I like it, because it does not need too much space in the backpack.
All right, that's it. Stay healthy, so you can write code and have fun for a long time!