After coming back to London, I’ve been trying to get used to the routine again, and it’s always somewhat challenging after some weeks of holidays of chaos. Had to take the last week off from the newsletter, as I was too tired and didn’t get into the swing of things. I'm still struggling this week, but I’m making some strides.

For me, it always starts with a proper sleep hygiene, going to sleep and waking up at roughly the same time every day, and, after that, my second big “anchor” tends to be exercising and moving regularly. Once I get those two going, other things are easier. If I can wake up early enough to have a few hours before work, then I can start studying more often. If I start working out regularly, I can sleep better, have more energy during the day and feel mentally and emotionally healthier. A virtuous loop. When I live “chaotically”, going to sleep at random hours and waking up super late and don’t move or exercise, my brain goes to zombie mode.

This week was about the sleep hygiene and introducing “movement snacks” again—every thirty or sixty minutes during my working hours I do some squats, kettlebell swings, pull-up hangs, and walk a bit around the flat. Next week I’ll get back to working out and studying. The goal is to get closer to doing one arm/leg stuff (one arm push-ups, one arm pull-ups, pistol squats).

Never underestimate how moving frequently can impact your health, specially if you’re like me and usually work from home these days, and stare at a monitor for eight hours or more. Just five or ten minutes every hour of movement changes my mood and makes me feel better, same thing with going for a walk. If I don’t do it and code for a few hours non-stop I physically feel bad, my energy disappears, and I get a weird mental fog.

Talking about moving, I’ve been playing around for a few years with changing positions while coding. Instead of always sitting at my desk, I grab my laptop, put it on a small table and sit on the floor, or raise the desk and stand. Occasionally, I sit with my legs crossed, in the lotus position, with my legs spread or “Japanese style”. The point is not to stay in the same position for too long. I tend to have neck stiffness and pain, and I find that shifting postures regularly helps a lot.

I’ll say something that might be controversial: forget about ergonomics. In the end, having all the parts of your body aligned correctly at ninety degree angles and buying the perfect office chair is not going to help a lot. Maybe I should be less extremist, I should say that ergonomics it’s not as important as we might be led to believe. Of course, having the screen in a good position is better than having the neck weirdly angled, the same happens with typing, you would rather not be bending the wrists in strange positions. Beyond the obvious, moving and changing positions frequently works better than any ergonomic rule. The body is not made to stay in a single posture for too long.

If there’s anything positive about working remotely more often is that moving more is less awkward. I can sit in any way I want, do some exercises, whatever. Going to the office makes all that a bit weird. You don’t see anybody actively moving, it’s the opposite. For me, it feels like there’s an “energy” that discourages from moving and being active, you feel like you want to sit down a lot and look focused. If not for the pomodoro timer, I would probably sit too much when I’m in the office. Luckily, with the timer there’s the reminder to move, stand up, maybe go for water, coffee or to the toilet, even if it’s just to have an excuse to not sit. The toilet cubicle is as good a place as any to get some squat reps. What would the office look like if movement was encouraged? Perhaps we could have some kettlebells on the side, a pull-up bar… people could freely go and do some swings or light exercises, stretches, or just work on the floor for a bit. The idea sounds crazy considering the typical office, but it would be much healthier and I think it might even build some camaraderie.

Interesting links

• Bad Software, Written Badly. Ron Jeffries explores GeePaw Hill’s idea that companies can make money from shipping bad software written badly, that they don’t need to change the way they work.

• Manage for congruence, harmony, and legitimacy

• It was the best of blue-green deployments, it was the worst of blue-green deployments