Tag: health

Health and Wellness Baseline – Creativity Challenge

Alright there my mighty heroes, yesterday we worked out our health and wellness baseline. If you missed it- fear not! I happen to have this handy little link in my pocket. https://tipsytyper.com/2021/06/15/health-and-wellness-baseline-the-sea-of-distractions-creativity-quest/

To backtrack a little bit further: I started in on this Quest to Save the Muse some time ago (to be honest, I failed in my endeavors a year ago, and felt like I was finally ready to give it another shot). I’ve always felt like my most authentic self when I was creating, but I had lost my spark. So, like Bilbo and Frodo before me, I deemed it time to go off and find some infamous adventures. In this quest I discovered that the first monster I would need to battle would also be the biggest: a bit unfair, it’s like facing the boss in the first level of your game. Distractions rob us of the time and space we need to have creative and unique thought. So in an effort to cross the Sea of Distraction, I’ve been taking the time to take inventory of my skill set and work on smaller projects that will get me excited to tackle the rest of this journey.

Yesterday we went over the health and wellness (see the link above- I promise, I’ll stop recapping now). And we ended it with a Creativity Challenge. Now what kind of hero would I be if I threw all the challenges to you without completing them myself? So here we are- the fruits of my labor:

The Creativity Challenge #1: Favorite Character Workout

Think of a character from a favorite book or movie (preferably a ‘save the world’ kind- that will really get us the farthest) and create a workout routine inspired by them. Then (and here’s the really fun part) actually attempt it.

Now, I’m going to go a little bit obscure for this one and pick a character from an audiobook I am currently listening to- called ‘Bones of the Past’ by Drew Hayes, book #2 in the Villians’ Code series. It’s a pretty cute anti-hero kind of story full of humor that will not inspire those who prefer ‘high art’ forms of literature. If you are looking for the next classic- this isn’t it. If you are looking for a goofy take on heroes and villains, give it a shot. The main character is Tori/Hephaestus. a fiery tech-loving self-made villain who I absolutely adore. But truthfully, the workout here could fit for just about any Super- so feel free to imagine your own favorite.

Hephaestus Work Out (timed- as many as you can in the allotted time, will take 1 hour)

  • 5 minutes of stretching
  • 5 minutes of push ups
  • 5 minute wall sits
  • 5 minutes punching and kicking (punch, punch, kick; alternate legs)
  • 5 minutes mountain climbers
  • 5 minutes triceps dips
  • 5 minutes donkey kicks
  • 5 minutes plank
  • 5 minutes jumping jacks
  • 5 minutes hip thrusts
  • 5 minutes jump rope
  • 5 minutes – cool down, child’s pose

The Creativity Challenge #2: Sedentary Activity Plan

Pick a favorite book or movie and make a game out of it. For example: for every paragraph you read, walk x number of laps around your room. Every time (insert character name here) appears on the screen, jump up and down until they leave

Part A: Book Nerd Edition

The challenge I came up for with this one will work with literally any book, and can be easily modified. If you are listening to an audiobook, substitute the number of pages for a set number of minutes (if you want to really get technical, go to howlongtoread.com and figure out how long it would take you to read a single page in your story)

Warm up: stretch each body part for one full page.

The workout:

  • Walk laps as you read for the remainder of challenge (be sure you are in a place where you can walk safely without bumping into thing, otherwise walk in place)
  • Every time you hit a new paragraph stop and jump 5 times (those heavy dialog sections will get ya real quick)
  • At the end of each page stop and do 10 jumping jacks (on even pages) or 10 push-ups (odd pages)
  • At the end of a chapter: 10 burpees
  • When a new character is introduced, do 5 lunges
  • If a character dies: plank for as long as you can to help you grieve (or celebrate?)
  • When a potential love interest is in the vicinity of the main character (or a character you ship them with) do a wall sit for their entire interaction — if you are reading something overly-saturated with these interactions, do a wall sit for as long as you can. You can be exempt from wall sits for the next five pages
  • When a page starts off with dialog, do 15 pointed butt lifts (15 per leg)
  • If two characters argue/fight: skip or do grapevine steps for the duration of the dialog (or go for 30 seconds-1 minutes without reading so you don’t trip yourself)
  • When the main character meets up with his/her best friend: do 10 squats
  • Cool down: lay down on your back and hold your book up over your head (so you can read)- hold this pose for as long a spossible
  • If you are reading something nonfiction that won’t fit with these rules: make a list of all the different exercises you want to do and dedicate each page to one of them. Do as many of the chosen item as you can. At each chapter break take on the tasks you can’t do while actively reading, such as jumping jacks)

Part B: TV Time Edition

For this one, I picked a classic: Friends. Most people have seen it, and for me it’s a solid go-to when I need some background noise or I just want something cheerful on. The format here is simple. ‘Every time…you must do…’

  • Theme song plays – stretch
  • Joey says ‘How you doin?’ – 20 sit ups
  • Chandler makes a joke – 25 jumping jacks
  • Phoebe sings – plank
  • You hear Smelly cat – wall sits
  • Ross talks about dinosaurs – 10 squats
  • They’re at Central Perk – 10 leg lifts
  • Chandler and Joey sit in their chairs – 20 bicycles
  • You see the duck and chick – 10 lunges
  • Ross and Monica talk about their childhood – 20 calf raises
  • Monica cleans sometimes – 15 russian twists
  • Someone calls Rachel ‘Rach’ – 10 push ups
  • Chandler says ‘be’ – 5 burpees
  • Someone mentions Ugly Naked Guy – 20 high knees
  • Gunther shows his love for Rachel – 15 mountain climbers
  • Someone starts dating – 10 leg lifts
  • Someone breaks up – 10 tricep dips
  • Janice says ‘Oh my God’ – 20 pointed butt lifts
  • Someone goes out on the balcony – 25 punches
  • Ending credits – cool down, lay in child’s pose

Even if you don’t feel like making a challenge of your own, you can still find a huge selection or pre-made ones (primarily for tv shows and movies) that can get you out of your couch potato rut at any point. The point is to get moving and increase that blood flow to your brain. Trust me, it makes a big difference. Now I’m off to walk the dog and (gulp) try out my creations. Wish me luck.

Health and Wellness Baseline (The Sea of Distractions – Creativity Quest)

Carrying on with our Bored to Brilliant Baseline Analysis, we hit on the Health and Wellness section. It is particularly poignant for me, considering I’ve spent the past week and a half recovering from some complications after oral surgery. A week and a half of chronic pain that made it nearly impossible to talk or eat (two thing I really enjoy doing) left me in tears a few nights. So instead of writing, I opted for rest. Frustrating from a goal perspective, but I’m on the upswing now and I feel ready to charge ahead once more.

So, this particular category is one I tended to neglect. I’ve never included it before in my personal self-reflections, but the more research I’ve done on creativity and how the brain works, the more I realize how closely it is tied to our overall health- both mental and physical. Our brains don’t survive in a vacuum, it is not separated from out physical bodies; which means when you work on one, you really should be working on the other as well if you want to reach your full potential.

Physical activity boosts your brains productivity, giving it all the good chemicals to marinade in. Water and proper nutrition give it the nutrients it needs to perform optimally. They keep your energy regulated so that dreaded brain fog has less of an opportunity to encroach on your precious time. Sleep and rest are vital to your mental activity: allowing your brain to process the events of the day and new information you have acquired. It helps you map new mental connections and inspires new ideas by assisting you in putting a variety of ideas together. Not to mention, dreams can be a pretty awesome source of inspiration. Even if they are a bit awkward and nonsensical once you rejoin the conscious world, the snippets that they provide can be invaluable to creative projects. I have several stories and pictures I’ve created off of my unconscious self’s work that I am still very proud of. Don’t underestimate the value of rest for your work.

My stats:

Physical activity: truthfully, I don’t do a whole lot. I have a fitness tracker that logs my steps and activity. Based on it’s data, the past few weeks I’ve averaged about 75 active minutes a day. Most of my activity is walking, but not much else. I haven’t been doing my stretching or any type of active fitness plan. I walk when I get anxious, and apparently I get anxious enough to hit at least an hour. Now that the weather is nice, I am finding myself outside more, particularly because my dog thinks he is a sun god and must lay out there from the moment it rises until well after it has set in the evening, otherwise he will transform into a hell-hound send my Hades himself.

Score: 3/10 – lots of room for improvement with intentional activity.

Sleep: Once again, I have an app that roughly tracks this- very roughly. Based on it’s data, I average about 6.4 hours per night. Lately it’s been more restful sleep than it used to be, though I know I need to start weaning myself off the audiobooks. I am somewhat consistent on my bedtime and wake time, though I do still wake up in the middle of the night a lot. And I spend too much time looking at my screen before I try to sleep.

Score: 7/10 Of course, sleep is the one thing I do better than anything else. I could fine-tune my routine a bit here, but overall- I don’t feel too bad about this one.

Water and Nutrition: The past few weeks I’ve been a lot better. I (mostly) cut caffiene from my diet, which has helped my anxiety tremendously. My partner and I are both trying to prioritize more whole foods and natural eating, incorporating more meat-free days. While we have room to improve, we are getting the right intentions down and working towards building up the habits. We even managed some meal prep: tofu and veggie stir fry for lunch this week. Incidentally- it was my first time attempting to cook with tofu…let’s just say there was a learning curve involved there.

Score: 7/10

The Challenge

It’s a pretty simple one: healthier living equals a healthier body, which translates into a healthier mind. A healthier mind is more productive, flexible and creative. So if we want to rescue that muse, we’ve got to act like the heroes of our tale- and that includes some physical training and personal care. Think about just about any Dystopian story and channel that energy. Turn it into a game if you have to, or find someone to compete with if that’s what gets you excited. The point is to treat your body the way it deserves to be treated.

The Creative Challenge

  • Think of a character from a favorite book or move (preferably a ‘save the world’ kind- that will really get us the farthest) and create a workout routine inspired by them. Then (and here’s the really fun part) actually attempt it.
  • Come up with a ‘sedentary activity plan’: pick a book or favorite movie, and make a game out of it. A few examples:
    • Book Nerd Edition: Every paragraph you read in your book, you have to walk 5 laps around the room. Every page, ten jumping jacks. Every chapter: stretch while reading the first two pages. Every time x character’s name appears- skip down the hallway once
    • Pick a favorite movie or show: every time character x appears, do 5 jumping jacks. For any fight sequences (or love scene, dramatic scene, etc) do wall sits until it’s over. Whenever a particular phrase is uttered, do 5 lunges.

Work Isn’t Everything

We live in a society where we are expected to do it all, to have it all, to be fueled by some mysteriously ever-burning fire that will propel us to new heights. We are told that if we do not hit the ground running then we are lazy. We are told that working over 40 hours a week is the only way to achieve those illusive dreams. We watch people who have their fingers in so many pies that they don’t even know what flavors they have stuck under their fingernails. We are used to pushing, to fighting, believing with the very fiber of our being that if we work hard enough, we will be able to achieve anything. This advice, while not wrong, can be somewhat misleading. We work hard hoping that someday we will play hard. We are so used to clawing our way to the top that we forget to look around.

There is a season for everything, we are told, and yet we are constantly attempting to reap what we have hurriedly sowed. I am no different from the rest of my generation. I work my ass off in the hopes that it will help me build my name, cement my reputation and get me where I have always dreamed of going. And then something happened that forced me to throw a flag on the field. There is a season for everything, and sometimes you have to remember your priorities. You have to pay attention to where you have run. You have to stop and take a breath.

On a Thursday night as I drove home I could hear my phone buzzing periodically as I listened to my audiobook. When I finally pulled into my driveway I turned off my car and looked down, seeing my siblings and mom’s names. I expected a group chat about something- perhaps about my brother’s wedding that was a couple of days away, or a reminder for a family dinner. Swiping it open, I was soon proven gravely wrong. My mom was on her way to the Emergency room, per the insistent instruction of her doctor. We didn’t know what was wrong, we didn’t know how serious it could be, we just knew she was scared and required immediate help.

We went to the hospital and waited with other family members in a surprisingly busy waiting room. We waited for some indication of what was happening, we waited for some word that would give us a direction. We waited and we waited. I eventually texted a few of my friends/co-workers, needing someone to talk to, someone to send good vibes our way. Immediately a close co-worker sent me a private message letting me know that if I needed to take the next day off, he would make arrangements to cover my work- something that I know is damn near impossible given the fact that we have been short staffed for far too long and Fridays are the busiest days of the week. Right off the bat I told him that I would be there, even if I didn’t get any sleep. It wasn’t until after I sent it that I stopped and looked at the words that I had typed. When had that become me? When did I become the girl who would drop family to go to work? When did I become the one that put everything else on hold? At what point in my life did I turn into the girl who would leave her mother in the emergency room to go spend over eight hours in an office?

In emergencies I am always the utilitarian one. I fall apart in private, I don’t like crying in front of people and I am not cut from the type of cloth that lends me to panicking easily. At hospitals I am usually the one with positive things to say who is taking coffee orders and reminding people to eat a sandwich, even if they don’t feel hungry. I am the one running through the list of items that the hurt person may need- do they have fresh socks? Will they need a pair of tennis shoes when they get released? Has everyone been notified? I find tasks for myself to do because I can’t stand just sitting there. I would like to think that my initial reaction to go to work during this crisis was something that fell into this category- this desire to keep myself busy. But I don’t know.

It’s true that I have the kind of job now where dependability is not an option- its not a box you can check one day and not the next. Calling in sick because I just don’t feel like facing a Tuesday is not an option, hell calling in sick because I am actually sick is treading on some thin ice. I am the coverage. I am the one that you call when you decide that you can’t face Tuesday. I am the one that has to be dependable when others are not. But that is not everything.

I came to the sudden realization that I don’t want to be that person- I have never been that person. I am the one who will drop anything for anyone. I have taken time away to get my dad to the doctor, I am the one that you call when you need help- I’m that kind of dependable. I don’t want to be the one that is so focused on climbing a ladder that I miss out on time with those that enrich my daily life.

Perspective is everything. There is a time to push and to fight, and there is a time to take a step back and recognize the things that make your light shine. I am nothing without the people in my life. My job will continue on whether I am there or not. I am replaceable. They survived without me before, and they could easily do it again. But I only have one mom, and as terrifying as the thought is, we all only have so much time we are allotted to spend with those that we love. My life needs to reflect my views and my morals. My job is not my life, my family is. And while I will always go above and beyond with my work, there are lines that should not be crossed. Sometimes it takes a terrifying moment to remember that.

Luckily for me, she is okay. There will be more tests, there will be more changes, but she will be okay. And I will be thankful knowing that I have more time to spend with those that I love, and a reminder that my job is not the end-all-be-all of my life. I can be a good employee and a good daughter. I can be there for those that need me when it is important. I can work my ass off day in and day out, I can leave my day job and come home to type away for my passion a couple of hours. But its important to remember the balance. It’s important to keep your heart open for those that need you, for those that you need.