Writers have very sedentary jobs. When we’re not sitting down reading, we’re sitting down writing or editing a manuscript or working on pitch materials or compiling a book. If we wanted, we could sit here in the same place, forever.
But all that sitting isn’t good for a body.
I tend to be a pretty healthy person. I enjoy eating well and working out, and it’s easy for me to schedule that exercising time on my calendar every day. I walk my boys to school every morning. I do interval training. I eat mostly paleo, because my body has little ability to process carbs.
But the writing was a problem.
Last last year I found that sitting for four hours every day was really getting to me. I couldn’t figure out a way to do anything differently until I discovered the beauty of standing desks.
Standing desks allow a writer to stand for whatever period of time they’re writing or working on a computer. I don’t use my desk when I’m writing by hand, which is only during my morning journal time, because I write so much faster if I’m typing, but I use it any time I use my computer, which is five hours a day.
Now. Standing for five hours a day doesn’t sound possible when you haven’t been standing for an hour. So I have to tell you that I didn’t start out standing for five hours. I stood for an hour, and then I stood for two, and then three and then four and then, finally, five. And some days, when I wake up with a back ache because one of the kids landing his jump-off-the-couch wrong on my back, I don’t stand for the full five hours. The point is to stand for the majority of our writing time instead of remaining sedentary.
A change like this doesn’t have to be expensive. You just have to get creative. I don’t actually have a standing desk. I set up a makeshift one one my bedroom dresser. I stacked a few Writer’s Market books on top of each other, until the computer sat at a height that was comfortable, and called that my standing desk.
What I love about a standing desk is that when I’m stuck on a plot line or I can’t think of a word I need for this particular phrase, I just bounce on my toes a little, or I step back from the computer screen, and I figure things out that way. Sometimes I’ll accidentally look at myself in the mirror (which is a little startling. Do my eyes really look that crazy when I’m concentrating?), because, like I said, my standing desk is really a dresser stacked with books.
For writers, a standing desk will increase our word count, because there is a proven link between physical activities and the inner working of our brains. I’ve measured this phenomenon. I produce about 20 percent more words (especially the rough draft kind) when I’m standing.
Not only that, but a standing desk is beneficial to our health. While it may seem like standing for all that time couldn’t be exactly healthy for you, if you’re wearing the right shoes (I wear my bright pink running shoes with adequate arch support), and you’re moving around a little (I walk in place sometimes or dance to the music coming through my Pandora station), then you’re actually burning calories while you’re writing. How cool is that?
For a while, I had a bum knee, an old injury from high school volleyball that flared up with the weeks of rain Texas had. I had to take a few days off of standing and, instead, sit in my blue wing chair. I didn’t produce nearly as many words when I was sitting. And my brain felt all tied up, because there was no movement happening.
Standing while creating makes it happen faster, more easily, and also makes it better. I’ve seen this in my own practice.
A new year always results in people making resolutions to stay healthier, and sometimes, when we’re pressed for time like parent writers often are, it’s hard to find time to fit in something as “unnecessary” as exercise and healthy practices, but we will be better writers if we keep ourselves healthy. As we’re taking care of ourselves, we can better take care of our children, and then we can better take care of our work.
It’s at least worth a try.
Some ways to get healthier as a writer:
1. Set up your own standing desk.
It doesn’t have to be something you spend a whole lot of money on, but it does have to be something that doesn’t hurt your eyes and neck and back. My husband once set up a standing desk on a treadmill, using some old lumber, so he could walk while he was writing. This is all I needed for my standing desk:
(Picture)
2. Take half an hour every day to do something physical.
You could go for a walk or play a game of kickball with your kids (Someone once said that if you play like children, you won’t ever have to do another workout in your life. It’s true. My kids play hard.). You could do an actual workout. I practice interval training and weight lifting, mixed with some anaerobic and aerobic activity. I also walk my kids half a mile to their school. Sometimes I got out on a long run to clear my head.
One of the best way to get our brains working is to do a workout. The brain responds surprisingly when we get moving. Not only does exercise benefit our writing, but it also boosts our immune system. Fewer sick days off means more days writing.
3. Write on the go.
While you’re out for a walk, or even running (if you can manage—I never could do it well while running. Too many hills in this part of the country.), speak your words into your voice recorder. Turn them into essays or chapters. This will increase your word count considerably.
4. Drink water. Eat.
This may seem like a crazy one to put on a list like this, because how can we live without drinking water and eating, silly woman? But the truth is, sometimes I get so involved in my writing that I completely forgot to drink water and eat. My kids eat lunch pretty early, and I”m not usually hungry while they’re eating, and so then it gets to nap time and I get started with some of my writing, and before I know it, it’s time for dinner and I never even had lunch. Same with the water thing. I keep a Klean Kanteen next to me at all times. I try to drink three of them a day.
5. Read while on the run.
When I’m running or walking, I’ll listen to podcasts about the craft or I’ll read audio books. This is a great way to pass the time and let our subconscious minds gather what they need in order to write better. My husband also got a blu tooth speaker that is water proof, so we can listen to whatever we’d like in the shower, too. When we’re parent writers, we have to squeeze every single minute out of our lives. Reading and learning always make us better writers, which means that time is never wasted.
