Challenge: A little less emailing, a little more running.

By BERN MORLEY

Emails. How on earth did we communicate before emails?

I know the answer to this. We sent letters or you know, picked up the telephone and actually SPOKE to one another. It seems now though that I turn up to work on any given day and before I have even imbibed my first flat white, I have at least 35 urgent emails to attend to. And that’s before I’ve even opened for business.

The online world never stops. There are no signs stating my opening and closing hours. I am forever contactable. I have three different technological devices that I can be contacted on at any given time. I have no excuses as to why  I didn’t see that last urgent request. I am on. 24/7.

This is starting to worry me.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Blackmores. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100% authentic and written in their own words.

I moved to the big smoke not so long ago and whilst I love it and I love the high pace and the excitement and the forever moving landscape, I do recognise the fact that I am barely looking after myself.

Before here, before this life that consumed me, I lived in what is considered one of the world’s most beautiful places, the Gold Coast. The place so many people seek refuge and spend a couple of weeks a year whiling away their time, regrouping. That was my life. I had a job but it demanded nothing more of me than the bare minimum. And it was sunny. All the time. This being the case I went home each afternoon and I ran for a good 45 minutes. I exercised and I did this religiously because I actually enjoyed it.

Now. Well now I’m lucky to make it home before 7pm. If I do get home before then, it’s dark, too dark to go running on my own.  And that after work wine beckons.

I write this and I know I have to change my ways. It’s not an excuse. I am busy and I do work long hours but I also have a responsibility to my three children, my husband and our future to do something about it.

So this is what I pledge:

To exercise, someway, somehow every single day of the week for at least 30 minutes.

I’ll start this by parking my car a good 6 blocks away from work and walking in each morning. This of course means I’ll also have no other option but to walk back there each afternoon.

I’ll get on my bike. My poor bike that eyes me sadly from the corner of the shed every time I go in there trying to find something. I’ll use it to race my son outside or grab the milk from the local store rather than be lazy and drive.

I’ll go for a run at least 3 times a week. It is one of life’s greatest joys to run with only you and your thoughts on that open stretch of road. It’s good for the body and the mind and so amazing for my outlook on life. So I’m going to do more running.

I will also start to swim at the local pool before work. This was a constant for me once upon a time and it’s time I started to get myself back into the routine.

Just writing the above, making the promise and the pledge to myself already feels good. I’ve gotten so caught up in on the online world, I’ve forgotten to just go outside and enjoy the real one. Get out there under the natural light instead of wilting under these fluorescents, getting annoyed at the ping of the incoming mail sound.

That’s why my Blackmores pledge is this: Less active on the online world, more active in the real one.I will do this by committing to a little less emailing and a little more running.

Who knows, I may even get so inspired that I’ll pick up the phone and you know, talk to a real person. I know right? It’s definitely time for some big and positive changes!

Despite our best intentions, particularly in the colder months, staying active and healthy isn’t easy. We aim to give up chocolate, abandon alcohol and promise to visit the gym four times a week, only to fail. A Little Less, A Little More reminding people that making small commitments is a much more achievable and sustainable way of living a balanced lifestyle. What will you do? Make a commitment here, challenge your friends, upload your pics and follow us at #littlelesslittlemore on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. 

Last week Nat committed to ‘A little less indoors, a little more outdoors’.  This week Bern is pledging ‘A little less emailing, a little more running’.

What will your ‘little less, little more’  commitment be this week?