I have spent a career working in a dark windowless room with a lot of
other people all doing whatever they can to keep things moving and
keep people safe.
Over the years I found different ways to reduce my level of stress
while at work. Early on I would splash my face with cold water
whenever I would go to the restroom. It helped me feel refreshed! As
I got older I started wearing glasses and splashing water on my face
became more complicated and I didn't do it very often.
Being an introvert and wanting some quiet I would go for walks around
the parking lot when I was younger. And I still do. Early in my
career the cafeteria was the place to go and that's where all of the
people would take their break. Guys would sit around tables and laugh
and complain and make fun of each other. It was very distracting and
not my kind of thing so I tended to go outside and walk. Or try to
find a corner to sit in and read.
But I always found it interesting that nobody else was walking around
the parking lot. It was an easy walk, nice and cool in the evenings
and mornings. Sometimes the heat of the day actually felt good after
being in a cold dark room for a hours. But I walked. Usually one
lap, sometimes two laps around the parking lot. It was fun! But I
was alone out there.
I remember being made fun of for walking around the parking lot.
People would ask why I did that and say that it was stupid. That was
early in my career. That was also in the middle of my career. But as
I've gotten older it's more crowded out there. A whole lot of these
younger people are out there walking around the parking lot every
break.
I remember when I was in headquarters doing a lot of programming on a
computer I made it a point to stand up and walk around the floor of
the building that we were in once an hour. It didn't matter how long
the walk took, I just got up to step away from the keyboard and clear
my head for a couple of minutes. Sometimes I would do two or three
laps through the building just to extend it out. My boss would chew
me out and say that I wasn't focused and needed to concentrate and
stay busy. I was sitting in a room with several other programmers and
everybody looks like they're doing a whole lot but most of them were
just surfing the early Internet and writing gag programs to prank each
other with.
A few years ago I ran across an article that said that getting up and
walking around once in hour was probably the best thing you can do for
your mental and physical health. Since then I've read multiple
articles that talk about that and talk about the dangers of sitting
for too long and how our office jobs have led to our sedentary
lifestyle so many times.
So I like to think of my walking around the parking lot at work as
another case of me being ahead of my time. I love that!
