On Work & Exercise (Health, Life Balance)

“No Time is No Excuse: On Achieving Work/Exercise Balance.” Association for Women in Science (AWIS) 2013 Magazine. Spring 2013 (vol. 44, no. 2).

In 2013, I wrote a piece on exercising even when work life gets crazy for The Association for Women in Science.

My personal view on this sort of "balance" has changed a bit since this was first published in 2013. For example, I wrote:

"If you’re confronted with a crazy work schedule, it’s likely because you’re an 'over'-achiever: a person who tends to bite off more than you can chew, who has very high standards for herself/himself. As such, these same people tend to set high standards for themselves in the gym, where anything less is not even worth it. With good intention, you plan on exercising for an hour a day, run five miles, do circuits: an intense, highly time-intensive routine. Therefore, when you only have 10 minutes available, you may dismiss it as far too little to exercise. But in truth, adding up a lot of little spurts of time will provide you far better benefits than not exercising at all. Throw your all or nothing attitude out the window. Getting to the gym (or simply doing a few floor exercises at home) every single day is essential, even if you can only squeeze in five minutes during an especially hectic day."

Nowadays, sheer enjoyment has become a far higher priority. I often skip the gym altogether and stay active in less rigorous ways--such casually hiking with my family.

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