Hours spent at a desk can take a toll on the body. Most writers understand this feeling, considering it a labor of love. Many also know that a fitness routine may keep them writing longer, but then comes the next step: finding the time necessary to implement whatever program they’ve chosen. But whether you’re making smaller swaps within your rest time or sacrificing some of your writing productivity for exercise, protecting your health is as important to your career—and as simple—as finding time to write.

Swap

Finding time to implement a fitness program, like finding time to write, is done through little swaps and sacrifices rather than large, schedule-shifting actions. If all you have available is one hour a day for your favorite show, and your writing is done for the day, you may need to swap your favorite show for an hour of your fitness routine. This ensures you can make the progress you need toward your fitness goals, so your writing can continue.

Consider writing sprints as something you can easily swap out with exercise, given they tend to be short blocks of time. A typical writing sprint is only a few minutes, followed by moments of resting. That rest time doesn’t mean you can’t exercise; it’s just a rest from writing. If your fitness routine calls for walking, standing, stretching, or even chair yoga, consider using your rest period between sprints as time to rest from writing while exercising your body.

Sacrifice

Sometimes, the answer to finding more time is making sure we’re as efficient with what time we have as possible. If we’re not, a sacrifice is often necessary. If you know physical activity is beneficial to your health and the longevity of your writing career, you may find it worth it to sacrifice some of your writing time—that chapter, that edit, that blurb—for an investment in your health.

It doesn’t take much. The American Heart Association recommends two and a half hours, or 150 minutes, of vigorous physical activity a week. Two and a half hours per week is roughly equivalent to around twenty-three minutes a day.

Try waking up twenty-three minutes earlier, swapping out a writing sprint, doubling down by walking and dictating, choosing to exercise over the latest episode on Netflix, or otherwise finding opportunities where you can use the time you have to prioritize fitness. You invest in your writing career; now be sure you’re investing in the longevity of the machine that keeps the words flowing, too.

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