One Fast Buffalo

Not unlike many modern working stiffs, Designers have a big challenge when it comes to staying healthy &  fit. This is because what we do for a living tends to dictate that we put in long stretches of time on the computer and are physically in-active much of the day. So of course the less active we are the more what we eat effects our health.  Diet is HUGE for designers. I think being a designer is particularly challenging when it comes to overall health and fitness. I experienced this first hand when I made the transition from playing sports to working as a full time graphic designer. This started in college when I started studying design but at least in college I was playing baseball and for the most part was out there playing or working out for 4-6 hours or more a day. After I finished my minor league baseball tour and turned to design full-time I really was shocked at how fast I went from really fit, to really unfit.  After about 2 years of working I was really out of shape, looking bad, and worse feeling bad. So about that time I started trying to find a way to practice design but also practice being fit, feeling good and finding real balance in terms of work and health. Turns out I'm a better designer and happier when I'm fit. So both of those things I find GOOD. After a couple years of experimenting I really developed a lifestyle that manages to be active and healthy without working out to death. I hve time to design. And I really enjoy eating the way I eat. 

**DISCLAIMER **I'm not intending for this post to be some kind of HOW TO GUIDE to health and fitness. But I figure I've got 12 years of practice going here and have carved out a simple plan for myself  with regards to being fit while not sacrificing the crucial focused time I need to continue developing as a designer.  So I'm just telling you what works for me.  And of course I'M NOT A DOCTOR, TRAINER, or NUTRITIONIST.  So feel free to share your thoughts and contribute. 

The less you work ( spend time on the computer in our case ) the less inactivity should be a problem. So start there. I'm not kidding here.

 

Someone sent me this email yesterday…"Hi OFB, where can I send samples to if I was looking for overflow freelance work? I have 23 years of experience... and I'm inexpensive... and I work crazy long hours."

Was I supposed to be impressed by that? Why have we learned to wear overworking as some kind of badge of honor? Work hard yes….well I guess. I say worked focused. Work smart. Then spend time actually enjoying friends and family and hey even meeting new people. Relationships are a big factor in how healthy you are too.

 

I also really think part of being a good designer is spending time see the world. Without that, you'll never grow and evolve as a designer.  So you gotta save time for that too.

 

My belief is that if you give a designer, or yourself for that matter, a longer period of time to execute a project you will certainly fill every minute of that time. So give yourself less time. I plan to write and entire article on my thoughts related to working less, doing more with less time, not filling time. But here I will just say the first remedy to working less, is giving yourself less time to work.  For all of my projects I schedule the block of time in advance. I take the time to read thru the research that my team provides well in advance of that scheduled time so that I get most of the design idea in my head before I ever sit down at the computer. When I sit down it's about executing what's in my head. Fast and good. That really minimizes my computer time. When I sit down to work its will a very clear purpose and focused effort on a particular task.  This also is related to my opinions on NOT working by the hour.  Sooooooo, you are going to pay me MORE if I take LONGER to come up with a good idea? And you think that its worth more $ that way?.....arg makes me so dam mad. Haha. More on that later someday in the future time. 

Tip 2 -  Simplicity in Life. This is related to Tip 1 and I see this all the time. But in a modern world it is hard not to be guilty of this one. People work so many hours trying to sustain a lifestyle that mostly supports having lots of expensive stuff that really adds no real value to the experience of life. Just be more conscience of what makes you happy I guess is my point. When you require less stuff, you need less $, and you don't need to work as much. That goes also for size.  I am a big proponent of living and working in smaller spaces. Good blog here.  And great post about George Bernard Shaw's work shed. And of course trailers are great too! haha.  For self employed designers or owners of design firms I highly recommend combining workspace with living space. More on that here.  I had large office spaces for years. It's just more space to pay for, more work needed to pay for that, less time to eat well and MOVE more. Less time for everything else I think.  I'll also add that once you get into simplicity it's actually quite fun, It's freeing and less stressful. It's a religion itself I think. The benefits are massive I think. 

***SAVE EARTH ALERT*** Not to mention think of the crazy amount of energy is spent simply by the fact that most of us both rent or own a house or apartment that we live in AND work in an office. So while that home space sits there being heated or cooled all day we are off at a second location working. That space is also using energy constantly. Much of our energy consumption problems would be solved I think if there was a massive movement towards working from home/work spaces. I'm hoping in the future that more house design considers making good workspaces in the home.

I do some lots of things to simplify. I'll mention one here that I take some crap for. I actually have a quite a peculiar habit of buying lots of the same clothes and pretty much where the same thing everyday. For instance, I have a few pair of jeans for meetings, a few pair of my favorite black cargo pants that I work in when in the studio, a large supply of Alternative Apparel Alternative Earth T-shirts and a long sleeve Alternative Apparel Scout Henley T-Shirts. I have a stack of each in Gray, Black, White and Brown. It may be boring to some but to me its what I feel is my look and I don't have to spend time thinking about it everyday. It's also comfortable AS HELL. I wear what I wear. I have 3 pair of the same burlap Toms brand shoes. I have a couple nice Dress jackets to look decent at a meeting. And I throw in a mix of button down pearl snap shirts of course. I have 3 of my favorite hat. But overall its grab and go and everything ends up looking plenty good together. I think! haha. 

*** DISCLOSURE *** I do however kinda go nuts on the vintage belts, vintage rings, vintage boots (43 pair and counting) and vintage leather jackets. All of which work well with the very simple wardrobe of jeans, cargo pants, and Tshirts. And I suppose it makes those things less boring. I also have lots of fun with beard and mustache growing :)

Tip 3 -  Simplicity in Diet. When it comes to diet, and I don't mean BEING ON A DIET or starving yourself, I think you have to keep it very simple, reliable, and frankly predictable if you want to eat well consistently.  And I think staying fit is 80% about what you eat. I believe in eating the same things over and over. If you rely on taking each days meals as they come and figuring out what to eat….very few of us can make good choices consistently. I know this is true of myself. But I am all about good taste.

Make a list of foods. What works for me is basically developing a specific list of foods that are a) good for me….specifically foods don't CREATE fat and have positive health benefits 2) that I like the taste of. Simple. 

Here is my current list of foods:

Bison 

Beef 

Pork 

Salmon

Tuna

Chicken 

White Fish

Eggs

Bacon or Turkey Bacon

Baby Spinach

Green Onions

Artichokes

Hearts of Palm

Black Beans

Lentils

Guacamole

Avocados

Cilantro 

Green Beans

Broccoli

Sun Dried tomatoes

Carrots

Grapefruit

Blueberries

Almonds

Brazil Nuts

Pistachios

Olive Oil

Vinegar

Soy Sauce

Dark Chocolate bars

Smoked Cheddar Cheese

Red Wine

and did I mention a bit of Bourbon?

Make sure you are stocked up on spices too. Makes all the difference. My favorites are black pepper, garlic powder, garlic salt, red pepper. 

 

***Free Love Tip*** Guys, might as well pick up some fresh flowers for the ladies while you are at the market…goes a long way ;)

So I go buy the food. Right. Ok, got it.  Then I simply eat off that list of food ONLY. I can go to the market and buy my list in about 15 minutes every 2 weeks and be done. All of this stuff is located on the outer layers of the market. Stay out of the middle of the market. Thats basically where the crap is. So once I by the foods on my list I know mentally that I am prepared to eat well for the next 2 weeks and also that I'll waste the $ if I don't stick to it.  

 

I don't count calories. I'd rather just know that I can eat as much of the foods off my list as I want rather than worry about calories and portions. And that works for me. This comes into play whether its eating out or cooking at home. I just keep the list in mind when Im eating out.  If you really make a list of foods that help your body burn fat and that you like it really won't be that long and after a while you just know the list.  

*** ANOTHER EARTH ALERT **** And of course, if you haven't started buying organic, wild, cage-free, and local by now…..really? Start buying in those categories so that the market shifts in that direction for the future. Simple as that. Plus your cutting out the bad stuff that is in most of our food system. For our family, my wife and I have fun growing most of our vegetables at our local community garden down the street. We keep a small plot there and the kids have fun with it. Once you get it going its not a huge amount of work compared to what you get out of it. 

 

***Guilt Trip****I'd also challenge you to simply make and effort to buy less food that comes in a package. Sorry designers, I know this means less work but hey trash IS a problem. At least push your clients to think of ways to minimize packaging and even printing. Push for sustainability.  

Tip 4  - Protein is the Man. This is related to Tip 3. Not to go into great detail about WHY, but its pretty obvious by the list that I prescribe to low carb and to some extent high fat eating.  I'll just say that for me…if I eat lots of carbs I gain lots of weight really fast. If I eat high protein low carb meals I stay leaner and feel better. It also means working out is not about LOSING WIEGHT. So I eat meat, I eat greens, I don't eat white stuff (bread, pasta, milk, etc).   

Tip 5 - Cook for yourself. This is HUGE.  And simplicity plays a big role here to. I'm no chef but as a designer I bet your actually a pretty good cook. Cooking just takes a little creativity and the right gut feeling about what things go together. I don't own a cookbook and never have. Basically for lunch and dinner I just grab a main protein from my stash, grill it up, grill up some of the veggies with Olive oil, throw em all together on a bed of baby spinach, throw in some spices, drop all of this in a bowl and go. I have attached pics of the meals I ate in the last week as an example. I'm not naming them or even providing recipes. That's not the point. Its just about foods I like (my list), cooked real fast, thrown in bowl. They aint pretty but they taste real good to me. Big thing is its fast…it takes me about 10 minutes to cook up one of the meals in bowl. I don't spend a lot of time FINDING the food. Its all right there. I don't over think it…grill, chop it, mix it, eat it. During the weekdays I am religious about doing this for both lunch and dinner. And this alone keeps my weight in good standing I think. Then exercise becomes about stress relief, fun, and muscle maintenance…. not weight loss.

If you don't work from home or an office where you are able to cook. Just KNOW your list when you go out to eat.  

Tip 6 - Eat whatever you want on Saturday. I think this might be the most important tip on the list for me. Because without this one I couldn't maintain tip 3 consistently. On Saturday I really basically eat as much of the bad stuff I love as I can stomach.  Hamburgers, fries, pizza, ice cream, all the bad carbs. This keeps your metabolism fired up for the week (I've been told) but more importunely I get SO satisfied on this day that by the time Monday rolls around Im really ready to get back to my list and roll.  I don't really crave the bad foods during the week.  So mentally I DO get to eat all the foods I crave…I just limit it to Saturdays. Although I will admit that Sunday is the hardest day of the week. Sometimes I just settle for halfzees (1/2 good food 1/2 bad). 

Tip 7- Good Snacks. This is big too. In between meals is where many of us go wrong. What works for me is keeping all kinds of nuts around. Almonds, Brazil Nuts, and Pistachios are my favs.  Just grab small amounts don't go crazy. Stay away from the chips, crackers, and of course candy man! I also like half and avocado as a snack, or guacamole filled deviled eggs. 

Tip 8 - Don't Drink BAD stuff. I don't drink milk, lots of beer, sodas, or juice with lots of sugar. I pretty much drink coffee all morning, Green Tea all afternoon, Water at meals,  and red wine at night. Ok some Bourbon too :)  I also try and avoid artificial sweeteners and diet drinks. That stuff will kill you man.

Tip 9 - Eat Breakfast.  Eating high protein breakfast really helps you eat better the rest of the day. I pretty much eat 3 boiled eggs, some turkey bacon or regular bacon and coffee every morning. Sometimes grapefruit and blueberries. That's it. Stay away from the American obsession of cereals, grains, juice, and toast.  I also make a batch of omelet muffins for the week. Get a muffin tray, mix up eggs, green onions, artichoke, a bit of salt and pepper, and whatever else you like in an omelet thats ON THE LIST. Drop that mix down in the muffin try spots….cook it till its puffy. Put them in freezer bags in the fridge. Great to grab and go all week heated or not. 

Tip 10 - Be Mobile and MOVE. So again, focus on tips 1-9 because I think this is 80% or even more of the battle to stay fit as a designer. Get that right, and then focus on this one.

Humans just weren't meant to sit in chairs for long periods of time. It's not only inactivity its bad for your hip flexors. The less flexible you become the less good you will feel. The more you will not feel like being active. 

- Start off the day talking a 15 minute walk. I walk my dogs. This is just as much to clear my head for the day as it is for the exercise. 

 - I keep my mailbox down the street at a post office box which happens to be near my local coffee shop. So in the middle of the day I usually jump on my trusty OFB Beach Cruiser single speed bicycle and ride down to get mail and coffee.  Skateboards and ripsticks work here as well. So ride a bike for small errands. 

- I take a couple 5-10 min breaks during work sessions to just get outside for a few minutes, stretch, throw the ball with my kids.  Yes, I work from a studio I built at my house so I have it good in this area. I consider myself lucky. Much happier than when I used to go into an office everyday. I think my co-workers feel the same. 

 - I will occasionally work standing up. 

 - I lift weights about 2-3 times per week for about 25 minutes. Usually late at night. I have a simple dumbbell setup in my garage to its right there when I need it.  I prescribe to this simple theory... Do 1 set of each exercise TO FAILURE and only 1 time per week. Simple as that. I work all major muscle groups. This one is also good for designers so we can build bigger muscles for this parking lot gang fights with regular folk.  We as designers could stand to be a bit more "fierce" in my opinion ;). 

- Most nights right before I go to bed I do as many pushups as I can. And a set of some type of abs exercise…..again till failure. That's it. Just a good burn.

- I run a couple times a week. I jog for a while but mostly do sets of sprints. This is also as much for the brain as it is for the exercise. I get more ideas running than at any other time. So I run with my iPhone and have apps that transpose voice recording into text that I can email myself. Dragon Dictation is a good one. Also, try barefoot running….http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/  or http://lunasandals.com/. 

- Yoga is great and I do it a bit…..It just bores the ever living hell out of me. I'd rather sit on the porch (or Airstream front step) and smoke my tobacco pipe to get that calm feeling. Ha ha.

- Other than these things, I work to NOT work….so I like to do long Airstream trips with my family and mostly places where we can surf,  snowboard, fly fish, explore, hike, etc. So we are active when we are on the road. 

 - Exploring/Junkin/Pickin…you name it. To me, as a designer if you are out finding "stuff"… you ARE working.  It's not just leisure time. You are finding  sparks of inspiration that lead to the new ideas we make.

 - Oh I also still play about 40 baseball games year. Thats for fun and there is some exercise involved. And I might mention here my awesome wife who is totally cool on me playing that much :) 

- Last, when I  can, I get my feet up. This is not of course active but its less sitting in that god awful workstation position. I only sit in that position when I am doing design. If I am doing other tasks on the computer my feet are up and head is not leaning over my laptop. 

BONUS TIP - Screw Stress. Stress just simply kills us and kills happiness. I'm not saying it's easy to just not worry about things but….its mostly internal. And for me really trying to practice simplicity is the best way to prevent stress.  I read message once by a Shaolin Warrior  I keep it around because it helps me manage stress. I think as a creative person yourself you will get it. 

"Focus solely on the movement (the act of being creative and  making) with the breath. Worries circle in our minds, and the more we think, the more momentum our worries gain, making art is a pair of scissors, which cuts through the thoughts and gives our mind and body a place of stillness."