Categories: Rituals

Ultimate Work Fantasy

Smoking is the New Sitting

Previously I proudly boasted about having written and published 650 blog posts.

And whilst I’m a reasonably quick typist, this took a lot of hard work sitting at my computer tapping away. And, whilst I used to think sitting at my desk for long periods of time was a badge of honour reflecting my commitment and discipline, recent research suggests it might just be killing me.

An exaggeration? Maybe, maybe not. Sitting is the new smoking. For more on this read Chris Kresser’s article on the Huffington Post.

I highly recommend Chris’s work around Paleo and lifestyle health.

If we accept that sitting is not good for us, then I don’t want to be sitting down to create my next 650 blog posts. Plus I think there are more effective ways than tapping a keyboard to punch out my ideas.

Speaking Versus Writing

Whilst I write well, or at least I think I do, I know that it’s hard work for me sometimes and I don’t consider myself a natural writer. I do consider myself a natural talker though. Which makes sense given we all learnt to talk way before we tried to write. Typically, I find it way easier to get the ideas out of my head when I speak them rather than write them.

And with this in mind, I’ve taken on a new challenge today. I’ve just purchased the latest edition of Dragon Dictate – Version 4. I did buy Version 2 a number of years ago but found that it didn’t meet my needs. Or, if I’m blunt, it just didn’t work as well as I wanted. Plus, it didn’t let me transcribe the audio that I’d already created in my webinars and podcasts.

In recent times, I’ve been using the dictation software that is included in Apple’s Maverick operating system. I find this useful and not very accurate. It might be my Australian accent.

[Tweet “What is your ultimate work? How would you ideally like to work?”]

My Ultimate Work Fantasy

Anyway, I’ve been thinking… What would Ultimate Work look like? I’m thinking it’s a combination of hyper-productivity and super-lifestyle.

I’ve started walking a lot lately. Partly, in response to the ‘Sitting is the New Smoking’ research. I walk on average an hour a day. Some days more, some days less. Mostly, I use this as learning time as I listen to podcasts on my iPhone. And, now I want to make a 10 times increase in my productivity.

Here’s my thinking…

If I could dictate my thoughts as I walk, I could count my walking time as creation time. The ultimate expression of this is that I could go for an all day hike and count this as a working day. I could literally write my books and blog posts as I walk. I love this blurring of work and leisure. I think I’d get more done and I’d enjoy my life more doing so. That’s a goal worth pursuing!

This would be Ultimate Work for me!

My First Spoken Post

The post you’re reading now was supposed to be my first spoken post. And, to be honest, it wasn’t the perfect start. I had several attempts in a couple of different ways of recording this post using Dragon Dictate. And, now I’m editing those spoken words sitting at my desk tapping with my fingers. This is not quite the ‘Ultimate Work’ I had in mind. And, my work fantasy is sufficiently sexy to motivate me to persevere and see if I can make this work. I’ll let you know in future posts. I’ll also be curious to see if you notice a change in writing style as a I talk more than I type.