Working With Others  

 

The second part of my 20% Time project is exercising and sadly, I can’t work out at the only gym in my town (it’s a long story). So with no treadmill or weights to burn off my fat, I decided to take walks every day. You may think that walking is not exercising, however, it’s better than nothing! 

 

I take walks with my mom and my dog Elmo for about 30-40 minutes per day and that has helped me engrain walking into my lifestyle. If I went alone, I definitely would’ve been less motivated to it regularly; but since I have the responsibility of keeping my dog healthy as well, it pushes me to walk as much as I can. Also, it’s great having company while walking because it’s very relaxing to talk about your concerns, how your day went, and more while taking a leisurely walk. Working or just doing anything with someone else can help you stick to your goals because you rely on each other to be consistent. Most importantly, you don’t get lonely and instead feel more motivated at times. 

 

Also, having a book meeting this Friday went much better than I expected. I thought we would get easily distracted and talk about non-related topics, but it was mostly very quiet because everyone was invested in their books. With some coffee and white noise from the cafe, it felt like I had more concentration when I was with others than when I read alone. There was a specific atmosphere from a close group of people who were quietly reading together that affected me. Many others who were part of the meeting said it felt like a very productive time for them as well (which makes me happy). I plan to do this more often since it is helping both me and others! So, working with others on my project has significantly helped me and I suggest others to try it out as well. I'm not saying that you need an official partner to work on the 20% Time project together, but occasionally doing it with someone else can even change the way you work alone.