Okay, if you are remotely like me, it’s not the writing aspect of NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) which is getting to you. It’s your technology.
Grrrr. Technology. I want to hate it so bad. But it is such a necessary evil. I write on a MacBook Pro. My blogs are on here. Scrivener (another bane of my existence, if you ask me), Microsoft Word (ugh! why did I get THIS program?), and of course email, Facebook, and other media outlets. But it’s all so FRUSTRATING.
Trying to engage my audience with blogs, newsletters, live feeds, YouTube videos, and of course, my books means I rely pretty heavily on technology. And it also means I tend to get very very angry at technology on a regular basis.
It can be tempting to destroy your life’s work on the computer when the machine restarts without your permission, or throw your phone in the toilet when it stops your recording at the tail end of it when someone tries to call you. But instead, why don’t you channel that hatred and frustration and go workout?
Yes, workout. Get your aggravations and release writer’s block. Smash your workout goals, not your monitor. Some of your issues actually stem from sitting too long. Get a workout finished, feel better, and see more clearly.
Today’s workout is dedicated to all the NaNoWriMo participants who are ready to bash in their keyboard or throw their computer out the window.
Technology Sucks
10 Rounds (or more if you need to release a lot more frustrating energy)
- 5 Slow-it-down Inchworms: From standing, hinge at your hips to bring your hands to the ground. Walk your hands out to a plank position. Lower yourself to the ground and push back up, walk your hands back to your feet and stand. Works your hamstrings like nobody’s business!
- 10 Monitor Slams (not really- just pretend the slam ball is the monitor): If using a homemade medicine ball, I recommend not actually slamming it to the ground, but doing overhead-to-ground-to-overhead. Hold the medicine ball overhead, swing arms down and squat at the same time, placing the ball on the ground and cleaning it back into an overhead position.
- 15 iPhone Smashes (Russian Twists), each side: Sit on the ground, and lift your feet off the ground (you can keep them on the ground to modify). Holding a small weight (medicine ball, dumbbell, or water bottle), twist from side to side, tapping the weight to the ground (or smashing if you feel inclined) each time you twist.
- 20 Keyboard Stomp (Quickfeet), each side: Stand tall, then bring yourself into a quarter-squat position, like you are ready to jump. Quickly run in place in your quarter-squat position. If you are releasing aggression, you may want to stomp hard, but just be careful with the impact.
Don’t you feel better? Now sit down and WRITE!