Who's got Your Back? Part 1

One of the perils of certain day jobs (especially in service occupations) is the physical strain that makes it difficult to do anything worthwhile after work. If you're on your feet all day serving food or giving care, if you're bending over to pull merchandise out of a bin or if you lift heavy objects, some after-hours activities, such as dancing in a musical, will be hard. Even if your passion/vocation is sedentary, such as writing, feeling achy and tired puts a crimp in your plans. I'll be writing more about measures you can take to alleviate pain and boost your energy, but here are a few quick suggestions to try:

• Do your "other life" activities before going in to work.
• Make sure you're in decent physical shape to begin with. I found that for me, a combination yoga-pilates class several times a week helped me become more resilient.
• Work several hours of project time into every day off.
  
• For heavy-duty house and yard projects, try getting a group of 3-4 friends or coworkers together and have a work party at each person's house. That way, necessary work gets done but none of you breaks your back doing too much.
• Finesse ways to carry out tasks at work without making moves that practically guarantee injury, such as lifting heavy objects by bending over (I know, I know- easier said than done! Just do your best.).

More later...