144: Listener Q&A—Keepers and Strategies for Too Much Sitting

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What's next? This is a question we're all having to ask and answer more frequently. I'm Jenny Blake, your host of the Pivot Podcast and author of Pivot. The only move that matters is your next one.

For show notes from this episode, visit pivotmethod.com podcast if Change is the only constant, then let's get better at it. Here we go.

Hello everybody. Coming to you today with a quick listener Q and A episode. Although this one will be a split, we got one Keeper audio note, as I would call it, from my friend Katherine and podcast listener we met through the podcast. And then a question from Mark Ross who Shout out. Mark is such an awesome part of the Pivot list community. I just love your feedback and replies. It's funny that we're starting with a quote keeper from Katherine because I have been ranting to fellow podcast friends lately that I think the practice of reading your reviews if you're a podcaster before the start of a show, I'm not into it. I don't think it serves the listeners. All of you. I feel like it just fluffs the ego of the podcast host a little bit. And then what's the goal? Oh, to try to get people to leave more reviews. So I just feel like it's one of these practices that I'm hearing more and more people do. And yet I personally find it a little obnoxious as a listener, and I'm always just fast forwarding to get to the actual meat of the show. That said, after several of these rants and I'm always, you might not know this from my actual episodes, but I can be really a curmudgeon sometimes about what's going on out there in the world, in the online world, podcasting, blogging, whatever, I set up my first website almost 15 years ago. So there are certain things that I love and then certain things that I think are just silly. Okay? But out of sheer curiosity, after having ranted to several friends, I decided to go look at my reviews. Now, I haven't done this in a long time and I just wanted to say it warmed my heart so much. So while I'm not going to make a habit of inserting them or reading them out loud on Pivot podcast episodes, I just really did want to take a moment to say thank you. That if you're one of those people that left a review, I could not believe how kind they were. And to hear reflected back what you're getting out of the show and the impact that it leaves and what you like about it, it's actually quite helpful for me.

It.

It really does inform what you enjoy and your takeaways. Podcasting is such an intimate medium. You're always hearing me say that, but because of that, the podcast host, me, it's so close to my heart, to my soul, to who I am, that it's sometimes hard to step back and get that perspective. So huge. Thank you. If you have left a rating review, they of course they really do help. I just don't like that regular asking, asking, asking. I feel like if you genuinely like a show and you want to go rate and review it, that's amazing. And I will make a better habit of reading them from here forward. Sometimes it's nerve wracking every. There's so many authors I've talked to where as soon as you've read one one star review that is seared in your mind. Even one of my biggest mentors, Seth, God, I think I don't. I'm pretty sure he doesn't read any reviews, good or bad, of his books. Although maybe that's changed. I don't know. I'll have to ask him. So anyway, sometimes there's that nervous feeling like, oh, what's in there? Do I even want to know? Will it change what I'm doing or what I feel called to do? But the experience just blew me away. So really, thank you everybody. And with that, that's why I kind of had to give you this ironic, paradoxical, I don't know, preamble to Katherine's audio submission. Because maybe you've heard the plug for Pivot podcast where you can submit a question@pivotmethod.com ask and so Katherine left a keeper note. And I call it a keeper because when I was doing training and development in the early days my first year at Google, one of the trainers who had been there much longer than me said whenever he gets a nice note from a trainee, he labels it keeper and he saves it in his keeper file. And that way, if he was ever having a bad day, he could go to this keeper's file and read notes from people who had appreciated his work, his classes, any of the training sessions that he had done. But another reason that I'm really happy to share Katherine's audio is that she is such a great podcast success story as a podcast listener and friend tours from afar. So this is like, I just, I'm so excited to share this story with you and you'll hear her kind of mention or allude to it in the submission. Katherine was listening to the Pivot podcast and she heard an episode. It was episode 75 on becoming a trend curator and non obvious trends. This was for 2018 with Rohit Bhargava. She liked the interview so much and what Rohit was doing that she reached out to him. Lo and behold, steps unfolded and next thing you know, Katherine is publishing and now has published a book under Rohit's imprint, Idea Press. Kathryn's book, and I'll put this in the show notes, is called the Non Obvious Guide to Being More Creative. And I will tell you, I think she reached out to Rohit directly after listening to that show. She didn't ask me to make the connection, she just reached out, they formed a relationship, and next thing you know, he's publishing her first book. So let that be a lesson that you don't always she didn't ask me. She didn't reach out. Although we did have coffee one time in New York and then she took me to her favorite little niche pencil shop in the Lower east side. It's like one of her passions. And I got very fancy pencils with her. It was very exciting, but she didn't need to even ask me. She reached out to Rohit as a result of listening. So you might have heard me talk about friend tours, people who are peers and mentors. You don't even have to be super close with them. You can actually listen to something like their podcast, get ideas, get exposed to new people, reach out to those people. And then of course, it's always on you of how you show up and what you have to offer. So with that, let's get into Katherine's note.

Hi Jenny, it's Katherine Hayden calling in. I was inspired by the recent Pick youk Brain podcast and your new format for submitting questions to send you Not a question, but a note of gratitude. I thank you so much for continuously over the years sharing your inspiration with us through the podcast. As you know, it is because of your podcast that I recently reached and completed a major milestone of writing my most recent book. And I'm so grateful to you for bringing on incredible guests and having the dedication to year by year, put this podcast out there into the world and share so much of yourself. It benefits all of us and I thank you for your generosity.

Thank you so much, Katherine. One of the best parts of podcasting is getting to meet people like you and that serendipity of not knowing who will be exposed to the show, who will decide to reach out. So I really, really appreciate it. Now let's jump over to Mark's question. Over to you, Mark.

Hey Jenny, this is Mark Ross from Houston, Texas. Love your show, love your energy, love your book, love your content, love all that curiosity. Question how do you stay energized during a typical week when you're not traveling during the day? Do you stand a lot? Do you move around a lot? I know that the work you do requires a lot of stationary activity sometimes just curious how you do it and the tips that you may have for us who want to learn more about that. Thank you so much, Mark.

I love your energy and I love your generosity. Thank you for being such an amazing all star listener of the show and for always providing feedback along the way. It really means a lot to me. This is a great question and part of the reason I do yoga and Pilates is I do get very tight hamstrings from sitting all day. I'm sure many listeners, you included, Mark, have heard the phrase that sitting is the new smoking. And I have to say I haven't totally cracked the net yet. I know my friend Petra uses a standing desk. So does my brother. So do many people. I haven't done that yet for some reason. In any case, there are four things I find most helpful. 1. I sit on a bouncing ball as my desk chair and I've heard great things that this helps release energy, it helps reduce stress, and of course it does encourage proper alignment. So I found an article for us on gear fire. 10 reasons to use an exercise ball as your chair. 1 forces proper spine alignment. That's true. And it does engage my core and helps me remember to sit up straight. Causes you to frequently change positions. Fitness is at your fingertips. You could definitely walk the ball out. Start doing sit ups if you wanted to. Also even doing, not even pushups, but getting into a pushup position where you're at a diagonal plank and holding that for 10. The count of 10 is even a very powerful core. Building exercise, improve your balance. Get that six pack you've been wanting. Improves your circulation. I didn't even know that you'll Feel more energetic. This article says burn up to 350 calories per day. I don't know about that. Really cheap and come on, it's fun. And that's true. I got mine on Amazon for probably $25. What I like about it is that there is actually some kinetic energy that comes from not being totally static in my chair. Maybe if you sit in a rolling chair, you know, that feeling of rolling or twisting from side to side. So it kind of helps me release energy throughout the day. I can just find myself bouncing on it. I remember I took a speaking workshop, keynote speaking workshop many years ago, and the speaker said, if you get nervous before events, actually go sit on a bouncing ball if you have one anywhere in your home or nearby. And that that can release a lot of the stress and adrenaline.

Another strategy for me is not scheduling too many video meetings. And it's getting a little overwhelming because now more and more companies and people are wanting to meet on Zoom. And I have to say, I cringe a little bit, partly because I just don't want to get camera ready. So it means I actually have to look presentable and figure out at least a little hair and makeup. If not, you know, nothing crazy, but I just can't look like I rolled out of bed. But more than that, I like phone calls and phone meetings because it allows me to get up and walk around and pace a little bit, go get a glass of water. So I just do not personally like feeling stuck in front of the camera where I can't move. Because the other thing about video calls and video meetings, yes, of course it does create more intimacy or like you, you can, you can get visual cues. You can maybe connect more with the person that you're looking at. So I'm not totally opposed, but I feel I'm so stuck. I'm just stuck within that little camera window and I can't even move too much or I'll be out of view, or the camera, the computer camera will be looking at my nose or something. So it's not my preference when scheduling unless there's a really good reason for it. Or sometimes I do a lot of client work with companies, especially if it's a conference call, and that's just how they do it. I will accommodate, but I don't initiate video calls. The third strategy that I find helpful is having meetings and social visits with friends as walk and talks as much as I can. You might have listened to the Free up founder time excerpt that I did on the Pivot podcast that was episode number one 33 pivotmethod.com 133 and in that one I talked about time blocking and content batching. Both of those really help me batch the time that I'm sitting at my computer and then I'm free to do other things. Now I do not always make this work, of course, in order to see me or hang out or have a get to know you coffee. It doesn't always have to be as a walk and talk or a workout with a friend, but those times have been the most joyful and successful. So outside of dinners with friends, which I really love, especially if I'm meeting a new person, I actually get quite impatient just sitting frozen at a table, sitting across from another person. I love the energy and the fresh air that walk and talks provide. I even met a friend recently who loves rollerblading, which I this is maybe a guilty pleasure exercise, I don't know. But I grew up rollerblading and I freaking love it. So I cannot wait to get a pair for here New York and ring up this friend. And I think a lot of people actually struggle to fit exercise into their life. So if you suggest getting together, maybe it's even a friend tour or a potential mentor, and you suggest getting together over some form of movement, I think that can also go a really long way in the day. The last strategy that helps me is doing a quick yoga or pilates or movement or going for a walk either before I start my day before I start my meetings, or stopping my work around three or four and doing it then. So while I do sit for a very concentrated and focused, I would say five hours max. Then I'm up and I'm up and adamant the rest of the day I try not to be sitting and working in front of my computer. Another thing I notice. So there's a lot of research now showing that this hunched over position, the C curve in the spine of all of us looking at our phones all day that our heads imagine weigh, I don't know, 10 to 12 pounds. That pressure that we put on our spine when our head is looking forward, it actually throws off our entire body mechanics. And so as much as I can, I remember to pull my phone up to eye level rather than hunching over to crane my neck turned down and tight. And so even something like that helps me stay as ergonomic as I can throughout the day. Although again, this is a practice for me as well. So those are some of the strategies that help me. I would love to know what you and any other listeners do to stay active throughout the day, especially if your job involves sitting. I remember when I did yoga teacher training at White Lotus in Santa Barbara back in 2010, the instructor and just really well known yogi, one of the first Americans, I think to bring it like really mainstream in the US his name was Gongo White. And he explained how we are all so hunched over all day where our spine is always in this curled again that C curve where maybe we're sleeping and our there's a slight curve as our bottom half depresses more into the mattress than the top half. Then we're sitting in our car. And for a lot of people who I don't have a car right now, but a lot of people who drive in a car, you're also sitting in a kind of C position. Then we sit at our desk and unless you remember to really straighten your spine, lift your crown of the head to the ceiling, roll your shoulders up, down and back, engage your core, tuck in your ribs, try not to hunch unless you're doing those things throughout the day. You're probably sitting at your desk in a somewhat curved manner. Get back in our car. And then if you're someone that relaxes at the end of the day by sitting and watching a few TV shows, most couches or leisure chairs, Michael and I have these two big fat lazy boy chairs. It was like our one indulgence when we moved. You're again in that C curve. You're again. So he explained the real importance of doing back bending exercises to counter all of that sitting. So again, there's those tight hamstrings because look at the position of our legs are in that 90 degree angle all day. So the hamstrings are really tight. Runners would get really tight hamstrings as well. That's why a down dog. Even just doing a forward fold is good for those hamstrings. And then you can also do a hamstring stretch laying on the ground where you lift one leg straight and pull it in and just kind of working out the kinks. And then the other one is back bending. So not everyone can just lay on the floor and do a straight up back bend, full wheel, as they would call it in yoga. But whatever you can to maybe on your stomach, you do a Superman pose, anything. Just imagine you're trying to actually go the other direction. So instead of hunching over, instead of being completely vertical, whether standing or on the floor, you're actually doing some things Superman.

Connecting your fists, interlocking your hands behind your back and sort of squeezing. You can even do that right now, wherever you're listening, as long as you're not driving and doing things throughout the day to counter the hunched overness that we often fall into without realizing it. I've seen all kinds of gimmicky little tech tools on Instagram that people could use. I've never tried them, but I'd be curious if any of you have. So that was even a little longer of an answer and really a tangent into the yoga world of this. But I appreciate the question, Mark, and I feel like just your awareness alone is already something. And I have a feeling you're a pretty energetic guy that I imagine you're not sitting too long all day, but who knows. Thank you so much, Mark, for the great question and for sparking these thoughts and conversations. And if any of you are listening and you want to submit a question, you can do that@pivotmethod.com ask finally, if you have made it this far, I would love to hear from you. I'm going to start mentioning the Pivot Method survey. It's really short. I've condensed it a lot. So even if you've taken it before, this is the listener survey that will help me shape the content that I create for you in 2020. So you can go to pivotmethod.com survey and I really geeked out on this because it's a bot. I don't know why. I think chatbots are fun. So the way you take the survey is with a little chatbot on the page and that is done through Type, which is one of the software services that I use. I could use Google Forms, but Typeform is very beautiful and very user friendly. So I love the user experience that it gives. You can check it out and weigh in on what you would like to see and hear from the Pivot podcast in 2020 by going to pivotmethod.com survey as always, thank you all so much for being here, for listening, for writing in with questions and feedback, and for leaving those ratings and reviews wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm not going to you to do it, but I'm going to say if you feel called to. It does. It does mean so much to me. And more than anything, I want to say thank you to those who have already left reviews that it was, it was a really special day. When I got to read those the other day and it did pick me up, I was like, it was a moment. I was feeling a little low energy and it made a big difference. So thank you everybody and talk to you soon.

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Remember, build first, then your courage will follow. Hasn't it always.