Design Lunatic

Get Out There!

Before you read this, keep in mind: All the generalizations below are for example purposes only – don’t be insulted.

As web designers/developers, we generally tend to sit in front of our big 1980×1024 screens for most of the day. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it shows that we have a work drive and that we love our jobs. On the other hand, however, there are minuses to sitting in front of a computer all day. I won’t list all the scientific details, but here’s one: We don’t have enough Vitamin D, which comes from the sun. As I said, there are other bad things that come with staying inside all day.

I believe that sitting in our comfortable high-backed chairs isn’t the right thing to be doing all day. Sure, it’s fun, but there’s a world of wonders awaiting once you step out of you front door. You can go to the pool, and you can go to a cafe (like Starbucks) and work there. Take out that rusty bike of yours that’s been sitting in you garage for who knows how long and bike around your neighborhood. Go walk in your local downtown if you have one.

Inside the house, there are still things you can do. Get a guitar and learn a few songs. It’s extremely gratifying when you finally get a song right. Buy a pull-up bar, exercise, do something physical. Read an interesting book – this may seem similar to sitting at a computer, but it actually is quite a bit better. When you read a book, your imagination has to fill in the details. Most of the time, you don’t do that at a computer. It is also healthier for your eyes. Learn to cook; It’s nice to be able to make whatever food you want, whenever you want.

Far away from our house, other wonders await: Go to the beach with some friends, take a road trip to an interesting spot near you; go look at nature! Go sky dive, bungee jump, learn to fly a plane, or learn to windsurf, learn to kayak, try to ride a unicycle, do a backflip on your bike… Fill in the rest.

The point I’m trying to make here is that we need to experience life. Life includes web stuff, sure, but as the saying goes: “Try a bit of everything”. Good luck, and have fun!