My family and I are fortunate to live in a modest, wonderful home. Our house is one of the smaller ones in the neighborhood, but we more than make up for that with a spacious backyard. Ours adjoins a wooded pond, and we have clusters of tall, older trees, plus younger trees hugging their trunks, bordering the pond and covering about a third of the yard. It takes an hour to mow the lawn, and that is a weekly labor of love for me.
It is quite the dreadful task, however, come autumn when our lovely, majestic trees shed their leaves and mowing must sidle into raking. Depending on the rate of shedding, raking the entire backyard takes 8 - 10 hours in a given week. I bore the task just fine, but it was no labor of love.
In the summer, when we're having an unusually dry spell, our trees shed leaves as well. For example, from early August until yesterday, I had to rake on a regular basis. No enough water reaches the uppermost leaves, so they simply die and fall off. The following photos capture what I'm talking about: facing straight back toward the pond, then sweeping right, until 45° to the right are our deck and patios.
So what does this have to do with The Core Algorithm?
You see, at first blush, the task is clear: clear my yard of leaves. For the longest time, that was how I saw it, again, as a labor of dread. But now in light of my conceptual framework and applications model, I have an altered view of this task.
We had a family membership to a gym, but my frequency of visits dropped from 3 - 4 times a week, to 0 - 1 time a week. It made no sense to renew it, when it expired in June. But this dry spell was a kind of blessing in disguise: Raking is quite an exercise, really.
The repeated movement from left to right, or right to left, when I switch sides, is a terrific core exercise. There is a lot of squatting and standing involved, as I scooped up leaves and put them into the yard bag. Plus, I haul full bags to the garage for storing, then bring them up to the curb on garbage pickup day. Remember, we have an enormous yard, so simply walking back and forth is an exercise.
The Core Algorithm guides us to begin with the end in mind. We must work first to clarify what we're trying to accomplish. One hallmark of my Algorithm for Exercise is efficiency. Put colloquially, it's about killing two birds with one stone. Specifically, I can keep fit and healthy, while clearing the yard. What was once a dreadful task now has a broader, meaningful purpose.
Just think about what I save:
- I save time from having to traveling back-and-forth to the gym, plus working out.
- I save gasoline from not having to drive the car, so my algorithm is energy conserving and thereby environment friendly.
- I save money from dispensing with a gym membership.
- We used to hire landscapers to help with the yard, because of my busy schedule, but we save money by having me do it.
I do have a full workout routine, which comprises of daily T'ai Chi, sitting meditation, stretching and weight-training using dumbbells. All of which I do at no cost, because I do them at home or outside in the yard. The raking is my aerobic (i.e., cardiovascular) exercise:
- I concentrate on proper form. Before, I sometimes reached to rake leaves. Now that I concentrate on the activity itself, my footwork is well managed, placed and rooted.
- I move my body in concert, mainly from my trunk (i.e., core), so it's not independent arm and shoulder movements.
- Like a true golfer or hockey player, I don't force the swing of the rake. With proper body mechanics, I make sure the arc of the rake is a smooth, natural one.
- When I bend, squat, and stand up for scooping up the leaves, again I concentrate on proper form. I don't bend at the waist, reach down, or lift with my back. Rather, I squat down and up, so I use my legs more than my back. It's a simple but crucial occupational method for workers who have lift and haul things.
- Moreover, I keep a steady pace of work, and sustain a moderate intensity level for an aerobic effect. Remember, too, that this pace and intensity are good for burning fat calories.
- I plan for four hours of aerobics a week, which I partial out to one-hour sessions in the yard over four days.
So to a casual observer, I am simply raking the yard. I have a lot of work to do. I have to hurry the effort, because no one has all the time in the world to do dreadful tasks like this.
But in reality, I am not simply raking the yard. Yes, there is a lot of work to do, but that is all opportunities to keep fit and healthy. I really don't have a deadline, so I needn't hurry. My primary purpose has shifted from clearing the yard, which is now secondary, to exercising properly: again with good form and aerobic pacing.
By the way, there is a lot to my yard work besides raking and mowing: There are also edging, trimming and weeding. Plus, I apply the same algorithm for housework, such as cleaning and vacuuming. To be honest, none of these tasks are enjoyable, but I can find the zen of it all. That is, it's more of a meditative effort now, and I see a larger meaningfulness.
Many people, of course, prefer the focus, equipment and classes of a gym. But many people I know are just as busy as I am, and I don't imagine they all work out regularly. The specific things I do are just for me: They work for me, and they serve my multiple purpose.
What is your purpose? What opportunities do you have in your day-to-day life and work to serve that purpose naturally or efficiently? What creative ideas can you come up with, which you can effectively and consistently implement?
This is my Algorithm for Exercise, in essence: Exercise with purpose and for productivity. You determine what, how, where and when, according to what really will work for you vis-a-vis this purpose.
