Poll: Do you take breaks during long projects to stretch or exercise?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Feb 28, 2015

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you take breaks during long projects to stretch or exercise?".

This poll was originally submitted by tilakahuja. View the poll results »



 
Max Deryagin
Max Deryagin  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 05:49
Member (2013)
English to Russian
But of course Feb 28, 2015

Constant sitting in front of your computer can ruin your health in the long run. I stretch every two hours and exercise once a day to keep myself in shape. I also see a masseur on Saturdays — massage is fantastic for both physical and mental health.

P.S. There was this ProZ.com webinar called something like "Yoga for Freelancers". I highly recommend it!

[Edited at 2015-02-28 08:25 GMT]


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 01:49
Spanish to English
+ ...
Sometimes Feb 28, 2015

But other times I might get so absorbed that I forget to take sufficient breaks. I tend to regard interruptions to my translation work as breaks, but as these may take the form of e-mails or calls, they don't really count. And rather than simply doing stretching or exercising per se, I tend to do chores like gardening, chopping up firewood, cleaning up after my five free range hens which poop everywhere, walking the dog... etc.

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 00:49
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Sometimes Feb 28, 2015

I tend to have a break when I get stuck with a problem, then I get up to stretch my legs, take a coffee, do some chores, walk the dog…

 
Helen Hagon
Helen Hagon  Identity Verified
Local time: 00:49
Member (2011)
Russian to English
+ ...
Yes Feb 28, 2015

I just can't sit still in the same place for a whole day. I usually go out for an hour in the middle of the day to something, be it running, walking, cycling or swimming, and I find my concentration is much better than on the odd occasion when I stay indoors and try to work through.

 
Diana Obermeyer
Diana Obermeyer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:49
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
Yes, Feb 28, 2015

and I'm sure my dogs appreciate it

 
David Wright
David Wright  Identity Verified
Austria
Local time: 01:49
German to English
+ ...
I sometimes ... Feb 28, 2015

.. even sleep, eat, go skiing - it depends on how big the project is!

 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 09:49
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Yes Feb 28, 2015

Only when work breaks me

Like neilmac, I'll do household chores like cleaning the bath, washing the dishes and putting the washing out to dry. It's no big deal and quite an unjoyable break from brain-intensive translation, some of which can be quite mind-numbing.

I also get a chance to look out the mountains to the west which is quite nice when we don't have lots of that horrible PM2.5 yellow dust from China polluting our pristine air here. A bad, unwanted Chinese impor
... See more
Only when work breaks me

Like neilmac, I'll do household chores like cleaning the bath, washing the dishes and putting the washing out to dry. It's no big deal and quite an unjoyable break from brain-intensive translation, some of which can be quite mind-numbing.

I also get a chance to look out the mountains to the west which is quite nice when we don't have lots of that horrible PM2.5 yellow dust from China polluting our pristine air here. A bad, unwanted Chinese import.
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Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 01:49
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Not as often as I used to/ought to! Feb 28, 2015

... says she, just recovering from the weekly social outing with the walking club. More exercise in between would certainly be beneficial.

Since my husband retired, he has taken over jobs like the shopping - he can't have me stuffing things in the freezer, he says. (It was rarely so over-full before he retired - it is not all his vegetables from the garden either...)

And cooking - 'must get some of that stuff out of the freezer...' - and he enjoys it. He rarely had time
... See more
... says she, just recovering from the weekly social outing with the walking club. More exercise in between would certainly be beneficial.

Since my husband retired, he has taken over jobs like the shopping - he can't have me stuffing things in the freezer, he says. (It was rarely so over-full before he retired - it is not all his vegetables from the garden either...)

And cooking - 'must get some of that stuff out of the freezer...' - and he enjoys it. He rarely had time when he came home late from work, and he is good at cooking.

I have never been keen on exercise for its own sake. Maybe I should start spring cleaning or something. I hate running and stretching, though I do stretch a little while waiting for coffee to make itself... or run round the corner to collect the snail mail.

The walking club is an outing with like-minded friends, and we just sneak some good views and ten kilometres of country paths in while we're setting the world to rights!
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Teresa Reinhardt
Teresa Reinhardt  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 17:49
Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...
One of the few things I am religious about Feb 28, 2015

is taking an active break every 2-3 hrs. This can take the shape of
walking the dog or doing chores (only outside ones count, such as
mowing the grass, which grows year-round here, dealing w/firewood,
sweeping the carport…)

Not only does it allow me to air out my brain and lungs, but I will also
(hopefully!) prevent medical issues related to "too much sitting &
typing" such as carpal tunnel syndrome and deep vein thrombosis.
Not to mention, gain
... See more
is taking an active break every 2-3 hrs. This can take the shape of
walking the dog or doing chores (only outside ones count, such as
mowing the grass, which grows year-round here, dealing w/firewood,
sweeping the carport…)

Not only does it allow me to air out my brain and lungs, but I will also
(hopefully!) prevent medical issues related to "too much sitting &
typing" such as carpal tunnel syndrome and deep vein thrombosis.
Not to mention, gaining weight.

I have considered an "athletic desk" – stand-to-work desks or even
combinations of treadmills with some sort of computer stand have
become all the rage lately – but I'm afraid I would feel like a hamster
on a wheel. I much prefer "real exercise"!

I'd love to hear from someone who has such a contraption (no offence!)
whether and how it works for them. My guess is that I might not be able
to do both at the same time (there's a saying here about a person
"who can't walk and chew gum at the same time" - not very flattering,
but I am trying to avoid multitasking (stress-prevention).
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Poll: Do you take breaks during long projects to stretch or exercise?






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