How do you stay healthy and fit? Interview with Carole Seawert

Hi there! Happy New Year! Did you have relaxing holidays? I sure did. In fact, the holiday season is not over in Russia. We are going to celebrate Christmas in two days. I can't wait :)

On the 29th of December Carole Seawert from Freelance Factfile published my guest post where I shared my experience regarding health, fitness etc. It has been a fight, but hopefully I am going to win it :) Delia and I spent a day at the skating rink a couple days ago and I was very happy to notice almost no muscle ache afterwards. I am getting stronger again, yay!

I also promised to Carole that her post is going to be the first post I publish in 2014. So here it is! That's how Carole keeps healthy and fit. Enjoy :)

As freelancers, we don’t get paid when we are ill so it’s important that we stay fit and healthy. Here’s what I do:

1.       I exercise a lot

Since I work from home, I don’t have an hour’s commute twice a day. I use that time I save to exercise. Every week I go swimming twice a week and I also go to a Pilates class, a body conditioning class and a Body Attack class. I walk a lot, as well.

2.       I eat healthily

A car that needs premium unleaded petrol won’t run properly if you fill it with diesel. The same goes for our bodies. So I make sure I keep my energy levels up and my immune system boosted by eating a healthy diet. The key is to eat lots of fruit and vegetables. A nutritionist friend told me that the darker the colour, the better they are for you. That means I buy things like blueberries, red peppers, beetroot and spinach. She also said that it’s important to eat vegetables in the brassica family: broccoli, curly kale and the like.

3.       I turn work down

The work pattern of a freelancer is always feast and famine and therefore it’s tempting to take on every job you get offered. However, working all hours is tiring and the feeling of being overwhelmed by work can be very stressful. And when you are tired and stressed, you become run down and are susceptible to getting ill. I make sure I don’t take on too many projects at once and I have a trusted network of fellow writers who can step in when times get busy.

Two lessons learned

Last year, I ended up with Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) in my left arm (my writing arm). It was the result of using the computer mouse too much. For a writer, not being able to use a keyboard was pretty restricting, so now I wear a support band on my arm when I know I’ve got a lot of typing to do. I’ve learned that hard way that the answer is to take regular breaks and not spend hours on end tied to a computer.

Having RSI meant I couldn’t carry anything with my left hand (I couldn’t even pick up a glass of water without it hurting). Carrying all my bags in my right hand resulted in my straining the right side of my neck. The solution was to buy a shopping trolley. According to this recent article in the Daily Mail, a shopping trolley is now a must-have fashion item! The good news is that I no longer strain my neck by carrying too many heavy bags.

Author bio

Carole Seawert is a London-based freelance copywriter who helps organisations raise the impact of their marketing communications. A Freeman of the City Livery company, the Worshipful Company of Marketors, she writes all kinds of marketing materials, from websites and brochures to mailshots and e-newsletters. Carole writes a blog aimed at freelancers called Freelance Factfile and has written a self-study course called How to Write a Brilliant Blog.

She has also written three mini books for Kindle: 101 Top Copywriting Tips, 101 Top Freelancing Tips and 21 Freelance Challenges & How to Overcome Them.She posts regular writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar tips on her Google+, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest accounts. Why not check them out?