From The Editor: You Can’t Do Everything, You Can Do Something, And That’s Enough

For better or worse, I seem to be wired to try to find the best way to do anything I’m doing. I’m not content to just work, cook, get dressed, clean or make a purchase. Each new activity seems to require background research (which may just be an excuse to binge YouTube videos, but that’s beside the point), a spreadsheet or Notes app note to organize my thoughts, and a shopping list cross-referenced with a relevant Wirecutter best-of list.

This extends to my approach to physical fitness and wellness more generally. I’ve heard meditation is good, but there must be a best kind. It’s good to be physically strong, but what good is having the leg and back strength to pick that couch up off the ground if you don’t have the grip strength or stamina to carry it from the parking lot to the apartment?

Now, if you’re a professional athlete reading this, my advice probably doesn’t apply to you. Also, please send me an email, we have a Sports and Outdoors issue coming up and I’d love to talk to you. For the rest of us, here’s my incredibly unprofessional experience and opinion.

When I was in college, it was reasonably easy to attend to all the different aspects of my physical and mental fitness. Sure, I do have three hours in the middle of my day to go lift weights and then play basketball! Strength training, explosive movement, cardio, even some stretching if I was being good that day.

As a working adult, I no longer have that luxury. When I first sat down and tried to schedule out all the things I thought I needed to be doing, the time just wasn’t there. I had to make compromises. And it turns out…

That’s just fine. I was never an optimal hybrid athlete anyway, or much of an athlete at all. I find that my body and mind both feel better when I make time for something active, whether that’s a programmed full-body strength workout or just a 20-minute jog, than when I don’t, so I try to just get out there and do something instead of stressing about all the things I could be doing.

I say all this as a financially stable man who works on a computer from home and doesn’t have any physical disabilities. For those who have physical ailments that prevent them from being active, spend all day on their feet and come home exhausted, fear unwelcome advances at the gym or work two jobs and don’t have any time to exercise, finding ways to take care of yourself is even more of a challenge.

If you have the time, energy and resources to lift weights for an hour, run for 30 minutes and come home and cook a delicious and nutritious meal, that’s great. If all you have time for is a walk around the block between shifts or 15 minutes of YouTube yoga before bed, that’s great too. The important thing is to do something active that makes you happy.

If you’ve been waiting for the right time to start, the new year is as good an excuse as any, even if it’s cliché. If not, I hope this editor’s amateur advice does the trick.