Keeping Healthy and Doing Comics

[SirGutsalot]

I think many people will agree with me that when you really get immersed in pumping out those episodes of your comic, there will be times when you hardly see the light of day. How do you maintain a healthy lifestyle by keeping fit as well as working your butt off with your comic? (I do a daily comic so this is really challenging for me)

[AnnaLandin]

I have been lazy over the winter, because I hate going outside in the cold, but now that the snow is gone I'm trying to get back into the habit of going on walks every day. I live out in the countryside, so there are some nice forest paths to walk on; lots of hills and such. That's about 6-7 kilometers a day, several days a week.

It's not the most intense workout, but I'm not looking to get buff - I just need time away from my desk, to stretch out my muscles and keep from overworking my arms and wrists.

[wotcomic]

I actually had to drop to fortnightly updates so that I would have time to do martial arts twice a week so I may not be the best person to ask about balancing these things.

I would definitely agree with you AnnaLandin, taking walks is excellent for keeping yourself moderately active. I also find walks amazing for clearing your head and finding inspiration. Even if you live in a gross city like I do, it's better than nothing.

Although comics are important, and we obviously care about them, I really do think that keeping at least moderately active should be higher in our priorities than getting pages done. Even if it's only slightly higher. If you're doing a daily comic I'd say go for a brisk walk, for about half an hour, maybe around lunch time, so it won't eat too much into your drawing time. (Disclaimer: I'm not an expert in health or fitness, these are just things that have worked for me).

[kyupol]

I do a physically demanding job. (Forklift operator/material handler). From the outside it looks like I'm just sitting on my ass on a forklift all day but I spend more time stacking a pallet which is also mentally demanding cuz you gotta Tetris the thing... and delivering parts to the appropriate assembly line.

Since this company is cheap, I have to rely on manual pallet jacks or carts to get to parts where the forklift can't go to. Lol

Not as physically demanding as being a construction worker or a tree cutter or a furniture mover but still up there.

I burn at least 3000 calories a day when I put a Fitbit on before my shift starts and I remove it when I'm done my shift. So I get my exercise on the job lol

Also, I take those blended greens supplements and cut down meat intake.

[AmysGames]

Even just getting up to stretch every hour or so is a huge help. I don't exercise nearly as much I should (I need to work on that :P), but just learning to pace myself and taking frequent breaks saves me from a load of back and shoulder pain.

[gateofselidor]

I have a full-time job just under two miles from my home, down a hill. I walk there and back every weekday, unless it's raining heavily, so I get plenty of exercise. I take breaks while I'm drawing as well. I also make sure to walk if possible when I'm going out to do any shopping or run errands.

[TeAlb]

A couple years ago I started changing habits and in the long run it improved my life so much, pains diminished, I'm not tired all the time and I don't get sick from 5 to 5 minutes.
So what I can suggest is: have a reasonable schedule for eating and sleeping; keep water near you; stretch, get up from your chair from time to time, even if it's just to bring more water or whatever and stretch; go for walks, even if it's just 30 minutes; this one can be more complicated, but try to eat healthly; and a more random add, maybe, drinking tea everyday is nice too, mostly the ones that can help you relax and maintain the immune system, like camomile.
Also, don't worry so much about being busy getting in the way of your health, it's really more about being willing to have this compromise with yourself and your well-being than have lots of time, these little things that can help you so much actually don't take as much time as we think at first.

[Shanny8]

I started last year doing great, by starting to walk to burn off some calories and still come home to work on a page...but after MomoCon last year, my motivation was screwed up and I found myself working insanely on pages to stay ahead of my series launch. Trying to get back to doing my walk thing again, but I need to develop a schedule of sorts. I try to take breaks on days that I'm glued to this laptop doing my comic pages- get up and stretch, drink more water and such.