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Fortune has a decent article on the history of the cubicle. However, they have a much more fascinating sidebar on how people work. It's nice to read how many of these super-busy types inject a healthy dose of exercise into their routines. Some of these people having had the same routine for 25+ years.

Bill Gross, CIO from Pimco injects his take on yoga:

The most important part of my day isn't on the trading floor. Every day at 8:30 A.M., I get up from my desk and walk to a health club across the street. I do yoga and work out for probably an hour and a half, between 8:30 and 10. There's only been two or three times in the past 30 years when someone has come across the street and told me I should get back to the office. One of them was the 1987 market crash.

I'm always fascinated by routines and getting peeks into the lives of highly efficient people. Having just moved into an office space, my hitherto uninterrupted routine of working from home has been shaken up, and I'm looking for ways to make sure I don't skimp on gym visits.

At the very least, as soon as this nasty Tokyo weather of late clears up, I'll be getting at least an hour of biking in a day.

Craig Mod >> March 10, 2006

Comments

Keep in mind that Gross probably gets into the office around 5 - 5:30 a.m. because he works on New York market hours, but also probably works pretty late.

Still, your point is well taken, particularly for those of us that sit sit sit in front of the computer for hours on end without moving.

Bud Parr at March 10, 2006 02:31 PM

Bud,

Indeed. I find that I'm much more productive during the day if I take into account two thing: 1) frequent breaks for my eyes by leaving the computer behind and walking outside (and conciously focusing on things further than 2 feet in front of my face), and 2) regular snack breaks. And by snacks I mean small, healthy things like half a sandwhich or a riceball, or the occasional (canned?) coffee. I find this helps stop productivity dips that can creep up during long work sessions.

I'm sure Gross gets to the office super early. Considering he's managing $200 billion dollars of assets, his company'd probably let him go bowling every morning if kept him on track.

Thanks for the comments.

Craig at March 13, 2006 02:43 AM