[lepunk]

For years I was only living for work. No girlfriend, no hobbies, virtually no sleep, nothing. Gradually I became burnt out, depressed and pretty fat for that matter. My productivity and the quality of my output declined as well

After a while I realized that this is not sustainable and I have to do something. I started to focus on weight loss since the results are easily measurable and I felt if I succeed that will give me positive encouragement to improve other parts of my life. Started off with simple changes. Started walking home from work (about 6km) instead of taking the bus every day. During my walks I listened to my favorite tracks or just walked in silence and thought about stuff that I wouldn't normally spend time thinking about. The change in my day to day mood was measurable even after the first week.

After a while I started doing yoga at home following YouTube videos and started meditating regularly. Yoga, besides having positive health effects (flexibility, weight loss) teaches you about being aware of your body and it's needs. I noticed that after a couple of weeks I started eating way healthier and drinking way more water (these days I do at least 3 liters / day) and way less alcohol.

In six months I lost over 26 kilos, which is obviously really nice but what is even better that I feel happier in general and more confident in myself. My life is not revolving around my work anymore. This new found self awareness also had positive effect on my professional life. I'm thinking more clearly, my code quality is better and I solve problems faster than ever.