Get Out of Jail Free Card

Whenever I have a day that is mostly futile, when everything is a bit hazy and I don't think I have achieved anything worthwhile, I often find that a run sorts me out. It is not that it clears my mind so that I return with the answer to a problem that previously had me stumped - rarely do I get any magical insights. It is something far more direct: when I am out of the door I am putting in effort and because of that I feel I am doing something good.

In a way it is my 'get out of jail free' card. The simple act of exercising, outside - seeing the world pass, looking at new things and interacting (in a limited way) with other people makes me feel better. Because of that I feel the day has not been wasted, no matter how little is done during the rest of it. But the knock-on effect is usually I approach other tasks with a renewed concentration.

If there is something in the idea of redemption through personal endeavour, the obverse is also probably true in that you slump if you don't do enough.

I recently came across a phrase that tickled me because it so precisely describes one of ways we might not do enough: 'social loafing'. It describes many group situations where people don't give of their best because they think that others will pick-up the slack and anyway everyone else is probably easing-off a bit as well. It explains why work groups are often surprisingly unproductive and brainstorming sessions are mostly futile. It might also contribute a little bit to something like Brook's Law, which states that adding manpower to a late software project makes it even later.

Just discovering the phrase has made me examine my own behaviour and it gives me no great pleasure to admit that I am also prone to a bit social loafing and there have been many occasions where I have not given of my best.

This is not the case when running. When I am out of the door there is no loafing and I am fully engaged in the activity. Whatever distance I run is the distance I run, whatever time I take is the time I take, there can be no short-cuts or cheating. I do what I can to the best of my ability and my diary is a record of honest endeavour.

That is why running is my 'get out of jail free' card - it shows me that I can be honest.