It’s 4am. Yes. FOUR IN THE MORNING.

Charlie, WaterSmart’s Senior Product Designer, is rolling out of bed and putting her gym shoes on. What pushes her to workout every day, multiple times a day? Simple. Her exercise routine ensures that the rest of her day at work is positive and empowering.

Decrease Stress and Improve Energy Levels

Since 2015, Charlie has been designing user flows and interfaces at WaterSmart. Just one year later, she found her second love, bodybuilding. As in the “Arnold Schwarzenegger, stand on stage, and flex with all your might” bodybuilding. Testing, building, and defining the body to look and perform a certain way is the ultimate form of design! Juggling design deadlines and difficult workouts might seem stressful in itself, but research has shown that introducing strength training into a person’s daily routine improves mood and lifts energy levels. When a person exercises, she releases pent up stress which will make office and home life more enjoyable. So whether Charlie is tackling a pile of design task or deadlifting a couple hundred pounds, she’s energized and excited to do it all.

Increase Confidence

In 2018, Charlie has taken a more specialized role conducting user testing. She interviews and collects valuable feedback from utility partners and customers to build intuitive and beautiful user flows. The transition from just designing to also interviewing a diverse group of stakeholders can seem intimidating, but Charlie embraces this new challenge. Charlie attributes this increase in confidence to her daily strength training routine. According to research from Harvard Business Review, exercise increases self-efficacy, “the sense that one is capable of taking things on and getting them done.” This can make someone feel more confident in their professional and personal lives. So the next time a hard decision needs to be made, exercise enthusiasts will be the first to roll up their sleeves to get the job done.

Better Posture

Charlie can usually be found staring intently at her computer as she pushes pixels around the screen. What do Charlie, a customer service manager, and a utility’s head of operations have in common? These folks are all sitting at a desk for hours! Spending long periods of time sitting at a computer can tighten muscles and “slouching promotes low mood and decreased energy levels”. Building and working out the muscles between the shoulder blades helps correct this rounded slouching posture. To build the small stabilizer muscles, Charlie and her team have integrated planks into their daily routine to strengthen their core. Water cooler moments have gotten a little more sweaty.

You don’t have to be a bodybuilder to create a positive working environment. Exercising even in small doses can help your mood and decrease stress even on the most hectic of days. Charlie enjoys working at WaterSmart because, “WaterSmart gives me the opportunity to find balance with doing what I love, designing and bodybuilding.” She loves that her team is passionate about being active and encourages a work life balance.