Systems Worth Maintaining: Building Strength Beyond the Screen
The late summer sunsets in Abu Dhabi, as well as the runners flying past me on the Corniche, got me inspired.
As students in technology, we spend most of our time writing code, patching bugs, and building projects. The irony? We often neglect our own “systems” in the process. This can look like long hours at the desk, fueled by coffee/energy drinks and skipped meals, while ignoring the fact that no amount of caffeine can replace a proper recharge.
I know this cycle all too well. In undergrad, I treated all-nighters as a necessity to prepare for finals. As a software engineer, I skipped meals to meet tight deadlines. By the time I started at the University of Adelaide, some of these habits had ingrained themselves into my routine, and I still sometimes find myself justifying poor health habits.
Let’s rewind a bit and gather some context. I grew up in Abu Dhabi, before moving to Bangalore for my undergraduate degree. While my university at the time had a gym, I didn't know how to set realistic goals for myself, making consistency feel impossible. Then COVID struck, and my life shrank to an infinity loop of a few hundred steps between the fridge and my laptop. When I returned home after the travel restrictions eased, my mother immediately picked up on how poorly I was treating my body. She pushed me to take my health seriously and bought me my first set of adjustable weights, which eventually became the beginning of a larger change.
At first, learning to move was hard. I tried weaving some movement into my life while finishing up my final semester in undergrad, juggling a research paper as well as a full-time internship. When I finally found a rhythm that worked, I started a full-time job as a Software Engineer, and that threw a wrench in any semblance of a schedule I had. The pressure to prove myself in a professional environment superseded any other goals, and I found myself neglecting movement once again. They say hindsight is 20/20, and how true is that? Sometimes it takes a lot of time and introspection to recognize a pattern.
Crossing this finish line with shaky legs was less about the distance and more about what it represented: reclaiming an inner confidence I didn't know was missing and proving to myself that hard things can be done.
What I’m trying to say here is that trial and error is perfectly normal. It is normal to start over from scratch and try to find what works for you at every stage of life. I realised that the actual issue is not failing; it was never trying at all. After having this particular epiphany, I started going out on walks after work. The late summer sunsets in Abu Dhabi, as well as the runners flying past me on the Corniche, got me inspired. I reached out to my cousin, who had completed a full marathon and asked him for help. I started training for shorter distances, joined him at his run club and fell down a TikTok rabbit hole learning about stride length, cadence, and heart rate zones. At the end of 2023, I set a goal for myself to run a 10k alongside my cousin as a pacer and for general motivation. Crossing this finish line with shaky legs was less about the distance and more about what it represented: reclaiming an inner confidence I didn't know was missing and proving to myself that hard things can be done.
Now, as a master’s student in Computer Science, I continue to prioritize fitness, even if it means a 35-minute bus ride to the gym. Being an international student adds another layer to this story, as responsibilities have multiplied significantly since I left home. Away from family and routine, it is easy to let health slip, but I’ve finally learnt my lesson. Moving my body and staying strong has become an anchor in my life. It gives me structure when life feels messy, confidence in how I carry myself, and resilience that spills over into leadership roles, presentations and the grind of back-to-back deadlines.
Studies show that prolonged inactivity raises the risks of anxiety, depression and long-term health issues. Personally, I’ve felt the difference in the way my anxiety feels less under control when I’m not moving. Staying active, even in imperfect ways, helps sharpen overall focus, mood, and problem-solving. I’ve even had breakthroughs for code come to me on a treadmill once I've disconnected for a while. Burnout is a common topic of discussion in technology, but we are often unaware of how close we are to falling over the other edge until we hit our limits. As a result, I’ve come to recognize health and fitness not as a luxury, but as a way to sustain myself in a field that takes a lot from us.
Over this journey, I’ve learnt that you do not need to run a marathon tomorrow or lift your bodyweight in the gym immediately. Start small and build your way up: Momentum and consistency are your best friends here. Just showing up makes a huge difference, and if we can plan out our assignments weeks in advance, we can definitely carve out 30 minutes of movement a day.
I’ll leave you with one final thought here: find your anchor. Try different forms of movement until something sticks and works with your busy schedule. This simple act for yourself will translate into increased mental fortitude to help push through other tough times in life because you know that progress isn't constant, but you will cross that finish line no matter what.
MiTSA’s Run & Walk Club meets every Wednesday at 5:00pm for a loop along the River Torrens (Uni Bridge → Weir → back to Uni Bridge). All paces welcome—walkers, joggers, and runners. Want in? Contact us to join.
And remember—the University’s Wellbeing Hub also has resources and support you can tap into anytime.
