Figo is introducing
09.11.2018 / About Figo
Profile
Name: Nils
Age: 31
Position: Architectural Draftsman, Team Planning and Design
| targeted | detailed | autodidactic |
WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY ABOUT?
Sports and cookies. I also like to take photos. But sports is something that makes up my day-to-day reality. I usually train ten hours during the week. But this will increase throughout the season because I am a passionate triathlete. The disciplines are swimming, cycling and running.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST DREAM?
I am striving for the Ironman in Roth in Bavaria next year. My goal is to complete the project in 9,5 hours. The Ironman race consists of 3,8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and 42 km running. The whole event starts at 6 am with swimming, then you get to the changing area where the bikes are already waiting. You carry your protein bars, gels or drinks on your bike, but there are also stations where you can „pit stop“. Then you get to another changing area, where you can put on your running shoes. Everything is thoroughly planned out.
My athletic development has taken place over the course of ten years. The condition that I have today wouldn’t be possible without doing sports. I have been an allergy sufferer since childhood. With the help of sports, I have been able to have it under control and strengthen my system. As a child, I was easy to get sick and was not as strong and healthy as today.
The more I evolve in my training goals and the further I get, the higher the goals I can set. I want to prove to myself but also to other people, that you can achieve your dreams with love and effort – no matter what others say.
WHY DO YOU WORK AT FIGO?
I firstly came in contact with Figo through a friend, who has been working there. Since I really wanted to develop myself in my career, I took it as the perfect chance, perfectly timed. For this, I was even ready to move 100 km away.
The environment is also supporting my interest in sports, since the company and my new home is located near the Kemnader See (lake Kemnade).
WHAT DID YOU LEARN AT FIGO?
I learned that the contact between the bosses and the colleagues could be very different, which is an entirely new experience for me. At my old job, colleagues were friendly, but at Figo, I have bosses, where the relationship is even friend-like.
„No Master and Slave.“
I think that was something that I first had to take and learn.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE AT FIGO GMBH?
Here you can work independently. At my old job, everything was under the control of my boss. Sometimes we even had to work on eight projects in a day, and every line was given by him. It is different at Figo. Here I work directly with the client and have more responsibilities. I am able to work detailed and goal-oriented.
EXERCISE AND OFFICE – HOW IS IT?
WHAT DOES „EXERCISING AND SPORTS“ MEAN TO YOU?
Sports is a form of freedom and even of meditation to me. The constant movement of the bike gives me the chance to think about myself and drift entirely off – the mind sets free. That is everything to me. You experience nature and season in a whole other level, you get more of the sun and can stock on Vitamine D. Matter of fact, Vitamine D is a very important substance of your body, which not only regulates calcium and bone structure, but also takes a significant role in your immune system and helps you to fight against infections and inflammations. That is also very important for my job at a company because a healthy staff member doesn’t drop out as often.
WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO CARE ABOUT ENOUGH EXERCISING ALONG WITH THE OFFICE LIFE?
Exercising is what really makes out a human being. The evolution shows that a human has to move enough in order to survive. Nowadays, exercising is hard to manage along with a job in an office, which of course causes the muscle to start shrinking slowly. After a while, the malposition of the body can lead to tension and aches in the neck and back. Another point that should not be overlooked is to eat right. To me, a combination of exercising and healthy food habits should be promoted to daily office life. You should get back to moving and balancing it out with the help of discipline and any kind of sports, that motivates you. It would be even enough to do this for only 30 minutes a day, to activate your system for many hours.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OR PERSONAL CAR?
Bike. I ride the bike to work every day which is about 7 km away. My route takes a course along the Kemnader See, very recommendable.
HOW IS FIGO GMBH SUPPORTING YOU WITH THIS PURPOSE?
The flexible working hours give me the chance to combine exercising and work perfectly. My boss is even helping me with a bike leasing and supports me in this cause. At Figo, individual personal development is a big topic.
IS THERE ANY ADVISE YOU COULD GIVE TO YOUR COLLEAGUES? / HOW DO YOU COMBINE SPORTS WITH YOUR JOB?
Of course, it is not always easy to manage both job and sports in one. An exercise session before or after work has to be planned out thoroughly. Without the right routine and working structure, it is hard to maintain the day-to-day life. You have to set priorities on the right things and create free spaces in between or along your job. Instead of eating yourself fully with chips while watching TV-shows at night, you could try to run a small track – or if you feel like you don’t have enough time, you could at least do stabilisation or strengthening exercises for a few minutes. That even is very useful. I understand, that after work you get tired sometimes, but if you would try to exercise a little, you will see that your whole system will flow. Most of the time you feel so much more energetic and happier after a good workout. Especially if you walk towards the sunset, a starry night, by rain or snowfall, you get another relationship to nature. The human body is nature, and there is nothing you can do about it but to accept. Sometimes you just have to overcome your inner laziness and set goals and think about them regularly, which helps you to get going. So now, what are you still waiting for?
A quick advice: Try to visualise your dream with pictures, photos, and sketches and hang them somewhere in your entrance at home. Every time you come or go, you will see your wish and that way you internalise it deeply. It is a motivation, to do everything that is in your hand, to achieve your dream, for example, your health, achieving athletic goals, inner balance, and mental stability.
AN ATHLETIC ADVISE FOR THE LUNCH BREAK OR STRETCHING IN BETWEEN - WHAT IS EFFECTIVE?
During the lunch break, it is more important to have your focus on mental relaxation. Of course – if you have enough time, you could go for a walk. If you have areas on your body where you feel tensions, you could do some stretching or use a fascia roll to smooth it out. Only if your body is functioning right, your spirit and mind can work and vice versa. With these small exercises, you can create more significant mobility and blood circulation. That provides more oxygen in your brain.
It can also be useful to integrate a physiotherapist or a massager to the office, who regularly comes to work against false posture and tensioning of the body.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ADJUSTABLE DESKS OR ERGONOMIC CHAIRS ETC.?
I think adjustable desks are great. It is excellent to change position to avoid partial weight bearing. For instance, while I work in the office, I sit on a pezzi ball, which we have all over the office, for colleagues to use. At Figo, you can decide on what you want to sit on. We even have a massage chair in our break room and ergonomic chairs.
Thank you for the chat, Nils!