Exercise is boring. You know you should, but you don't make time. Motivated by warbiking (playing warcraft while exercise biking), but not having time for it, I applied the concept to my existing time sinks. Once passive tasks (blogs, TED talks, pdfs) become active tasks while biking.
Previously I would attempt to multi-task. Sitting at my desk I would attempt stupid things like watching a video while skimming articles. While effective at pruning unnecessary emails/posts, I rarely remembered the video afterwards. Now I read articles or watch videos while biking. Because I'm biking I'm less fidgety and can concentrate on one thing since I know at the very least I'm staying healthy.
A new Schwinn recumbent bike is $400, but you can find them used on craigslist. I bought mine for $150 into which my X60 fits perfectly.
Don't break the chain
It is easy to lose motivation and stop. After a few weeks of blogbiking in 2007 I stopped for a month. Until this year I've only biked intermittently as I have to consciously remember to move to the bike.
Jerry Seinfeld knew the importance of showing up every day. By working on your craft every day, you keep moving forward, even if the step is a small one. By recording daily progress, you will be motivated to not skip a day (breaking the chain). Knowing I've biked at least 5 miles for 32 continuous days pushes me to not skip a day.
At first I overcomplicated the process. I tried calendar about nothing and other online progress trackers. My Christmas calendar and a sharpie was all I needed. Each day I write my current streak length on today's date.
I know more about COBOL
Somedays I have to bike at midnight when I get home. I need to find an alternative exercise I can do while traveling or during a break at work.
As an exercise n00b, I'm unsure how to optimize for tone/health. Currently I bike at slow pace (10mph) with a high resistance, but perhaps programs that vary resistance (strength interval, ride in park, pyramids, ...) would be better?
