I wrote a column a week or so ago mourning the death of my iPod.

It wasn't so much the death of my iPod as it was the death of all of the extensive playlists I had on it. Gone, too, is my workout playlist. All nearly 200 songs, poof, gone.

And I'm the kind of person that if I don't have my music, I feel like I can't work out. It's been so bad that it even has to be the right song, the right beat, the right lyrics – yeah, that's how bad my motivation's been.

I dreaded going to the gym without it, but it's actually worked out pretty well. I try to stay in the main gym area, where you can hear the music over the gym's speakers – which is sometimes pretty good music. I'm still running, I've gotten back into circuit (which was always awkward/practically impossible to do with an iPod and headphones) and I found the jump ropes at my gym. So yeah, jumping rope – I think it's working! I haven't stepped on a scale in a while, so I'm not sure. But right before my iPod died, I'd gained about 5 pounds during Thanksgiving, and since going iPod-less at the gym I've lost those 5. So, woo.

If you want to shake up your workout, try going without your workout playlist, or whatever you typically listen to while you're working out. You'll need to change your routine, and that's a good thing.