Make it a habit to incorporate movement into your day; every 40 minutes or so!
Posted by Pierre Khawand on Wed, May 25, 2011 @ 08:00 AM
We sit for too long! Way too long! And not only our bodies suffer but our brain and our overall mood and energy! So let us put a stop to this and get energy flowing and get re-invigorated.
Movement does wonders
I am not referring to the structured exercise and sports activities here (even though these do wonders as well), but to the few minutes of stretching, walking around, climbing a few flights of stairs, or whatever movement you can fit in in a few minutes to get re-energized and ready for the next task. Here are some basic ideas as a starter and I would also like to help you design your own breakthrough movement routine--so stay tuned for a follow-up blog article on the topic:
- Adopt a stretching routine that you like or design your own. If you search for "stretching videos" on the web, you get about 14,000,000 results. So plenty of ideas out there. I included 3 of these results below to get you started.
- Walk to the other side of the office, or office complex, or maybe around the block! Fresh air would be a highly desirable added benefit if at all possible.
- Go up and down a few flights of stairs and do it intentionally as if you had a purpose. By the way, you "do" have a great purpose.
- Go to the kitchen area, but this time go briskly and instead of food or coffee, get some water, and get back briskly!
- Organize your desk and your files but again, do it with intention and with energy.
- In addition, when on the phone, or in a web conference, stand up, move around, and stretch. Take advantage of the web in a different way!
- Finally, find a companion who likes to do this with you a few times a day, so you can remind and encourage each other.
Most importantly, it would help to have a variety of these movement activities ready so you can spontaneously use the one that is most applicable to the situation at hand. Keep a list handy. Maybe post one closeby. Put a check mark every time you do one.
When making your list, have some activities that are short for times when all you have is a minute or two. Have others that are longer for these 5 or 10 minute stretches. Maybe one or two that are even longer for when you really need to get away from that chair!
Remember to not let more than 40 minutes go by without invoking movement! If you guess why 40 minutes, you will get a copy of my Accomplishing More With Less book!
So two questions for you: Why 40 minutes? And what is (or will be) your favorite movement exercise?
Additional Resources