In our last ‘life’, when we were running our first business, with a large team, an office and everything that went with it, I really struggled to fit everything in. My fitness suffered, my family relationships suffered, and ultimately my health suffered too. Things are very different now, but it’s very easy to get drawn back into sitting for too long, whether at the desk or indoors as the evenings start to draw in! The image I saw on Twitter this morning showing the benefits of walking was a great reminder of why we ALL need to keep moving.

Ultimately, if our health suffers, our business suffers too:

• We find concentrating harder.
• We’re more irritable and less patient.
• We’re more likely to grab the nearest, sugary snack rather than the healthier option.
• We don’t sleep as well, meaning we’re less productive.

There are many, many other implications too!

As you can see from the benefits listed above, just thirty minutes of walking a day can have a profound impact on our health.

We’ve done really well over the summer to walk most days, once we’ve logged off in the evenings, but there are ways of building some walking into your daily working routine.

• Try a walking meeting with a contact, rather than a coffee and cake meet-up.
• Walk around the office or the car park while you’re on a lengthy call.
• Get out at lunchtime to walk 15 minutes away from the office, then turn around and walk back. You’ll feel the productivity lift when you get back, over sitting at your desk to eat and flicking online.

We all have the choice of when we fit the things in, but our health will depend on us making the right choices, for us and ultimately for our businesses too.

Do let me know what you come up with as ways to fit walking into your day; I may need some inspiration when the sunny weather is replaced by chilly drizzle!