Many of us, as office workers, spend great deal of time sitting at our desks for long hours. Sitting for prolonged hours do not do any good to any of us. Not only, it increases our stress level and risk of having health problems but also decreases our metabolism speed and our productivity as a result. Years ago when smart phones were not very popular and wearable technologies were not on the market yet, I bought a simple mechanical pedometer to measure my daily activity. Aside from my gym routine, I wanted to see how many steps I was taking on a regular day. My car is parked right in front of my home and after a short drive I park in front of my work place. I sit all day long in front of my computer and do my short commute in the evening to go back home. I was doing my regular gym activities but take that aside, I found out that on a regular day, I was not active at all. My step count was less that 5000 steps a day which may be considered as a "sedentary lifestyle." I needed to do something to change my daily routine.
My workplace is in an industrial zone, there are no green parks, not even a decent walking route, and however, I decided to take walking breaks in the middle of the day right before my lunch. I started taking 20 minutes fast pacing walks around the neighborhood which added almost 3000 steps to my daily step count. I have been doing this for years now, if I am not preoccupied with something extremely important or if it is not raining heavily, I am taking a 20 minute walk almost every day.
I do not see this as a calorie burning activity or a replacement of my daily exercise routine; I continue doing my regular exercises. This is just a short time off for getting away from what I do, clearing my mind, boosting my energy level to return back to work more focused and for a chance to get exposed to the sun and fresh air. I found out that other than increasing my energy level and concentration, these short walks improve my problem solving capability and increase my creativity.
Many people take smoking breaks, coffee or tea breaks and get away from their desks frequently. I highly recommend taking a walking break once a day which would facilitate harmonizing your mind and body, replenish your concentration and focus and finally enhance your productivity. Once you start moving, you will be more open to the idea of moving more and being more active.
Vedat YOZKAT
