5 ways that walking boosts productivity
Photo by Arturo Castaneyra on Unsplash
Maximise your productivity and positive impact in the world without sacrificing your wellbeing
We know that going for a walk or wheel is good for wellbeing and good for health, but the problem is WE JUST DON’T HAVE THE TIME! We’ve already got more to do than could ever be done, and going for a walk now would eat into that precious time, and the only reason you would do it would be avoidance or procrastination or getting distracted from what you are supposed to be doing. Right?
Wrong! Walking is productive. If you really have more to do than hours to do it, whatever happens you can’t possibly get it all done – that’s the laws of physics and time or something. But going for a walk or a wheel can do so much for your productivity that you can take some time out to do that walk and still get more done than you otherwise would have. Does walking bend time?
No, but here are 5 things that walking CAN do for you (all of these apply to ‘wheeling’ as well):
More motivated and goal-focussed
With a change in visual stimulation (a new view), you can trigger dopamine release and feel more motivated to move towards towards your goals. This can be particularly useful if you are in a phase of a lot of work that is high on effort, low on reward, which (especially combined with the overwhelm from having more to do than you can possibly do) can make motivation get slippery. So, a dopamine boost can come in handy to refocus on your goals and keep moving towards them.
Walking helps you boost motivation and re-focus on your goals - Photo by Lena Taranenko on Unsplash
2. Restore your concentration powers
There is only so long the brain can cope with that sort of attention-demanding, high intensity focus that modern lives entail, with social media and deadlines always pulling at us. As you become mentally fatigued, you are more likely to find it harder to make and follow plans and become more distractable, finding it harder to focus. This mental fatigue also increases our vulnerability to stress. According to Attention Restoration Theory, to recover from what is known as ‘directed attention fatigue’, we need periods of ‘effortless attention/fascination’. Being out on a walk, especially if there is any nature around, gives you opportunities for effortless attention, and a chance to restore your capacity to concentrate and therefore you will be much more productive and efficient when you get back to your desk.
3. More strategic and able to prioritise
Sometimes we get all bogged down in the details and can’t see the wood from the trees, or we look at that long list and everything looks like the number one priority. Due to the way the brain works, literally taking a step back, and creating physical distance between you and your tasks can help give you much needed mental space and a perspective shift. In particular, if your walk includes a chance to gaze out in to the distance at a faraway horizon (a nice change from staring at a screen that’s less than a metre from your face), you might find yourself more able to take the long-view or get some perspective when you get back to work. This will help you prioritise, strategise and move forward with efficiency.
Take a step back, expand your horizons, take the long view, gain perspective, see the wood for the trees - literally and figuratively - to help you prioritise, strategise, and work more effectively.
4. Gain a fresh new perspective or creative work-around
Movement aids creativity. Even if the tasks on your list don’t feel particularly creative, if you are feeling stuck or if the work feels heavy-going, getting out for a walk could help you to come at the tasks from a new angle, make different connections, re-organise your mind, or find a new workaround or solution. When you get back to your desk you might find that the moving parts fall into place and suddenly you can move forward with a new-found sense of flow.
5. Boost your wellbeing - and THAT is good for productivity
We said at the start we KNOW walking is good for wellbeing but we just don’t have time! But actually, sometimes what’s slowing down your productivity is your wilting wellbeing and self-doubt causing you to hesitate and procrastinate. Take a walk (especially in a natural environment if you can, because that is very effective at calming the nervous system), feel better, and then take that upbeat, optimistic, confident energy back to your work.
Wellbeing is good for productivity. Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
Will you lead the way?
We all know that although sitting at your desk might look more productive, it is very easy to friffle-fraffle around (technical term), producing nothing useful for your time. Even just a 10 minute walk can do wonders, but if I had 3 hours to do 5 hours-worth of work, I would consider it a valuable use of time to walk for an hour, and then in that 2 remaining hours I would probably get more done than I would have in the 3 hours otherwise - more focussed, more motivated, more strategic, more confident, more creative, more effective. And the benefits grow – having been for a good walk, that productivity and energy will extend into the rest of the day, the way I interact with my family, the way I start the next day.
There is a huge problem with stress and burnout currently. According to Mental Health UK, in their 2024 burnout report:
91% of adults in the UK experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress at some point in the past year.
one in four (24%) ‘unable to manage stress and pressure in the workplace’,
one in five working adults (20%) needing to take time off work due to poor mental health caused by pressure or stress in the past year.
We really need to get to the point where people feel able to prioritise their physical and mental wellbeing and that be enough to justify getting out for a walk - but in a culture that places such high value on productivity, this can be challenging. However, even if you value productivity over everything else, taking time to walk or wheel can be justifiably prioritised.
So allow, encourage, yourself and your team to be vocal and visible about going for a productive walk or wheel, even when you’ve got a lot to do (perhaps especially then).
May is National Walking Month so it’s the perfect time to start this new, productive habit.
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And if you would like personalised 1:1 support to help increase your productivity at work or home, and maximise your positive impact in the world (without sacrificing your wellbeing), let me know.
