I started a new habit this week of taking a short walk in the morning before signing on. It's nothing fancy or lengthy. It's a quick jaunt to the mailbox and around a small park. It gets the blood pumping and gives me morning exposure to sunlight.
It's been fourteen months since I last traveled to my client's office in San Jose, CA. Dare I say, one of the things I miss about being onsite is the walks between the hotel and the office. The office is 1.1 miles from the hotel. It's a five-minute car ride in the morning with very little traffic. It can take 30-45 minutes in the afternoon rush hour. It took me between 25-30 minutes to walk one way. I once joked that I could leave the office at the same time as the other consultants who were driving, and there was a chance I would reach the hotel before they would.
In my first engagement with this client, I remember one consultant suggesting that she was going to walk from the hotel to the office. I scoffed at the idea back then. Little did I know that I would be that very person during my second engagement.
There are many great reasons why I chose to start walking back and forth from the hotel to the office.
1. Aside from this walk, I was not getting much exercise. Walking for almost an hour every day was better than nothing.
2. In the morning, I was able to get natural sunlight exposure to reset my circadian rhythm.
3. I was able to mentally prepare before work in the morning and decompress after work in the afternoon. It was the perfect time to listen to an audiobook or podcast or music.
4. It got me out of the swirl associated with coordinating with other consultants. There's always the question of who is going in what car, where and when to meet up, someone overslept, someone is at Starbucks getting coffee. lots of chatter and noise in the car, etc. It was great staying away from this "swirl."
It's not all a bed of roses. By the way, is a bed of roses all it's cracked up to be? As the band Poison told us, every rose has its thorn. There are some drawbacks to this approach. For one, the round trip takes an hour. Personal time is precious, especially on the road. For two, the weather was mostly cooperative but it was annoying when it rained. I kept a small umbrella (Bumbershoot for the Brits!) at the office just in case. I traveled on Sunday, so if it rained Monday morning I was out of luck. Third, I only traveled with one pair of dress shoes. I suppose I could have squeezed in a pair of walking shoes in my suitcase, but I deliberately cut down on extra baggage. Walking on the pavement with those shoes was not the best for my feet and calves.
Some people may not even consider walking to be exercise, but I'm going with it. And don't forget, walking is good for your health.
It's been fourteen months since I last traveled to my client's office in San Jose, CA. Dare I say, one of the things I miss about being onsite is the walks between the hotel and the office. The office is 1.1 miles from the hotel. It's a five-minute car ride in the morning with very little traffic. It can take 30-45 minutes in the afternoon rush hour. It took me between 25-30 minutes to walk one way. I once joked that I could leave the office at the same time as the other consultants who were driving, and there was a chance I would reach the hotel before they would.
In my first engagement with this client, I remember one consultant suggesting that she was going to walk from the hotel to the office. I scoffed at the idea back then. Little did I know that I would be that very person during my second engagement.
There are many great reasons why I chose to start walking back and forth from the hotel to the office.
1. Aside from this walk, I was not getting much exercise. Walking for almost an hour every day was better than nothing.
2. In the morning, I was able to get natural sunlight exposure to reset my circadian rhythm.
3. I was able to mentally prepare before work in the morning and decompress after work in the afternoon. It was the perfect time to listen to an audiobook or podcast or music.
4. It got me out of the swirl associated with coordinating with other consultants. There's always the question of who is going in what car, where and when to meet up, someone overslept, someone is at Starbucks getting coffee. lots of chatter and noise in the car, etc. It was great staying away from this "swirl."
It's not all a bed of roses. By the way, is a bed of roses all it's cracked up to be? As the band Poison told us, every rose has its thorn. There are some drawbacks to this approach. For one, the round trip takes an hour. Personal time is precious, especially on the road. For two, the weather was mostly cooperative but it was annoying when it rained. I kept a small umbrella (Bumbershoot for the Brits!) at the office just in case. I traveled on Sunday, so if it rained Monday morning I was out of luck. Third, I only traveled with one pair of dress shoes. I suppose I could have squeezed in a pair of walking shoes in my suitcase, but I deliberately cut down on extra baggage. Walking on the pavement with those shoes was not the best for my feet and calves.
Some people may not even consider walking to be exercise, but I'm going with it. And don't forget, walking is good for your health.
With all the home office stuff last year it was even worse.
I believe a walk in beautiful scenery is one of the most healthy habits to have.