MOVE MORE - Ways to Incorporate More Movement into the Workday
Moving around has many physical and mental benefits, including increasing circulation, creativity, and cooperation. Therefore, make a point to change positions and move often. Any one activity
can have negative effects if done too long, so sit a little, stand a little, sit on an exercise ball, and pace the walkway. Think outside the box, or outside the "cubicle" as the case may be.
- Take "two" every hour. Make a point to get up and move for two minutes every hour. Research has shown that just two minutes of activities like walking can offset some of the effects of sitting.
- Get up to talk. Walking over to talk with a coworker can often be done as quickly as sending an email or text to them. Speaking face-to-face also eliminates the downtime of waiting for a response before you can act.
- Do laps around the office. Walk along office aisle ways or even get outside and walk around the building. For example, walk one lap around the office space or production floor on your way to the water fountain.
- Sit on an exercise ball. Using an exercise ball instead of a chair keeps your muscles engaged so that your body is active even while sitting. It is important to have good posture on the ball, and to build up the amount of time spent sitting on it.
- Change positions. This one is very important, because as mentioned above, being in any position for extended time can impact the body. Therefore if your job requires extended standing time take time to sit. Conversely, stand occasionally if you're usually sitting.