Walking: why it’s the cure to work’s woes
Yesterday morning I went for a walk.
I started out on Charlotte Street, headed south from Fitzroy Square and at the junction with Goodge Street I dog-legged right then left onto Charlotte Place. Down Rathbone Street, I then tucked into the alleyway by The Newman Arms pub and through to Newman Street.
These are the side streets and alleyways I first trod thirty years ago as a runner for a TV production company - my first full time job. Walking around London was part of the job description. The office faced The Newman Arms, and its adjacent Newman Passage (below) was our cut-through towards Oxford Circus. Back in 1990 these streets were all new to me. But with my trusty A-Z under my arm I soon learned the runner’s equivalent of the London cabbies’ ‘the knowledge’ as I ferried packages and videotapes down into Soho. I didn’t get it right at first. Once I took a package to Gordon Square instead of Golden Square.
Good for the body and the soul
Walking is sacred to me, an essential part of my daily work life (and it’s also part of my job description all these years on). And thirty years on from my early career adventures, these remain some of my favourite streets for walking around. On a really good day I get to do my favourite thing - walking across the city between meetings, taking the side streets, noticing the world around me. It’s not simply beneficial to help me take a break and stretch my legs, although my health - physical and mental - definitely benefits from the average of four miles I do a day. As well as the exercise, I’m also firing up the neurons. Walking around is how I get inspired to come up with ideas. When I feel stale, I try and take a trip to Amsterdam. It’s one of my favourite cities and I walk around it all day, looking in bookstores and having note-taking breaks at cafes along the way. I always feel invigorated and return home with clarity and a sense of direction.
A boost to creativity
Walking around a city is the fuel I need. It’s how I co-wrote my third book ‘Zoom! The Faster Way To Make Your Business Idea Happen.’ Ten years ago, my collaborator David and myself knew we needed a process in order to get the book written. We walked the streets of Paris for three days, brainstorming ideas, swapping stories and then stopping for coffee - or wine - when our heads were full, so we could scribble down what had excited us. We built the main themes for the book that way.
Unlocking stubborn problems
When I catch up with people I know - or meet people for the first time - I try and do these as walk n’ talks where possible. Walking is such a freeing experience - the mind seems to run looser and is unconstrained when the body’s in motion. I believe so much in the power of the streets that I designed a coaching programme that takes place in my favourite area of London. I call it Fuel Safari and it’s a one-to-one walk and talk where I help people navigate their career. I started these walks in 2015 and have witnessed first how productive these sessions are. So much more productive, I believe, than sitting in a meeting room or a cafe. There’s something about the motion of walking, the striding side-by-side, the opportunity to be frank and open that is so productive.
At work and at home
And when I’m not in London, my days working from home are often bookended with walks along the ever-changing Thames estuary with our border terrier. I find it helpful too when there is a problem to solve, a child to help, or the household temperature rises. We go for a beach walk. And things are always better afterwards.
So how to use walking to power your work life? You can use walking to:
stretch your legs and take a break;
take in your surroundings and see what thoughts it prompts;
have a more productive meeting;
switch up your surroundings and move around to get the creative juices flowing;
come up with a plan for a book or report you’re writing;
grab a colleague or confidante to work through a particularly challenging work issue.
It’s free, for most of us it’s easy to do and you can go any which way you choose once you step out of the office or your front door. If there is ever one thing I evangelise more than anything else, it’s going for a walk. Even five minutes can make a difference.
