Another meeting? Just skip right past the conference room

How many hours did you sit today? Unfortunately for the modern office dweller, chances are, you’ve been sitting for most of the day. And we’ve all heard, sitting is the new smoking. Heck, there’s even solid scientific evidence that sitting too long causes serious harm to your health. (Isn’t it ironic then that the smokers are the ones who periodically stand outside for 10 minutes at a time?)

“When I have back-to-back meetings, I purposefully schedule them
in different conference rooms.”

Beyond the deleterious health effects of sitting, it occurred to me one day that I tend to think more clearly when I’m running or swimming. In fact, my most productive and creative thinking time comes when I’m doing some sort of low-to-medium intensity exercise. This realization came to me, perhaps not surprisingly, while I was running one day.

I admit, I don’t sit well for long periods of time. I get physically uncomfortable and I also find myself more mentally taxed after sitting too long. At the office, you can easily identify me as the quixotic guy with the balance ball chair and the standing desk. Or the one who gets up every 20 minutes at a meeting to stretch. Or the guy who’s always seemingly walking around the office. Yes, I’m “that guy.” In fact, when I have back-to-back meetings, I purposefully schedule them in different conference rooms — if nothing else, it will give me the opportunity to walk for just a little bit in between meetings.

<<takes short break, stretches>>

OK, I’m back…. The steps above are easy. Anyone can implement them. It gets more complicated when others are involved. I’d love to take more opportunities to have walking meetings. You know, just to skip the conference room altogether and go for a walk. Sounds great but there are limitations:

• it only works in small groups: 2 to 3 people max.
• it requires consent from others: the first time you propose it, you’ll likely get a blank stare
• forget the hardware: you can’t use ppts (not necessarily a bad thing.) I suppose one could print the slides, though I think that kind of defeats the purpose.
• peer pressure: will others assume that you are just slacking by going for a walk in the middle of the day?

In any case, I plan on proposing it more frequently. At least, when the meeting topic is amenable to it. And if you’re a current co-worker of mine reading this, feel free to decline my invitation to walk. But at least consider it with an open mind.

Now, if I could just stop spontaneously waking up at 5am every morning….

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Hi there,

I’m Abdul. My heart belongs to my family, but my opinions are mine alone.

For more uninformed conjecture, follow me on Medium or on Twitter at @CaliAbdul. Or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Cheers!