Reduce Stress By Moving
People in business sit most of the day. Managers and employees are busy focusing on building a business and not thinking about their bodies. Yet, if you read the studies, they indicate that we can be clearer and more productive if we include some form of physical activity in our days.
There are people who naturally know to move their bodies as the energy becomes intense and movement helps them focus better.
Most of us sit for hours without moving.
If we take a break it’s a quick one and then back in our seats.
If you ask a manager or an employee why they don’t exercise, they just say “too busy” and don’t have the time or forget. What if you saw a correlation between productivity and exercise.
“Body of Work: how to sharpen your mind and stress less” by Larissa Ham on the Sydney Morning Herald.
The problem is while many have spent endless hours sitting down chasing success, they’ve let their health slide – often failing to exercise regularly for up to 15 years.
Physical, mental and emotional well-being are all components of a happy, productive person. If you decide to start with the physical, then plan to include some form of exercise into your life. Here are some small ideas to start moving.
- Take the stairs – if you are not in good shape, only do a portion of them
- Every 90 minutes, get up and stretch some part of your body and walk in place for a minute or two
- Include at least one workout during the week
When managing employees, you have impact on other people’s lives…you can make their day or create havoc. Why not encourage in your 1:1 or department meetings discussions around physical well-being. Have a “health awareness” goal for your team. Physical well-being enhances our ability to be creative, productive and solution oriented.
Sometimes an employee needs permission to take care of themselves.
As their manager, you can let them know
that it’s ok for them to take time for self-care.
Be well,
Pat
