One million steps lead to a healthy mind

This week marks walking my one-millionth step in 2021. So far, I've walked over 600 miles (1,000 km), which is equivalent to walking from my home on the South East Coast to the top of Ben Nevis in Scotland.

Like many people, I've found it challenging to keep motivated over the last year of lockdowns and restrictions caused by the covid pandemic. Walking 10,000 steps a day and indoor cycling has helped keep on top of fitness as well as having many other positive benefits. Some of which are outlined within this article: 15 health benefits to walking 10,000 steps a day.

What things have you done to help your physical and mental wellbeing?

During the previous lockdowns, I would walk earlier in the day and either conduct calls with prospects and clients or listen to audiobooks and podcasts, assuring myself that it formed part of personal development or training.

This lockdown I've approached it differently – viewing the daily walk as a clean break between the working day and personal time. The act of leaving the house at the end of the day for 1-2 hours creates a sense of distance from work, and on returning home, after a commute of sorts, I'm ready to transition into home life. I've found that it has helped improve my sense of wellbeing and provide a clear distinction between time spent on work and time spent on myself.  

I've discovered another benefit to separating work/life whilst remote working is that I focus more during work-time, knowing there is a clear end to the day. Previously, my laptop would be on continually throughout the day and evening, and I would constantly be checking emails and updating Hubspot. I certainly feel far more productive, and my task management has improved.

Once I've completed my daily tasks, and I'm free of zoom calls, emails, tender writing and to-do lists, I'm able to focus on enjoying a good yomp.

To keep my interest up and to avoid the risk of the walk becoming monotonous, I make sure to try a different route each day. There is a network of footpaths and bridle paths that criss-cross the local farms, so with a bit of planning, it's possible to stay off the roads and enjoy a wide variety of exciting routes. I've forgone listening to audio programmes or making calls. Preferring instead to leave the phone in my pocket on silent – its only task is to count steps.

Instead, I try and focus solely on the walk. The rhythmic act of putting one foot in front of the other helps clear any noise inside my head, leaving me free to observe nature in the fields I cross, and within the woods, I pass through. There is a calming side to nature as the day draws to a close – birds are flying to their roosting locations, and there is plenty of chatter. Whilst it doesn't have the same vibrancy of a dawn chorus, it is still wonderful to hear.

The best part of the walk, and the most rewarding, generally comes after about 20 to 30 minutes of effort. That is when my thoughts turn creative, and plenty of ideas come to mind. It can be a solution to a challenge at work that has remained unresolved for a few days. Or it could be a marketing idea for a new service or product for a client. Recently I've been thinking about who 'H' is in Line of Duty and how this season will end. 

I'm sure that many of us are delighted that there is soon to be a more significant easing of restrictions with the possibility of travelling around the UK from May 17th. I'm already planning several staycations in picturesque locations as I keep on track to reach 3.65 million steps before the year ends.

The one thing that the last 12 months have shown us is that armed with a laptop and a phone, we can work from anywhere and be as productive, if not more, than being office-based. That said, I am looking forward to meeting up with people again both for work and socially.