This past week, I had two conversations with people who described doing important work while walking and thinking.
The first was with someone who was writing a novel in her head while she hiked. On her walks, she gave herself the time to think through all the aspects of her characters and her story, just imaging what a book might be about in its fullness without typing a word.
(Spoiler, she in fact DID end up writing it. I have her joining as a guest on Evolution or Revolution Season 2… so stay tuned.)
The second person described tackling a big issue at work and thinking through it for a while during daily walks before drafting a proposal. Giving himself time to think through the multiple aspects of issues before creating a proposal that was well received.
This isn’t surprising as research out of Stanford concludes that A person's creative output increased by an average of 60 percent when walking.
The act of walking itself, and not the environment, was the main factor. Across the board, creativity levels were consistently and significantly higher for those walking compared to those sitting.
These examples struck me because we so often equate doing work as sitting at a desk, typing, scrolling, or producing something. The demands to get more work done more quickly leaves little time for thinking it through. We’re conditioned to be reactive, speeding to produce something to share.
Anyone who has stared as a blank template on screen knows how often that can be a painful starting point.
We become too close to the problems at hand, our creativity is stunted, and we drive towards burnout. We aren’t being creative problem solvers, we’re just…doing. And haven’t you also been the recipient of half-baked trash projects that are scattered and unclear?
Stop the madness.
Get away from your desk for a bit. Take a walk. Go to a park. Get out of the usual routine and give your mind space to think. Do something that moves the body. We were built to move.
Bonus: skip the podcast, skip the playlist.
Give yourself a question to chew on during your walk and then just go.
Let yourself wonder as you wander. Create that bit of undistracted undivided time for yourself as you move through the world. Think of what a rare opportunity you will be creating for yourself. In our over-connected, over-stimulated world, giving yourself an unplugged moment is such a gift.
"Wow, must be nice. I can't get away from my desk for 20 minutes during the day." Really? I would invite you to reflect on that situation. Is that true? How might that change? What benefits are you getting from saying you can't leave your desk? What benefits might you get from a 20-30 min walk during the day?
Get started:
- Set regular time to walk everyday even for 20 minutes. Let your body and mind anticipate the thinking time.
- Leave distractions aside. If you want to take your phone, put it on silent mode.
- Ask a question like “how might I...?” or “what are multiple ways I might…?” to start priming your brain for DIFFERENT answers not just ONE solution
- Reserve a few minutes at the end of your walk to record voice memos or jot down your thoughts. It feels like you’ll remember forever but it’s easy to forget quickly.
- Try walking meetings. Convert your friends to this practice.
If you don't think you can do this everyday, try to aim for twice a week. Put it on your calendar and defend that time.
I recently read that as humans, we are wired to conserve energy. That’s why its so easy to sit around, or move less than is ideal. Your brain is simply trying to conserve energy. Additionally, we condition ourselves to routines. Going for your first walk is going to be 300x harder than a walk than has become part of a routine.
A habit of walking during your workday is great for problem solving and integrating more movement in your life overall.
More about this idea:
From Wharton: Enhance creative decision making and solve problems while walking.
The Guardian - A quick walk can unleash creativity
