I’ve been working from home for ten years, well before my kids were born. In late 2017, I started going for walks during my workday. The idea, to me, had come up maybe a year or so before that. I would sometimes, but not very consistently, take my daughter for a wagon ride around the block at lunch. Working from home, I wanted to spend some time with her. But it wasn’t really about the benefits of exercise or getting fresh air. But late 2017, I was experiencing a lot of stress around work. One day I just felt like I needed to get outside, get some fresh air. I went on a walk. It was really relaxing. It only took ten minutes out of my day and it recharged me. I had a lot more concentration when I got back. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it. We live in an area that has a lot of trees. It’s real quiet. There’s not a lot of cars driving by. It’s a great place to get outside. Ever since I went out on that one day, it just became a habit. Right now, I’m walking about twice a day, sometimes three times. My schedule is largely the same. I start my day with administrative tasks: my email and social networking. Once I get done with that stuff, I go out for 10 minutes. That gives me a restart. After that, I dive into the most important work of the day. Later, I try to go out again, in the early-to-mid afternoon. By that time, I’m starting to fade a little bit, so the walk is crucial. Once I feel like my concentration is slipping, I’ll try to go out again around 2 o’clock. And then that gives me enough concentration, then, to finish out the day. It’s worth noting that I do not have my home to myself all day. My wife is a stay-at-home mom. My daughter is in kindergarten this year, so she’s in school most of the day, but we also have a 3-year-old son who goes to pre-school for a few hours a week. So my wife and son are home a lot, and in the summer, my daughter is around, too. At this point, when I go on my walks, they’re pretty much always alone. I do it for that reason. During the day, I feel like I’m working so fast, trying to get so much done, that I don’t really have the time to stop and think. When I’m walking, obviously, I can’t be working. It gives me a chance just to think a little bit. It gives me a chance to slow down. Consider things that I may not even be thinking about when I’m working because I’m just rushing to get things done. I do think about work when I’m walking sometimes. I problem solve, plan, brainstorm. But sometimes I’m not thinking about anything. But usually, I am. I don’t really get the chance to think things through slowly throughout my normal day. It gives me a little bit of time to think about my priorities. What tasks I need to be working on. I have a to-do list that keeps me focused for the day, but walks let me think beyond that list. What do I need to do going forward? It’s a chance to think, rather than to just let my mind wander.
