The New Corner Office: Move by 3 p.m.

Wherever you work, a little exercise can make the day feel better

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
the podcast about thriving in the new world of work,
where location and hours are more flexible than in the past.
Today's tip is to move your body by three pm
wherever you happen to be working. Getting some exercise can
help with energy and concentration. But this rule becomes particularly

(00:29):
important if you are working at home. If you're not
racing to catch a bus or train, or even hiking
from the parking lot to your desk, you can reach
midday and realize that you've taken fewer than a hundred steps.
Since many of us are working from home these days.
In the interest of preserving our own health and the
broader public's health, developing this unhealthy habit would be an

(00:51):
unfortunate side effect, committing to move by three pm counters
this impulse. I love this rule to move by three pm.
A few reasons. First, if you already exercise in the morning, great,
But if you don't, this rule can encourage you to
give mornings a look. For many people, mornings are the
most convenient time to exercise. Most people have more energy

(01:16):
in the mornings, and the day's emergencies have yet to arise.
You're less likely to be calming an angry client at
five am versus five pm. If it works to go
for a run or a walk. Great. If you have
a treadmill gathering dust in your basement, now would be
the time to clean it off. You can also stream
a fitness class or lift some weights. If you're not

(01:39):
a morning exerciser, though, you still need to get up
from your chair from time to time, so look at
your schedule figure out where you can build in a
break for some physical activity. Maybe you go for a
quick walk outside or do some push ups and sit ups.
Most people need a break at mid morning, at lunch,
and at mid afternoon, but the mid afternoon one is

(02:00):
ticularly important. If you haven't moved yet and it's two
forty five pm, popping up to do something is a
great way to nip that mid afternoon slump before it
gets too bad. Of course, you can also build in
movement in other ways. If you're on a conference call,
you can pace around or even take it outside, being

(02:21):
sure to mute yourself if it's windy or there's a
lot of background noise. But the point is to do something,
and this is a great habit to develop now that
you can keep once life goes back to something approaching normal.
Gathering a group of colleagues at two thirty pm to
walk a mile outside will be a great way to
connect and to boost energy for the rest of the afternoon.

(02:45):
So today, think about your schedule and think about how
you might move by three pm. How might you move
by three pm? Every day? If you do, I promise
your days will feel a lot better. In the meantime,
this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to succeeding

(03:05):
in the New Corner Office. The New Corner Office is
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