From frazzled to focused

I sat here at my desk this morning for longer than I dare to admit, tearing my hair out because I’ve been asked to write a blog and in my usual style, I’ve left it till the last minute. The BEFORE and AFTER pictures tell a story...

I just couldn’t get the creative juices flowing, every procrastination trick in the book has been tried and tested and I’ve felt frustrated and overwhelmed, then an idea struck, when was the last time I felt like this and what did I do?

I took myself off for a long walk and I came back buzzing with energy, bursting with ideas, focused and determined to get through the afternoon workload. I felt capable, my brain had untangled itself and I’d solved all of the world’s problems!

I realised that my first problem today is that I’m trying to be creative while sat at my desk and I know that doesn’t work for me. How many of you have said at some point that you do your best thinking whilst walking? All the science backs this up, Stanford researchers found we are 60% more creative when walking, compared to sitting down and neuroscientists have dubbed walking at work as  ‘revolutionary’, ‘stunning’, ‘insanely effective’ and ‘essential’ , which is quite a claim for something so simple!

This is certainly my experience personally and one of the reasons I’m such a huge advocate of the outdoor experiential learning we do here at Pro-Development. So why then have I spent so long today staring at a blank screen and banging my head against the metaphorical brick wall? Because its so ingrained in us all that work happens at a desk on a screen and I temporarily forgot the impact of getting outside and how it invigorates the mind, sparks ideas and gives a different perspective.  I want to share this with you because the transformation of walking is so incredible that we can all benefit greatly from something so simple, if we just remember and do it.

It doesn’t just benefit us on an individual level though. Many years ago, at Pro-Development, we identified the outdoors as a potential new boardroom and began taking organisations out on structured team walking days and on our local Yorkshire hills, we have seen incredible things happen.

The familiarity of the office and the hierarchy are taken away – everyone is experiencing the same weather, walking the same path and suddenly, something shifts and the magic happens. We find the words for ideas that have been stuck in our heads for months, the quiet person finds their voice, the loud ones listen more, ideas start to flow, opportunities are identified, energy rises and our thinking becomes as vast as the horizon. Walking side by side levels out the playing field, creates a sense of openness, barriers break down and groups feel more like a team than ever before.

For those that like a list, here are some of the key benefits of taking our work outside for a walk:

• Fresh air and movement helps sharpens focus (no more daydreaming about Colin from accounts!)
• Walking together encourages collaboration
• Change of scenery provides a fresh perspective on challenges
• The informal setting breaks down barriers helping to build trust
• The release of endorphins reduces stress, boosts mood and lowers anxiety
• Fresh air and nature helps to reduce anxiety and promotes better sleep leaving us better equipped to handle daily workplace challenges
• The relaxed dynamic enables deeper conversation and more meaningful connections which strengthen team relationships
• The break from routine is memorable and engaging and reenergises people

These benefits speak for themselves and we are so passionate about this that we weave it into lots of the things we do here at Pro-Development, both for our clients and ourselves:

• Coaching – walking with our coaching clients we often see their motivation, problem solving, creativity, energy and feeling of capability boost off the chart
• Our entire Remarkable Leadership programme is based in the outdoors with a whole ‘self-leadership’ workshop dedicated to walking
• Walking strategy days for Senior Leaders
• Team learning and team building walking events
• We often do our own monthly 1:1’s while walking the woodland paths surrounding us here at Forest Farm
• Walking often forms part of our team design and creativity sessions especially when we update and redesign our programmes
• Infact, Abi and I recently took ourselves away from the office in Vela her campervan and the ideas came flowing as we walked. We are excited to be widening our offering of walking opportunities – watch this space

Our next blog this month will look at the amazing impact on our clients who have taken advantage of our team walking days and the difference they made to their organisation.

Try one these simple ideas this week and let us know the difference it made:

• Take your weekly team meeting outside
• Try walking 1:1’s
• Have a tricky conversation whilst walking side by side and experience a new level of ease and common ground
• Take a walk in your lunch break and notice the difference it makes to your afternoon
• Speak to us about how we can make a difference to you and your organisation with our range of innovative walking days

Do you talk the talk, or do you want to walk the walk? Get in touch to find out how your next training event might work in the great Yorkshire countryside or plan an impactful facilitated team strategy walking day.

Call us on 01904 628838 or email info@1245881.eu11.myftpupload.com