Walking As Work: Don’t Call It A Break

Beth Kanter, Master Trainer, Author, Speaker Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Social Media for Nonprofits

NTC2015 – Austin, TX #15ntcwalkiswork

Beth Kanter: Trainer, Author, and Blogger

@kanter

http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/walk #15ntcwalkiswork

Ritu Sharma, CEO, Social Media for Nonprofits

@ritusharma1 www.sm4np.org/blog

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Session Agenda

• Welcome/Icebreaker • What Research Says • What You Can Change

Right Now • Walking Meetings • Walk the Talk • Reflection/Raffle

http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/walk

Meet at the Trinity Street Doors across from Exhibit Hall 2 * Thursday, 12:30-1:30pm

#15ntcwalkiswork

Poll: Stand up if ……

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Poll: Stand up if ……

• Our organization does not do walking meetings, haven’t thought about it

• Our organization does not do walking meetings, not viewed as work

• I do walking meetings 1:1 with supervisor or colleagues • Our organization tried walking meetings, but it didn’t stick • Our organization has regular walking meetings and encourages it • Other #15ntcwalkiswork

HOW WE GOT STARTED!

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Beth

399

Beth’s Story: How I Got Started Walking at Work

Healthy Range

>150

Triglycerides: Test Results

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Too Much of This

And That Too …

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Dashboard To Collect Data Connected To Goals

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99

Triglycerides: Test Results

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Where do you find the time in your work day?

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Image Credit: DIYgenius.com

Image Credit: http://www.safetypartnersltd.com/workplace-distractions/#.VO5TaVPF_0o

Ritu’s Story: Accidental Walker

Enter Pagli Sharma

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Image Credit: Slow Medicine

Image Credit: ComplementsHolistics.co.uk

WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS …..

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How many hours per day do you sit at work?

• Less than two hours

• 2-4 hours • 4-6 hours • 6-8 hours • 8-10 hours • More than 10

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People are sitting 9.3 hours a day, which is

more than we’re sleeping, at 7.7 hours

Sitting increases risk of death up to 40%

Sitting is the New Smoking

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Walking: The Killer App for Creativity and Problem Solving

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A Long History of Walking As Part of Work

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Aristotle instructed his students while strolling about …

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”For me, walking has proved to be a great way to promote

a healthy lifestyle, while facilitating my

communications skills and leadership efforts.“

Louis Sullivan, HHS Secretary 89-93

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Share Pair: What resonated? What have you thought about before? #15ntcwalkiswork

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou

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What You Can Change!

• Stop thinking of solo walking as “exercise” it is a great time to think about challenging work task

• Recognize when you are not productive sitting and take a five minute walk around your office, stretch

• Hack a standing desk • Incorporate 20-30 minute solo walks during the

day or do calls w/ your mobile phone • Walking commute to work, if possible or park

far away or get off bus a stop early • Plan by minutes – 20/8/2

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Stretch At Your Desk or Standing

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Standing Desk Hack

Beverly Trayner-Wenger

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List of Standing Desk Resources http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/walk

Laptop Stand

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List of Standing Desk Resources http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/walk

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List of Standing Desk Resources http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/walk

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Think and Write: How Can You Incorporate More Movement Into Your Work?

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Nonprofits and Walking Meetings

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Examples of Other Professionals Incorporating Walking

• Brainstorming and walking meetings with co-workers

• Problem solving- Discussion focused issues -- Heather Whaling, Geben Communications

• Starts every meeting with a play activity. See examples at: www.playworks.org/playbook/games

-- Beth Kimberly, Playworks

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Examples of Other Professionals Incorporating Walking

• Daily 20 minute walk after lunch with other tenants

• Sharing ideas and resources – Tenants, Sobrato Center for Nonprofits

• No calls sitting down • Default meeting in person to walking

instead of coffee • Staff competition, winner gets to pick a

team activity for the month—dance, comedy, creative class for team building

• Weekly hike for big picture vision talk -- Social Media for Nonprofits #15ntcwalkiswork

Role Play: Convince Your Boss or Colleagues To Kick the Sitting Habit

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Walking Meetings Are Like Any Other Meeting

Source: Andrea Kihlstedt

• Purpose • Agenda • Note Taking • Facilitation

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How Walking Meetings Are Different

• Route Planning • Pacing • Walking shoes • Note-taking methods • Tracking Steps

http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/walk #15ntcwalkiswork

Meeting Type Description

Informal Chats To decide to act on a problem you are facing

1:1 Regularly scheduled check-ins with your boss or people who report to you

Networking Meeting with a professional colleague for relationship building

Huddles To offer help or take action on tactical issues such as scheduling or daily work

Staff Meetings Reporting, decision, planning, scheduling, updates, brainstorming, etc

Work Session To develop a strategy, process improvement, or implementation plan

Conference Calls Meetings by phone or online

Changing A Culture of Sitting: Pick One Meeting

Easy place to start: Suggest replacing weekly status updates with supervisors with a walking meeting. Suggest meeting for a walk instead of coffee for networking meetings. Switch conference call meetings to your mobile phone and walk or pace

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More Tips for Walking Meetings

• Use a park or outdoor setting whenever possible.

• Plan indoor meetings in the office space in the event of bad weather.

• Try holding walking meetings in the afternoon, when energy levels are lowest.

• Avoid noisy roads or crowded areas. • Plan a route with some good

stopping points. • Set a goal for walking meetings each

week.

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Stand Up Meetings

15 minutes Everyone stands What did you complete? What is in progress? Any roadblocks

Deadlines looming To do list culture Learn about work of other teams Team building activities

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It’s Time To Walk the Talk

• Find a partner • Going to take you for a guided walk • Discuss

• What are some ways you can incorporate standing or moving into your work day?

• What are some ways that your organization can make meetings more healthy and productive with walking or standing meetings?

• What is one challenge you face?

• What is one step you can take next week?

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Reflection/Raffle

• How can you integrate walking into your work? • What’s one small step you can take?

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More about walking at work: http://bethkanter.wikispaces.com/walk Friend Me on Fitbit for Walking As Work Challenges https://www.fitbit.com/user/288NYK Evaluation Survey: http://po.st/LG3v8F Meet at the Trinity Street Doors across from Exhibit Hall 2 * Thursday, 12:30-1:30pm

Resources

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