For many of us, back in March, the commute ended. For those of us fortunate enough to work from home, the trip to work became the walk from the breakfast table to the desk, or the amount of time it took to clear the table into a desk. In theory (especially living in Atlanta), I felt like this was saving me quite a bit of time, and, as such, I needed to be doing something really great with that time. After a few weeks, though, I found that there were aspects of my commute that I missed, and I’ve met quite a few folks over the last several months who felt the same way. Replacing our commutes with activity has been a fun way to get back some of what we were missing and get some activity in at the same time.
Although sitting in traffic isn’t on my top five list of favorite things to do, there was something nice about having some decompression time between work and home. To not have my mind switch gears so quickly from one to the other somehow made the days feel longer instead of shorter. Plus I missed listening to podcasts on my way to work. As a substitute, I started going for daily walks around my neighborhood in the morning before work and then as soon as I was done with work, allowing me to build that division back into my day.
In addition to creating some time separation between work and home life — allowing our brains more time to switch between “on” and “relax” mode — having an active outdoor commute packs some big benefits of its own. It allows those of us working from home the extra opportunity for movement during a season when we aren’t exceptionally out and about. Over time, I selected three routes for myself depending on how much time I have to spare, but even if I take the shortest route each day (one mile), at the end of the week it adds up — that’s an extra 20,000 total steps. Others that I’ve talked with who also started a “new commute” have chosen activities like jogging or bike riding to help take the place of the gym during this season.
Whatever you choose, let it be something you enjoy and can do easily. If you’d like help working on daily routines or incorporating more physical activity into your life, reach out to set up an appointment with a Wellview health advisor or personal trainer!
Click HERE to learn more about the Wellview services available to you. We can’t wait to work with you!
– ERIN ALLEN, NBC-HWC, CPT, SFG1
Health Advisor
