Tip: set a reminder to move. Try getting up and moving for a few minutes every hour.

This was going to be my challenge for the week. However, before embarking on this, my primary challenge was how to set the alarm on my phone.  And, even if I did manage to set it, how much would it irritate my colleagues? Forget that idea. Download ‘Move your App’ then. That idea was also quickly shelved as it meant I would need to be glued to my phone….recovering a soggy phone from the bottom of the toilet bowl flashed through my head. I could set a calendar reminder on my PC but that would just irritate me. Another idea binned before it even got off the ground. So, this tip was a non-starter.

That may sound a bit defeatist especially as the British Heart Foundation and Get Britain Standing reported that office workers fear sitting too long could be impacting their health. In a poll of 2000 workers a third said they even put off going to the toilet! I am guilty of being so focused on my work that I don’t move much but I do have regular trips to the kitchen to fill up on tea (green tea, usually, so pretty healthy) and the toilet is a bit of a hike, especially when the ones on my floor are usually out of order. But clearly my attempt at moving more whilst in the office was an epic fail.

However, the aforementioned epic fail isn’t where it ends as I have been super active over the past seven days. We recently rehomed a little cocker spaniel who has already transformed our lives. She has been my motivation to haul myself out of bed in the morning and take her down the seafront for some positive ions (and, of course, some exercise). I’m now managing to clock up approximately 5000 steps before I get to work and the fresh air, the early morning peace and quiet and the sun rising over the horizon have lightened my mood and set me up for the day.

A long weekend on the South Downs has also meant an increase in my activity – and a huge amount of smugness on my part as my significant other complained on a daily basis about how sore he was and groaned every time he turned over in bed whilst Mrs Smug languished in the knowledge that she would be able to get up and out the next day without a care in the world!

The weather wasn’t too kind – cue a very bedraggled dog who thought it was great fun to roll in soggy cow dung but who then looked like we were beating her with a stick when we tried to wipe her down with gentle baby wipes! – but, according to my health app, over the four days I managed to walk over 70,000 steps and climbed 112 flights of stairs (I didn’t realise there were flights of stairs on the South Downs but clearly powering up steep hills counts).

So, whilst I didn’t manage to follow the move more tip, I am proud to say that I did move……a LOT. I was so proud of myself for traipsing up and down the South Downs that it has inspired me to be even more active. My latest acquisition has been a 0-5km running app. I’m not a runner at all but the first session went well (5minute warm up walk, 1 minute run/1.5 minute walk for 15 minutes, 5 minute cool down walk) and I felt that I could’ve done more. My sensible side kicked in, though, and I decided not to push it otherwise my foray into running could have ended before it had properly begun. Tomorrow I have to run for 8 minutes……….

When I am back at my desk next week, I WILL find a way to make myself get up and move as every little helps; I will also see if I can get outside and move away from my desk to eat my lunch as my keyboard probably has enough crumbs in it to feed me for a fortnight!

Ceri Spain
Statutory Returns Officer
Planning Office