How do you fit more movement into a desk job?

The desk job is a strange arrangement: a whole day of thinking, during which the body is mostly treated as a device for carrying the head to meetings. We are not going to make promises about what more movement does for you. We will just say that a day with a walk, some stairs and a bit of air in it tends to feel like a better day, and that is reason enough.

Walking meetings

Not every meeting needs a table. One-to-ones, catch-ups, brainstorms and phone calls often work beautifully on foot.

• Suggest it in advance, so nobody turns up in heels expecting a meeting room.
• Pick a loop that starts and ends at the office, ideally with something nice in the middle: a park, a river, a coffee kiosk.
• Keep it small. Two or three people walk well together; seven is a parade.
• Take calls walking. If you do not need your screen, put in headphones and walk while you talk.

The stairs

Stairs are the one piece of exercise equipment every office building already owns. Use them for one or two floors, or get out of the lift a floor early. If your office is on the twelfth floor, take the lift most of the way and walk the last bit. Nobody is counting, and it should not feel like a test.

A proper lunchtime walk

Lunch at the desk is efficient and a bit grim. Taking a real break outside is more civilised.

• Eat somewhere you have to walk to: a bench in a square, the park, a café a few streets away.
• Walk with a colleague, which turns it into the best kind of meeting: one with no agenda.
• Have a few loops ready of different lengths, so you can choose based on the weather and your diary.
• Block it in your calendar if your days get eaten. A recurring "lunch" block is a perfectly respectable appointment.

The commute

The journey to work is a ready-made slot for movement. Cycle in on a day or two a week, walk to a farther station, or get off the bus a stop early. Even a short walk at each end of the day gives you a buffer between home and work. Our guide to starting cycling to work covers route-testing, kit and arriving presentable.

Stand up, often

Rather than trying to remember to move every so often, tie it to things that already happen:

• When a meeting ends, stand up and walk to refill your water.
• When you finish a task, go and deliver the news in person instead of by message.
• Use a printer, kitchen or bathroom on another floor.
• Stand for calls if you have the space, or pace while you talk.
• Stretch for a minute after long periods of focused work: reach up, roll the shoulders, turn the neck gently.

If your workplace has a standing desk option, try switching between sitting and standing through the day, whatever feels comfortable.

Make it social, make it normal

Movement at work sticks better when it is part of the culture. Start a regular walking lunch, a Friday stair club, a bike-to-work group, or a lunchtime class with colleagues. The best version is when moving around the office becomes so normal that nobody comments on it.