March 7, 2024

The Power of Two Minute Moves with Lizzie Williamson

The Power of Two Minute Moves with Lizzie Williamson
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The Power of Two Minute Moves with Lizzie Williamson
The Power of Two Minute Moves with Lizzie Williamson
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Season 11 Goals & Habits Physical Health

Cass talks with Lizzie Williamson, the founder of Two Minute Moves, about the astonishing benefits of building micro-movement breaks into your day. Whether you're at home or in the office, taking tiny opportunities to move your body will reduce your risk of a range of diseases while improving your productivity, creativity, energy and mood.Connect with Lizzie: www.lizziewilliamson.com
Connect with Cass:www.crappytohappypod.comhello@crappytohappypod.com 
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Join the free 7-day Happiness Challenge:www.cassdunn.com/happiness

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Transcript
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This is Crappita Happy and I am your host Castunn.

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I'm a clinical and coaching psychologist and mindfulness meditation teacher

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and of course author of the Crappita Happy books. In

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this show, I bring you conversations with interesting, inspiring, intelligent

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people who are experts in their field and who have

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something of value to share that will help you feel

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less crappy and more happy. We all know how important

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it is to incorporate movement into our daily lives, but

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many of us struggle to find the time, especially if

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it means getting out in the car, going to the

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gym or a yoga class, or even meeting a friend

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for a walk. But Lizzie Williamson is here today with

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the answer to all of our excuses. And not only

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will she convince you that you don't need to hit

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the gym for an hour, but even if you do,

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you will still benefit enormously from her two Minute Moves solution.

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Lizzie is an ex professional dancer, She's a certified pt A,

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keynote speaker, founder of two Minute Moves, author, and her

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brand new book is called The Active Workday Advantage. Believe

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me when I tell you that in the next half hour.

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Lizzie is going to convince you not only of the

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health benefits to incorporating micro movements throughout your day, but

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you're going to improve your energy, focus, mood, productivity, The

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list goes on and on. She's such an energizer bunny.

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Here she is to share the active workday advantage. Lizzie Williamson,

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Welcome to the crap It a happy podcast. Such a

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pleasure to have you here today.

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Well, I have been happy dancing for the last hour

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knowing I'm going to get to talk to you, so

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thank you for having me.

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Lizzie, you have been the champion of two minute moves

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for a long time. Now you're a global phenomenon. Let's

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just start from the beginning. Though we've all heard the

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phrase sitting is the new smoking, which is terrifying for

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most of us who sit at our desks for extended

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periods of time. Can you explain to us why is

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being sedentary such a health risk?

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Yeah, because you think, really, what's wrong with sitting? I mean,

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especially if maybe we're heading to the gym in the

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morning or having a walk at night and we're doing

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lots of sitting. Doesn't really matter. But here's the thing.

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It's actually what the World Health Organization and government guidelines

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talk about is this prolonged periods of sitting without breaking

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it up with physical activity. So if you think about it,

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when you're there for hours not really moving very much,

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your heart doesn't have to work that hard, which can

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lead up to a build up of fatty asses that

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can clog our arteries. We're much more susceptible to heart

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disease if we do a lot of prolonged sitting. In fact,

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there's a study that shows even by reducing sitting time

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by one hour a day, decrease your chance of heart

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disease by twenty six percent. Wow. If you also think

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about our metabolism, how that doesn't have to work very

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hard as well when we're doing a lot of sitting.

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And then there's our body. When we're in this stuck position,

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our bodies aren't designed for that. Neither is our brain

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in fact, and so what happens is it's so stuck

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we become weaker, more inflexible, and so then when we

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go off and do something like you know, bend down

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and get some dishes out of the dishwasher or whatever

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it is, our body goes ah I'm not used to

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moving like that. I've lost my flexibility, I've lost my mobility,

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all that sort of stuff, and then we can get

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some serious consequences and we're much more susceptible to things

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like injuries.

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I find that really fascinating. Some of the stats that

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you put in your your new book about shortening our

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lifespan actually shortening based on the number of hours a

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day we sit. I mean when I say it's terrifying,

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it really is scary stuff and worth knowing, and we

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really worth understanding that Lizzie you mentioned about, you know,

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we'll go to do some movement and we suddenly injure ourselves.

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And I'm sitting here right now with this sciatica pain,

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which I've been struggling with for the last four to

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six weeks, I would say. And it started with me

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joining the gym, thinking I'm doing a great thing, new year,

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get back, do some movement. Don't feel like I'm moving enough,

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And sure enough, over a period of a week or two,

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everything started to stiffen up until suddenly things are just

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not moving at all. So I completely hear you on that,

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and I've.

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Gone from whispering to you to screaming at you.

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Oh my god. And you know, as I was reading

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your book too, I was thinking, you know, the irony

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is like the if there's a silver lining here, it's

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that now that I have this back pain and this

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like all of this tightness and tension causing me so

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much frustration that now every single morning when I wake up,

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the first thing I do is I've been down into

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a child's post and I start doing some glute stretches

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and I'm having to move my body. I cannot sit

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at my desk for long periods. I have to get

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up and walk and stretch. So it's a really good

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thing that I'm doing that I maybe just should have

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been doing it, Lalia. And so there's a bit of

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a note to self there, like, okay, once it's healed,

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because now right now I'm just like, oh my god,

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get this thing fixed so I can get back to

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the gym or get back to doing the things that

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I really enjoy doing it. Oh, just so that I can

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be free from pain, to be honest, But the key is,

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even when you're free from pain, to keep up all

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of these good healthy habits and this regular movement, isn't

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it Lizzie, I just want to pick up on something

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you said, which was even if you're going to the

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gym in the morning or going for a walk, because

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I think that's an important point too, Like you make

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the point that this is not enough.

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Yeah, well that's what research is telling us, which is

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fascinating because you think that it would be. And now

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that's to take nothing away from how brilliant that is

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to do that stuff, But it doesn't in a way

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then give us permission to spend then the rest of

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our day cententry and were speaking of gym and things

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like that.

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I mean, you know, there are also a lot of

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people who will say, well, I'd love to go to

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the gym, but where do I find the time for that?

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So this idea of incorporating these small amounts of movement

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through your day is probably really appealing idea to some people.

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So where did this idea of two minute moves first

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start from? With you, Lizzie, like that that's your big thing.

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So how did that come about?

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It came from a place that I was at And

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I know that this is a common story for many

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of us that we reach this sometimes a rock bottom

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place or a dark place. Something we need to make

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a change, and we discover something that works for us,

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and then we then want to share it with other people.

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You found this powerful thing, and for me, that thing

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was this moment in my life when I had a

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baby and a toddler and postnatal depression. It was fifteen

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years ago, and I could not get myself to do

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the thing that I knew was going to make myself

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feel good, to do the thing that before this point

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I would hear of people who had depression and were

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struggling with their mental health. I think, you just got

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to do this, and that's exercise, easy, simple. I'd always

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love to move. I'd been a professional dancer, I've done

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all my life, and then here I was, at this

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moment in time. I couldn't get myself to do it,

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and I felt so stuck, so incapable of action. That

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the catalyst for me was going to see my doctor

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finally and talking to her and talking through my treatment

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options and all of that stuff, and she telling me

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I needed to get that oxygen mask on first before

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assisting others. And so the next day I thought, I've

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got to somehow get myself self moving, and I went

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to my kitchen bench, put my hands on it like

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it was my ballet bar, and I got myself to

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do just one pleia, which is a knee bend in ballet.

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And I cannot believe now how hard that moment was

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for me to do it. How simple is it, hands

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on the bench do a plia, But it felt so hard,

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and I got myself to do another one, and another one.

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I couldn't do very long. It was very short amount

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of time, but there was something about that moment that

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I thought, Okay, do that again tomorrow, and so that's

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what I did, And then I did it the next

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day and the next and the next, and as the

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months went on slowly, I started to feel I think

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this ripple effect from that moment. I'd start to be

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able to do a bit more movement in my day,

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and some push ups at my kitchen bench while I

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was waiting for the kettle to boil, or and sometimes

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that two minutes would go longer, sometimes not. It didn't matter.

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I got more professional help. It was this first little

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step so I could rediscover the power of movement and

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that it didn't have to be this way that I

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always thought it had to be this certain amount of

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time this location, this intensity, wearing certain active where that

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it could actually just be this moment that I could

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take whereever, whenever, And it totally shifted my whole mindset.

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And then I started to share it. There's no social

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media then, so I'd film a little video of a

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friend of a friend I knew who was struggling with

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her mental health, and then someone else's maybe a little

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piece of the pie of their mental health program what

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they needed to do. Social media came to be YouTube videos,

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the book that all that sort of stuff, and just

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kind of grew from there. But the mission has always

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been the same, is that exercise can be hard if

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you don't have any time, if you're exhausted, if you're

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struggling mentally. The list goes on, how can we make

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it easier for ourselves because it is possible to do

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the thing that really does help the way that we feel.

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I'm glad that you shared that story because I think

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there will be people listening who have in that place,

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or they've been in that place and it feels so hard,

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it feels so impossible, and just making it something that

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is just this micro step, just the tiniest thing that

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can be the first step towards you know, doing it

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again and again and building some momentum, because I think

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the other thing the first thing we come up against

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when it comes to this idea of exercise is I

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don't have time. It's too hard, it hurts. How am

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I going to fit that in? But then you start

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talking about well it can just be two minutes, and

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what comes up is well, what good.

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Will that do?

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Like, what's the point of that? Almost so Lizzie tell

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us what is the point of that? And what good

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can it do?

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It's on two different levels. I think the first level

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is actually there's a whole lot of evidence and research

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that tells us that it is still really beneficial. In fact,

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we know that that one hundred and fifty minutes of

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recommended exercise in and our week, you can break that

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up as much as you want and still get the benefits.

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We also know that, say, for example, a one minute

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walk every thirty minutes, is a study by Columbia University,

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how great that is to help regulate our blood sugar levels,

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how it helps to decrease fatigue and improve our mood.

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There's another study by Edith Cohen University here in Australia,

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and this study actually went quite viral around the world

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because they show that even three seconds a day of

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saying lifting a weight three seconds impacted our muscle strength one,

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two three. The second level of this is that when

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we actually take this moment and do something for ourselves,

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something that makes us maybe feel that little bit stronger,

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that releases some lovely things like endocannabinoids. Our body's chill

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peel helps to release myokens, which comes from our muscles,

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which helps us feel more hopeful. When we do that,

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we get this amazing inner pharmacy inside of us released.

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And so we might think, really, two minutes, what's that

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going to do. But just that little moment of not

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only feeling that little bit better, but also giving you

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that sense of achievement that you've done something for you

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and that is so so powerful. So the key is

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to really, no matter how small of a thing that

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you do, to really acknowledge it, celebrate it. Say to yourself,

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good on you. You did that one push up against

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your wall next to your desk, Do a bit of

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a high five into the reflection of your computer or

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whatever it is. Celebrate the little small things because you're

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right we fall into the trap that we think, what's

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that going to do? And it doesn't count.

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The whole It doesn't count thing, And it does.

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Yes, because you can do that little two minutes and

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often you'll keep on going. This morning of my little habit,

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I lift some weights because I want to get stronger.

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But the deal is all I have to do is

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just pick them up and do one bicep curl. That's it.

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And this morning I was looking at them and go,

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I do not want to do it, and you know

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I'm not doing it. I just don't feel like doing it.

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I said, no, no, the deal is just pick them

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up and do one biceck curl. So that's what I did,

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and I actually only did just five more and I

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put them down and I said, good on you for

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doing that, because you know what you're doing there. You're

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building momentum, and so tomorrow you did it today, so

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you've probably been more likely to do it tomorrow and

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the next day and the next.

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Funny that you say that too, because as part of

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my like you know, having to get on the floor

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and stretch for my psiatica pain, I've got some hand

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weights downstairs as well, and so I was lying on

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the floor and doing my glute stretches, and I thought,

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I'll just grab those weights and just like do some

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chest press. There's nothing wrong with my upper body at

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the moment. And then that turned into, oh, I'll do

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some trycep overhead things. And it was only for a

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few minutes, but it's easy to dismisses that. But you're

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quite right, it all adds up. And I'm not going

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to go and enter a bodybuilding championship next week.

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But the effect on.

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My mood and just moving my body and all of

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those which you explain really well in the book, like

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all of those chemical responses that we have in our body.

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And I think this is another kind of a mindset

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shift as well, isn't it, Lizzie. I think we have

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all been kind of conditioned that we do this exercise

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to get strong and or lose weight, and we need

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to remind ourselves that there is so much more benefit.

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There are so many more reasons for incorporating movement into

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our day. Let's talk about productivity, because you make a

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very good argument in the book that we are actually

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more effective, our brain is working better. Because so many

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people will say I don't have time for that because

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I'm too busy. I've got things to do. But actually

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making this time, building in these brakes can really boost productivity.

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Can you explain that.

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There's a great study by Stanford University that shows it,

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compared to sitting, walking increases creative output by sixty percent.

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And those creative juices continue to flow after we have

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sat back down. So I think our what we tend

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to do is think, no, no, I've just got to

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sit here and power on through. That's just what I

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have to do. It's got to get this done. Whereas

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our brains are built to detect and respond to change,

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they love that when we give it a change, even

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if that is taking a micro break looking away from

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the screen for a moment. There's great studies by the

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Microsoft lad Arianna Huffington have done and that she talks

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about these micro breaks and how they help you to

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reset your stress and help you be more productive and happier.

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And this is just a tiny little moment our brains,

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you think about it, they get so overloaded and this

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is so much in there. And when we get there's

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lovely chemicals like bead in their brain derived neurotropic factor.

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It is like fertilizer for our brain. Our brain rewards

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us from getting active. That's what we were evolved to do,

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and so it's such a trap that so many of

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us are in. We think we've got to power through

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to be more productive. And it reminds me of this

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Netflix show. I've been watching Drive to Survive, which is

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all about Formula one drivers. And if you think about

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a Formula one driver high performer, they are on that

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track and they just want to get to that finish

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line milli seconds count, and yet they are called to

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box box. They have to make their pit stop. They

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have to get off the track, they have to get

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the ties off, do the engine stuff whatever. It doesn't

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take very long and then they're back on the track.

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But can you imagine when you were on that track,

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so focused, so wanting to get to the fish like,

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how annoying it must beat. I have to pull off

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and sometimes it takes longer than others. It's the exact

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same thing in our workday. We don't want to pull off.

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We just think, no, come on, just keep going. But

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our vehicle needs these little moments, our bodies, our brains

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need these moments, so we get back on track in

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a better way and we get to that finish line

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so that we're not crawling to that finish line, we're

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not burnt out, our tithes are completely run down. So

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think about in your day how you can take these

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little pit stops and how much more effective you're going

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to be from taking them.

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Yeah, I think that's a great analogy, really useful analogy

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about how we have these like little reset recharge to

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basically come back and work at our optimal level to

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get actually the best performance out of ourselves. It's a

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great reframe.

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I love that.

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So somebody who is let's say somebody's sitting at the desk,

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they do office job, you know, kind of desk bound

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all day. What are some suggestions, Lizzie for how people

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can start incorporating some of these little micro breaks, these

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movement breaks into their day.

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Okay, so in your day, think about something that you

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do on a regular basis. So maybe that's taking a

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siep of water, making a cup of tea at the

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kitchen bench. Maybe it's you're sending a lot of emails,

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you're taking a phone call, there's a particular meeting you

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do each day, And look at how you can use

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it as a queue to get yourself moving in some

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kind of way. So for example, if you take a

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sip of water, that can be your queue to have

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a little stand up and reach your arms up to

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the ceiling. Or before you get on a virtual meeting,

352
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turn your head from side to side, turn your body

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to look behind you like someone's calling you either side,

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to get your spine out of that saying stuck position.

355
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If you go and make yourself a cup of tea

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and you flick that switch on the kettle, hands on

357
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the kitchen bench and do some push ups. Finding these

358
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little ways to make movement a habit can help remind you.

359
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And then of course at the end of that, to

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close the habit loop, we want to make sure we

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say to ourselves, yes, done that little celebrate. If you've

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got a little reward chart or something or a little

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thing you can tick it you've done your little movement

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for the day, then brilliant do that. And if that

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doesn't quite work for you and you need a bit

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of extra reinforcements, do something like setting an alarm on

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your phone if you're able to and have the phone

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away from you and so that you have to get

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on up to turn that time off. If you know

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you've got this hour or two hours ahead of you,

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take that little moment, get on up, shake it off,

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punch it out whatever you're feeling at the time, and

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then you can come back and get back into your work.

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Even like a little walk on the spot or a

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jog on the spot is great. And if you've got

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moments that you do in your day that you're needing

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a say, a boost of confidence, or you're wanting some

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more creativity, some focus, whatever what is that you need,

379
00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:05.880
remember that movement, physical activity is there. It's waiting for

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you that in a pharmacy and us it's just waiting

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there and we can use it to think better, to

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work better. But we have to reimagine what the whole

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movement thing and physical activity thing has to look like

384
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for us to be able to do it in our workday,

385
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because you might be there thinking there is no way

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I'm going to be exercising at work. The super little

387
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subtle things that you can do in your chair, like

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imagine you've dropped a pen either side, lean down and

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pick up the pen like you're fixing up your shoe,

390
00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:36.680
rolled down, let your shoulders drop all these little moments

391
00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:38.960
really do start to add up, and you get to

392
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the end of your week and rather than being in

393
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pain in your body and just feeling it's like, oh gosh,

394
00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:45.799
I haven't got everything done I've wanted to get done.

395
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We've used these little moments of movement, these micro moves

396
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to really help us be productive, perform better, and feel

397
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better at work.

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And even just getting to the end of the day

399
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and feeling less stressed and fatigued because we've built in

400
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those little recovery breaks as well mentally and physically, we've

401
00:21:05.759 --> 00:21:08.440
just broken up the day. I think it makes such

402
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a big difference when you do that. I love Lizzie

403
00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:15.680
that you've also got in the book things like breath breaks,

404
00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:18.319
you know, being the mindfulness teacher that I am and

405
00:21:18.359 --> 00:21:21.519
the psychologist and all about you know, mental health, you've

406
00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:24.160
actually incorporated it in your book and in this active

407
00:21:24.200 --> 00:21:29.799
workday kind of framework, this mental checkings and breathing breaks.

408
00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:31.680
Can you talk about the benefit of those.

409
00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:34.400
Oh yes, well as you would know, okas, I mean,

410
00:21:34.960 --> 00:21:38.359
how incredible it is when we stop and take a

411
00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:43.680
few intentional breaths, and sometimes we do it and think, WHOA,

412
00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:46.759
I don't feel like I've done this all day. My

413
00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:49.240
breath has just been up here in my chest and

414
00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:53.279
my shoulders, and just even what that longer site out

415
00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:58.480
that exhalation can do, just feel like, oh, that moment

416
00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:03.559
of letting go hold so much in our bodies, and

417
00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:07.640
when we are there having to make a big decision

418
00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:13.400
or get something done, rather than thinking, Okay, I've just

419
00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:15.480
got to power through and I'm so stressed to go,

420
00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:20.079
go go. Use techniques like the military use this tactical breathing,

421
00:22:20.119 --> 00:22:23.240
this box breathing where you breathe in for the counter four.

422
00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:25.200
It's like you're following a box. You breathe in for

423
00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:27.920
the counterfour. Is that line of the box goes up,

424
00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:30.599
hold that breath for the counterfour, across the top of

425
00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:33.680
the box, breathe out for the counterfour as that line

426
00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.000
goes down, and then close the box with a beautiful

427
00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:40.599
hold of that breath out for the counter four. It's

428
00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:45.160
such a powerful way to help reset stress and make

429
00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:49.640
us bring us a bit more back into the present moment.

430
00:22:49.880 --> 00:22:54.240
It's incredibly powerful, isn't it. You know all about this? Yeah?

431
00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:54.680
I do.

432
00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:57.440
And I think also this idea of kind of taking

433
00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:01.759
these purposeful pauses and you say, before you said, what

434
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:03.759
do I need? Do I need more productivity? Do I

435
00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:07.079
need more creativity? And even asking yourself that question, and

436
00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:12.599
asking yourself in that moment, what do I need, forces

437
00:23:12.640 --> 00:23:16.400
you to stop and check in with yourself, to actually

438
00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:19.240
stop and just check in with your inner world and

439
00:23:19.400 --> 00:23:21.920
not just your body, but just your whole energy and

440
00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:25.640
your mood state, which I think is so profoundly important.

441
00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:29.720
To then decide what do I do next? Like, what

442
00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:31.720
do I do with this next two minutes five minutes?

443
00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:33.400
It doesn't have to be a big amount of time,

444
00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:38.640
but we can become so consumed and fixated and just

445
00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:41.599
staring at our screen and working to a deadline and

446
00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:45.119
dealing with distractions, you know, all of that sort of stuff,

447
00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:51.319
and actually lose sight of or forget to actually just

448
00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:55.000
stop for a moment, check in what do I What

449
00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:57.240
do I need? What's what's the most important thing for

450
00:23:57.319 --> 00:23:59.559
me to do right now? And that in itself is

451
00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:01.039
just so powerful.

452
00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:05.279
How do I go from crappy to happy? How do

453
00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:09.319
I go from distracted to focus? How do I go

454
00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:14.279
from stress to calm? It's that little bit of action

455
00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:16.839
that we can take. But you're right, the first thing

456
00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:19.880
we need to do is go, Okay, where am I at?

457
00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:22.480
Where do I want to be? And that's just like

458
00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:26.640
a second thought, Okay, what can I do? What can

459
00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:30.559
I tool can I grab from my toolbox to help

460
00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:33.880
me be in that state that I'm wanting to be in,

461
00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:37.759
rather than just pushing through like I know I do

462
00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:39.519
sometimes I'm sure most of us do.

463
00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:46.000
Yeah, I like the idea too of things like walking meetings.

464
00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:48.720
I know you're a big fan of meeting too, So

465
00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:49.839
how do you challenge meeting?

466
00:24:49.880 --> 00:24:51.519
And now what I like to do is say, hey,

467
00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:55.799
it's possible that we do this as a phone call instead.

468
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Start with that simple phone call, and that way I'm

469
00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:02.119
a bit more free to move around. Can we do

470
00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:04.440
this as a walk and talk? Or often I'll say

471
00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:06.559
I'm going to take this as a walk and talk,

472
00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:08.720
so I'm not even sort of asking them to do it,

473
00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:11.440
So I'm role modeling that that's a great thing to do.

474
00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:14.559
And then the other great thing that you can look

475
00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:17.319
at meetings as and I've seen this really work for

476
00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:21.839
the organizations I work with, is to make our meetings

477
00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:25.000
movement meetings. And that can be a something as simple

478
00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:27.400
as at the start of the meeting someone says, Okay,

479
00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:31.359
we've probably been sitting down here for hours staring at

480
00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:33.720
our screen. Let's just take a little moment to look

481
00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:36.160
to one side and then look to the other side,

482
00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:38.200
because we know that that's going to help us reset

483
00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:40.359
our strets and give us our brains a chance for

484
00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:43.880
a little micro break. Or how about we just have

485
00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:46.200
a little stretch up of our arms, stand up if

486
00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:48.079
you want it. You can have your cameras off, cameras off,

487
00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:50.319
it doesn't matter. And then as you start to get

488
00:25:50.359 --> 00:25:52.319
a bit more used to that becomes a bit more

489
00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:54.519
of what you do on your meetings. I now have

490
00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:57.759
organizations that will start their meetings with, you know, playing

491
00:25:57.759 --> 00:25:59.640
a song and having a dance and playing one of

492
00:25:59.680 --> 00:26:02.240
my two minute moves. It just very much becomes a

493
00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:05.599
normal thing that they start doing. Meetings are such a

494
00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:07.920
great place to get a bit more active because you

495
00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:11.359
get to do it together and there might be some resistance,

496
00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:16.079
but very quickly that resistance turns to some smile, some laughter.

497
00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:20.319
That energy is infectious, and then you get this lovely

498
00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:24.839
sense of connection with the people, either virtually or in person.

499
00:26:26.200 --> 00:26:29.279
Yeah. I really like that as well. And Lizzie, the

500
00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:30.880
last thing that I really wanted to ask you about

501
00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:32.319
because and I just want to point out that you've

502
00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:36.960
covered this so well in your book. Is how to

503
00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:41.279
create this active workplace? Not just an active workday for

504
00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:44.599
an individual, but how you kind of spread this idea

505
00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:48.440
of this active workday into a workplace and get everybody

506
00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:53.400
on board with this kind of culture. Really, So if

507
00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:55.759
somebody is, for example, say I'm a leader in an

508
00:26:55.839 --> 00:26:58.759
organization and I'm really on board with this idea, what

509
00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:01.039
are some things that I can do to try to

510
00:27:01.640 --> 00:27:04.319
share this message and get other people on board with

511
00:27:04.400 --> 00:27:08.000
the importance and the benefits of incorporating more movement into

512
00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:08.480
our day.

513
00:27:09.319 --> 00:27:11.720
The first step is to role model it. Role modeling

514
00:27:11.880 --> 00:27:16.559
is so so powerful. Rather than telling something someone to

515
00:27:16.599 --> 00:27:19.960
do something, when you do it yourself and they see it,

516
00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:24.400
then that's often how you can help change someone else's behavior.

517
00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:27.920
So make sure that you are the person who is

518
00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:30.319
there just having a bit of a roll back of

519
00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:33.039
their shoulders, a few little stretches in your chair, and

520
00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:36.039
then telling someone how good that feels, and how you

521
00:27:36.039 --> 00:27:38.559
want to interrupt these long hours of sitting and why

522
00:27:38.599 --> 00:27:41.519
that you're doing it. Be sure to share the things

523
00:27:41.519 --> 00:27:44.319
that you are doing each time you reach into your toolkit,

524
00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:47.720
share resources with people as well, little ideas of how

525
00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:51.359
they can get moving more. Do this together on meetings

526
00:27:51.640 --> 00:27:55.039
if you can, and also as well make sure that

527
00:27:55.559 --> 00:28:00.519
people feel really comfortable doing it and that ignowledge that

528
00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:04.440
we're all really different. Some people love having that. If

529
00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:07.160
they're in an office and there's a little thing that

530
00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:09.359
goes off at three o'clock and all the office gets

531
00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:12.160
up and moving and dancing, some people love that, some

532
00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:15.839
people hate it. So acknowledging how we can make this

533
00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:20.599
accessible for everyone, And a really really important message in

534
00:28:20.680 --> 00:28:24.240
that is that just do a little something what works

535
00:28:24.279 --> 00:28:27.119
for you. Is it that sneaky little chair move that

536
00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:30.279
you do in your day, Is it just that little

537
00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:33.960
walk to you know, up and down your stairs or whatever.

538
00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:38.079
It is just not going? Okay everyone, we're going to

539
00:28:38.119 --> 00:28:41.920
completely transform this culture. The idea is, okay, how can

540
00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:45.559
we start super small? Because what will happen, and what

541
00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:48.440
I see happen all the time is then it starts

542
00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:52.319
to spread and this little small little thing that you

543
00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:55.200
started doing, when the person next you starts doing, and

544
00:28:55.240 --> 00:28:57.680
the next and the next, how can we do this more?

545
00:28:57.920 --> 00:28:59.960
Maybe we could do this as a as a chair,

546
00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:02.799
whatever it is, but you don't want to go into

547
00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:06.799
gung ho with it. Start small, Start really simple, and

548
00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:10.680
let people know why you're doing it. It's not just

549
00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:13.839
this whole we're going to be exercising at work. We

550
00:29:13.880 --> 00:29:16.440
are going to use these little micro moves, these little

551
00:29:16.559 --> 00:29:20.880
moments to help us feel their stress, help us when

552
00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:23.680
we're feeling so much pressure, help us when our bodies

553
00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:26.000
are feeling achy. All the things that are particular to

554
00:29:26.079 --> 00:29:28.799
you and your work. This is our new tool. We're

555
00:29:28.839 --> 00:29:31.440
going to delve into the toolkit and use it.

556
00:29:32.400 --> 00:29:35.119
I love it. I love it. I really actually love

557
00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:38.400
that at the moment there is this kind of movement

558
00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:43.359
for one of a better word, towards tiny, tiny actions

559
00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:47.599
that it doesn't have to be these big challenges and

560
00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:49.759
like you said, an hour at the gym, going for

561
00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:52.920
a run, Like we can actually just incorporate these tiny,

562
00:29:53.160 --> 00:29:56.519
very achievable changes to our day that can make a

563
00:29:56.680 --> 00:30:01.960
profound difference, not just do our physical health, mental health, mood, productivity,

564
00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:05.920
energy focus. There is so much benefit there to be

565
00:30:05.960 --> 00:30:08.079
gained and it doesn't have to be hard work.

566
00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:11.599
Yeah, and it's so great that there's so much research

567
00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:13.920
coming out about it. As well. If you're someone who

568
00:30:14.319 --> 00:30:17.400
loved the stats and the research, you can look up

569
00:30:17.440 --> 00:30:21.640
this idea of micro breaks, small moments of movement and

570
00:30:21.720 --> 00:30:23.799
you will see it's lots of It's in my book

571
00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:27.519
as well. You will be quite surprised how much research

572
00:30:27.559 --> 00:30:31.680
there is and just how effective it is. But here's

573
00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:36.039
the thing. When you are there not able to get

574
00:30:36.119 --> 00:30:40.079
yourself motivated, if you say to yourself, I'm just going

575
00:30:40.119 --> 00:30:41.720
to do this little thing. I'm just going to do

576
00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:46.039
two minutes. How much more achievable does that sound to yourself?

577
00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:48.799
Then I'm going to do thirty or sixty. And if

578
00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:52.279
you can get yourself to do the thirty or sixty minutes, fantastic.

579
00:30:52.599 --> 00:30:55.400
We want to be getting that into our day. But

580
00:30:55.640 --> 00:30:58.359
when we can't get ourselves to do that, if we

581
00:30:58.519 --> 00:31:01.319
just say just do two minutes, ten seconds, just do

582
00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:04.759
one push up at the wall next to your desk,

583
00:31:05.079 --> 00:31:08.799
that action becomes a bit easier, and as we know,

584
00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:13.000
action proceeds motivation. We take that little bit of action,

585
00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:15.440
then the next bit of action can sometimes feel that

586
00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:18.200
a little bit easier, and the next one easier, and

587
00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:21.400
then we start to build that momentum where we are

588
00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:24.720
there in a situation where we are taking care of

589
00:31:24.759 --> 00:31:28.599
ourselves physically and mentally. We are putting on our oxygen

590
00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:32.480
masks before assisting others, just like my doctor told me

591
00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:34.279
I needed to do fifteen years ago.

592
00:31:35.240 --> 00:31:38.160
Lizzie, your energy is so contagious. Thank you so much

593
00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:41.599
for being here today and sharing your message. I am

594
00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:43.480
at the end of my sitting period. I've got to

595
00:31:43.480 --> 00:31:47.119
get up and do some movement, so thank you so much.

596
00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:48.759
And congratulations on the book.

597
00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:51.839
Thank you, kas, Thank you for all you do for

598
00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:54.680
helping us all to go from crappy to happy. You're

599
00:31:54.759 --> 00:31:58.119
just awesome. Thank you, Thanks Lizzie.

600
00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:01.920
Lizzie's book is called The Active Workday Advantage and it's

601
00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:04.799
available now in all bookstores. If you enjoyed this episode,

602
00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:06.759
please share it with a friend, leave us a rating

603
00:32:06.759 --> 00:32:09.440
and review, Come and connect with me on Instagram or TikTok.

604
00:32:09.480 --> 00:32:12.799
Cast Done underscore XO. Hit that plus button to subscribe

605
00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:14.440
so that you never miss an episode, or come and

606
00:32:14.519 --> 00:32:17.119
join my mailing list. Cast Done dot Com is my

607
00:32:17.160 --> 00:32:19.480
website that's where you can sign up. As always, thank

608
00:32:19.519 --> 00:32:20.880
you for being here and I cannot wait to catch

609
00:32:20.920 --> 00:32:23.119
you next week for another episode of Crapy to Happy.