A few weeks ago, there were roadworks on my morning commute. “What commute?” I hear you ask - I know many of you are aware that I don’t work in a corporate office. This was relatively common before the pandemic, but has of course multiplied hugely since then, with many people choosing to continue working from home as it suits them better.
During the pandemic, like many people I used to spend a lot of time outside. There wasn’t much else to do, so one benefit amid all the terrible events was to be able to get out into the fresh air, either in gentle movement or wrapped up well.
Now that “normal life” has resumed, I realised I wasn’t spending nearly as much time outside. I was enjoying a return to various other things, and especially in winter, there was no need to venture out into the cold. However, the negative consequence of this was feeling cooped up, and not getting the benefit of fresh air which I find always lifts my mood.
During lockdowns, some people created an artificial “commute” for themselves – walking the same route each day, before returning to work from home. I didn’t get into this habit during the pandemic, but found I needed it afterwards. Throughout the winter this year, I made sure to take a short walk most mornings – just 10 minutes. I was spurred on by encouragement from my wider family, through a challenge we set up to support each other to get outside and get active in the first 100 days of the year, which I wrote about in a previous blog.
A few weeks ago, my walking route was blocked by some work being done. It was only for a few days, but I made the mistake of skipping the walk rather than redirecting my route. I didn’t feel any immediate impact, but by the end of the week I could tell I wasn’t feeling my best self, a bit less upbeat than usual.
It’s funny how with good habits sometimes you don’t notice how beneficial they are until you stop them for some reason. The experience made me resolve to make sure I keep going on my commute every morning, and just getting outside for a few minutes every day.