Walking Meetings: How Our Team Made Them a Daily Habit
What if your team could walk from Philadelphia to New York – without any extra time in the calendar? It sounds crazy, but that is roughly what happens over a year if you replace a 15-minute sitting meeting with a walk on almost every working day. Here is how our own team switched to walking meetings, what changed, and how you can start.
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How the YuMuuv Team Started Walking in Meetings
Given our name, you might think we were born on a treadmill. In reality, we arrived at walking meetings quite late and by accident. Like many tech startups, we had a daily stand-up every morning to review the previous day and set goals for the new one. Our team was international and remote long before it became common, so our “stand-up” was really a classic sit-down call. Nobody thought about moving.
I am an early riser, so I often had a few activities done before our 9:30 team call. One day, an earlier meeting ran over, and I joined the stand-up with headphones while riding my bike. The team jokingly applauded my active lifestyle – and we decided that the next day, we would all join “on the move” to see where it led.
A Change in Meeting Culture
I would be lying if I said every one of us has walked through every meeting since then (myself included), although for many it has become very consistent. But the culture changed for good, regardless of the weather. Before, people apologized for moving during a meeting. Now they apologize for not moving. I have also discovered that squats during a call are surprisingly energizing – one less excuse to just sit behind the desk.
A Quick Calculation: How Far 15 Minutes a Day Takes You
Imagine you have a 15-minute meeting every working day that you could take on the go. An employee works around 47 weeks a year after holidays and public holidays. At a relaxed walking pace of about 3 miles per hour (5 km/h), that adds up to roughly 175 miles (280 km) a year – further than from Philadelphia to New York. All without sweat, gym time or extra hours in the day.
The Benefits of Walking Meetings
- More creativity. A Stanford study found that walking increased creative output by an average of 60% compared with sitting.1
- Less stress. A guaranteed quarter of an hour outdoors every day has a clear calming effect.
- More daily activity. Small daily walks add up to meaningful distance over a year.
- Contagious culture. When everyone else is moving, it feels strange to sit still. The fog in your head clears as soon as you start walking.
Read more about the benefits of walk-and-talk meetings.
How to Start Walking Meetings in Your Team
- Start with the right meetings. Stand-ups, one-to-ones and brainstorming sessions work best. Keep screen-heavy meetings at the desk.
- Keep groups small. Two to four people in person, or any size team on a call with headphones.
- Share the agenda in advance so nobody needs to look at a screen.
- Capture notes afterwards – a quick summary in your team channel is enough.
- Make it optional but normal. Let people join from the desk if they need to, and lead by example.
Want to take it further? Count the steps in a team step challenge at work or try more office fitness challenge ideas.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a walking meeting?
A meeting held while walking – together outdoors, or on a call with each participant walking wherever they are.
2. Do walking meetings work for remote teams?
Yes. Our team is remote, and walking during calls with headphones works just as well. Everyone walks in their own city, together.
3. How long should a walking meeting be?
Fifteen to thirty minutes is ideal for most topics. Over a year, even 15 minutes a day adds up to a remarkable distance.
Small Steps, Big Change
A small step every day brings big change in the long run – as with all habits. If you want to make movement part of your company culture, book a demo and see how YuMuuv can help.
