This is the Rose and Shine podcast with us, Victoria Rousalsen and Josephine Roots. We are Swedish sisters and in our podcast we explore career and well-being. So join us for inspiration and practical insights from our own international lives and careers. Good morning, this is Victoria, sending from Atlanta.
And good afternoon, this is Josephine from Mallorca. So Josephine, tell me, did you ever regret taking time out to go for a walk, a run or yoga session? However busy you were, do you ever regret it? But pushes me to think, did I ever regret it?
I don't think it can come up with a time that I have regretted it. No, no, perhaps maybe if I got soaked, if it really started to pour a rain or something like that. But no, top of mind, I think it's always given back some energy, right? Yes, yes.
I do. That makes me think of a time when I actually decided to bike around the lake, which is about eight miles or something like that. So a little bit over 10k. And midway through the sky opened and the rain, the tropical rain of Atlanta, sort of of the south just came pouring down.
And I didn't have to like, bike very far until I was like soaking, and there was nowhere to sort of hide from this rain. It was just like, to accept the fact and just think about it and laugh about it that, yeah, this is what's going to happen. That makes me think I'm in the midst of buying bikes at the moment. Mallorca is like a heaven for bike and road bikes and so on.
I'm not especially in that yet. But e-bikes, of course, are also incredibly popular. And I think that kind of 10k, that is what how people that have sold e-bikes to me have said. It's not about less exercise, but it's like when you hit that 10k and you need to go home, and it's thunder outside, and you have a big mountain to climb, it's incredibly nice.
It's handy, right? I've never been on one even, but I can just imagine, like just press a little button and like I'm done. Yeah, no, I think that that, I mean, maybe this whole episode could be a commercial for e-bikes, you know, so you never have to regret the workout. Definitely, it is.
I mean, all of you who are listening to us and thank you everyone for staying so loyal, you know that we feel very passionate about moving. And I think probably most people who've ever been in a class with me also know that I'm extremely passionate about moving and moving makes us feel so good. Ultimately, once, I mean, hopefully, mostly of the time, I mean, of course, there are times when we're exhausted. Now I do think about like once when I went to my first spinning class and I had to go and lay down on the floor in the gym afterwards.
And it's only, so of course, there are moments, right? That can be a little bit hard. But we really want to take this moving into sort of a bigger perspective, right? Yes.
So in today's episode, we really just want to talk about how to move through your day. So not just physically moving, but almost how to kind of balance your day or go through your day and also how to use the movement to optimize your brain. Yeah. So really also a little bit more around the why.
I think we've spoken like not just you and me, but in general, people, it's been like movement. It's sort of your way to lose weight or whatever say fits. But we want to really talk about a bigger picture and give more context around why movement really, really makes a difference in our lives and how to include it in our work day. So moving from that idea of just like our health, relating movement to our health, and also look at it, that how can it actually help us to become smarter?
Because there's a lot of science and a lot of research coming out that movement and incorporating movement in a smart way makes us learn better, remember better, concentrate better, and so on. Yes. So we're not really just talking about exercise. This is, as you've already said, in a broader sense and what it really can do to make it smarter.
So I am extremely inspired by this book that I just read. They extended mind the power of thinking outside the brain by Annie Murphy Paul. So I wanted to sort of lead out with an example from her book, and I have it here, which is sort of starting off how actually movement makes us think smarter and think better. And this entire book, I think, is sort of packed with examples and good research and all of that.
But one example of the many great ones that stood out to me was about a Dr. Fiddler, who's a radiologist in Minnesota. And his sort of main purpose and his big job is to review x-ray images, right? And he reviews like thousands of them.
And I do think the whole idea why he got started into this was he felt that he could lose a little bit of weight. So instead of just sitting down reviewing these thousands of x-ray pictures, he actually invested in a treadmill. So he was going to walk. So he, instead of sitting down at his desk, observing all these images, he was walking on the treadmill.
And in a year, he lost 25 pounds. So he was very happy about that. But then he also started to really think like, I feel like I have a better accuracy in finding the problems here on the x-ray pictures. And then he sort of said, I'd like to see us sort of do a little bit more research on this.
So he got other fellow doctors in his network to participate in this research. And where basically half of the group remained seated and half of the group did just what he did. They were reviewing all the x-ray pictures and images while walking. So not as fast walk necessarily, it's sort of a normal stroll, really.
And this was so interesting. So their hit rate of spotting like, abnormal teeth, if you wish, irregularities was normally 85%. And that's what it remained for the ones who kept sitting. But the ones that started to walk, their hit rate went to a fully 99%.
To 99%. Yes. Wow. Isn't that really cool?
That's amazing. Right? So that is because sometimes when I'm delivering workshops and I force everyone to your right up. You know, but I have my participant, I'm like, okay, let's stand up.
And I can see on their faces, they're like, really, again, you know, not everyone, but some. And even like me, like when someone's telling me to stand up, my first initial reaction might even be like, right? But that was so cool to say that it actually makes a smarter, you know, like it makes us so like moving from 85%, which is already great, I guess, to 99%. It's awesome.
It's fantastic. And I didn't know that the figure was so great. But when you told me about this example and that it had improved the accuracy rate and started to look in a little bit more into into why and it's this book and this scientist in Sweden under Sandsen, we've referred to him before. He's written a book called Dan's Side, essentially like Strong Brain, where he looks into a lot of this research around movement and it tells some of the normal stuff right around depression and that we feel better and it's a happy pill and all of that stuff, which is so important.
But in terms of what you were saying, he talks about why how movement enables better concentration, better analysis, better ability to plan. And the reason for this is that it's been always been related with movement and height and pulse. So with our body and our brain developed, when we had a heightened pulse, when we were moving, the brain, there was signals to the brain saying, you know, something important is happening. You are maybe, you know, running away from something.
You are out and about, you're moving. Therefore, the brain needs to remember. You need to learn. It's always like you're telling your brain whenever you sit down that now you don't have to think because you're resting.
Exactly. It is exactly like that. I mean, that is what the science say. That is why you get more stupid watching TV and sitting down because you're essentially telling the body that nothing important is happening now, which is then so interesting because what do we do at work?
And more importantly, what do we do at schools? Right? So it's like, we tell all these kids sit down and focus when in reality, we are wired to complete opposite weight. Yeah, no, exactly.
And beyond that, then of course, the more easy to understand, perhaps, is that the movement increases the blood flow to the prefrontal cortex, which is that area, you know, where it's really easier to focus and have longer term goals. So it really helps us activate the right part of the brain. But importantly, though, it also does say that you shouldn't exhaust yourself completely. Like the treadmill and the walking is probably perfect for increasing your accuracy.
Because obviously, if you are in a super stress or a hit session or whatever, during that session, you're telling in your body, essentially, that it's fight or flight. Yeah. And at that time, the brain doesn't need to learn anything. It just needs to escape.
Okay. So that is a really good and important distinction here that I think we need to make clear that we're talking right now of movement that is standing up instead of sitting down, which really means like micromovments. It's about having a nice walk that isn't too quick, you know, but just sort of a nice walk. We'll talk more about what these hit sessions or these running sessions, what they can do for your brain and for your well-being and your focus.
But right now, this part here is more getting these constant micromovments into our day, right? Yeah. No, it's like perhaps a bit of both. But it is interesting that part that exhausting yourself is not necessarily what's going to make your day more productive or better.
Well, so talking about the next thing ourselves, we're going to go there now. Actually, the research that I've read and I think understands and it's also pointing this out is that we should do that. But I mean, not all the time, but not while learning. Exactly.
It is actually great to do ahead of learning. Like, so before you're going to do something, and I do, so this is not scientific, but we all know by now that I'm a super fan of Peloton, right? And it's interesting that the mornings where I go down and do my 20 minutes, 25 minutes of Peloton speed biking in the morning, I'm just like so much more ready to take on the day when I've done that in the morning. Yeah, exactly.
And the studies have shown this, right? So they have shown that by improving your condition training, your memory improves, just by in cuing some condition training or pulse training. Or pulse training, right? Well, yeah, many exactly.
But you know, really like, really like cardio, where you're second, cardio where your pulse are high. And what is interesting with that is that they found that the impacts of this is immediate. So they did studies with people that have really bad cardio or you know, that they didn't have this kind of training before. And just after a session, they improved their memory.
So you really get the instant gratification there. Yeah, it's so smart. So as you can hear, we're passionate about this. It's amazing.
But and also what has been found in this in the same line of research is that we can actually increase our brain cells. And to decades ago, that was not really a known fact that we were born with brain cells and that they, you know, we're killed off. Yes, they're diminished. The older we got exactly.
So please, with a new research exercise is one of the ways I don't know if there's more I'm not assigned this and this, but is one way at least that you can actually increase the production, you can create new brain cells. And I knew that but what I didn't know though was that they're very vulnerable, the newly created brain cells after they have been created. So just like a new board, yes, is not necessarily enough. So brain cells actually need a reason to live.
So when they have been created after a bit of exercise or however they have been created, you need to make sure that they are stimulated. Nourished. Yes. Nourished.
Stimulated. So how do you stimulate them? Well, it says here in the science that you could be by seeing new places, meeting new people or learning new things. So don't waste them by sitting down in front of the TV until your brain to do nothing.
That's what you're saying. Give your brain cells a reason to live. Oh, I'm loving that. Okay, so I am thinking that we've provided everyone this listening with good enough facts like or the white, right?
The white one more. Okay, go ahead. Yeah. Tell me tell us a walk five times a week have shown the risk of the men's shots of diminished by 40% from Stanford University.
And who wants dementia? I mean, that must be the worst thing to get. I mean, a little bit of everyone's joking that they have it sort of but to really get it when you're old, that must be so awful. And if there was a medication that could do this, it would be the most expensive medication that you could ever be a Nobel Prize winner.
I'm sure. Yes. But the answer is right here in front of us. Let's just go out for some walks.
And it's not. No, no, I'm pleased. Now we have all the pie because here's what so the why behind the what? But then the question is how do we make this happen?
And in all of our super busy lives, what can we do? So if we start of that like as individuals, just sort of looking after ourselves and we can look into a little bit more like family member, maybe team leaders, like they're different parts of this, but what can we do for ourselves? What are you doing? Well, I was reflecting upon this because I'm doing part of the training, which, you know, I have a really good friend who's a doctor, Vivica, and she's telling, you know, that Swedes do this a lot.
We go to the gym three times a week and then we think that we're really good and fit and then we don't understand why we're not. So I'm good at that. I'm good at getting my three times a week exercise, for example. Yes, you are.
I actually like it. I think it's really fun. Yes. I was reflecting the other day, especially now when working from home, how much I end up still sitting still, despite being so aware of the things that I can do.
I have bought a bike, which is one thing that I've done now. So I'm working and got a co-working office space to not sit at home every day. So I guess in vision, you're riding this bike in beautiful Mallorca, and like, but isn't it dangerous? Like, I do remember like these narrow roads, you know, like, yeah, it is pretty narrow, so, and you know, it's pretty, yeah, I'm being very careful obviously, but it's a little bit tight.
It's my first day. So we'll see. But it's also a lot of bicycle roads and so on. It's such a popular place to be biking.
A lot of people around the whole world come to me or get the bike. So the cars, you know, are relatively respectful, kind. Yeah, exactly. They move out of all.
But then in terms of other things that I'm doing or that I'm wanting to do more of into my life, that is related to those kind of micro habits. Yeah. And actually, I know that the vehicle would be creating a book, we'll tell more about it when it comes out, but they're looking into those kind of micro habits and how can they can be important for your life. And that could be those things like standing out in between your meetings and dance for three minutes, yes, or doing 10 push-ups and doing these and the importance there that I have learned is really trying to tie that movement into an already existing ritual.
So if you between your meetings, always go and get a glass of water, that would be a perfect time or when you're brushing your teeth or whenever you're already doing something at a small piece of movement. Yeah, that's great. I have more, but let's move over to you. So I also do my my tennis, my peloton, my yoga and all of that.
But if we're looking at, I think my best advice for everyone who wants more movement in their life is to get a dog. Because it's so good because this lovely little cute fluffy thing really wants to go out for walks, right? So morning walk, lunch walk, especially now that we're working from home often. So we do that and it's really, really nice.
Another thing that I do is, as you all know, I stand up whenever I facilitate something, I stand up and I facilitate a lot of workshops. And so I stand up, I have a standing desk and I really think that adds also different kind of energy, right? And if I'm a little tired, like actually today, this morning, I woke up with a little bit of headache, I also stand up just to make sure that I have a little bit more focus in there. I try to take small breaks.
And when I do have participants in my classes, I do like fun things like a little bit of shoulder rolling or even the squats, like, you know, all these different things, having asking, inviting, making suspense to stand up and move and it's so funny because I can just see how the energy is blooming after I do that every time. So those are the things that I try to do to really make sure that I'm there. And then when I do travel, like, for example, I'd land size my home airport, it's the largest airport in the world apparently, and it's quite big. I try to, if I'm not in a stress for my flight to walk instead of taking the train between the terminals, right?
And make sure like, what can I do? And that makes me think of, as you said, back in Sweden, I used to go to this, the nice gym in the middle of Stockholm and all these trendy people would come there and it was so funny, they were all there with their fancy gym bags and gym clothes and everything. And they would all take the escalator up to the gym, right? It was like, no one took the stairs.
And it was like, well, you know, so I try to really think about taking the stairs, see if I can walk instead of taking the car, like not park just next to the play. But, you know, see all these little movements as good things to make it bigger. Yeah, that's really great. And that makes me think of, there's an example of this writer, the play writer, Henry Ipsen, who lived in Norway.
And he would always take this really famous walk every day. He would take a walk just for lunch. Yeah, so he'd walk to Gander Tal and then he would walk back. And he made this very clear.
And when people asked him about his walk, it was a daily routine that he always had in order to stimulate creativity. Yeah. And that ritual was always followed by him sitting down and writing. And when that was told to me, I was reflecting upon that because I certainly feel when we were home at Lindallen, I walk a lot because I always walk to put the, you know, one of the kids to bed or whatever I walk with a pan and we walk that stretch.
And I often feel like I do have my best ideas and most creative kind of thoughts during those walks. I often walk on my own when you're not there. And it's really creative. But what I do feel is so incredibly important and that I want to be better at is them to have that ritual when you come back from that walk to actually put down the thoughts and the ideas and use that creativity that has been created over during that walk and turn that into something useful.
Yeah, because I feel like I have so many thoughts during these walks that you know, then go away into nothing. And especially if you're like me, more of a freelancer, entrepreneur, there's a lot of demand and you have to come up with the ideas essentially. It's not a job that is telling you what to do. And so I would just really am actively now here in my York area where I'm living in life, which is much more, I created a lot more space for movement and hikes and all of those things.
But what I would like to and then I'm going to do is to take more time to directly after those activities, put pens and paper and get ideas down. Oh, I'm loving that. And I think that's so important. So maybe we should move from us as you say, entrepreneurs, or you are at least in driving all of this into so what can you do at your workplace, let's say that you are a leader.
And I think it's because what we're saying is movement generates creativity, it generates focus, it generates energy, like it helps us in all these parts. And I love to point out when I work with this content with clients that they say that in 15 years, 40% of the jobs as we know them today will be replaced by artificial intelligence or completely transformed or by robots. So everything that is done manually routinely, people won't be doing them in the future. It's going to be done by machine, right?
So then I'm asking, what are the things that you know, we have the humans, like, right? What's our competitive advantage, I guess, all these, you know, machines, right, or robots? And you know, it is our ability to be creative, to focus, to have empathy, to think outside the box. And then I always ask my group, are you good at that when you're stressed and you're low in energy?
And people go like, no. So I personally think that this has sort of been traditionally something that everyone for their own fixes on your own. I think this is going to be one of the more important leadership competencies of the future. Like how, as a leader, what do you do?
So what do you think around this? What can a leader do? What are your thoughts around that? What would be helpful?
Well, I mean, first, what you've mentioned now, and I'll go a little bit outside of the books here, but all of what you mentioned really made me think about this study that is coming out this summer from Iceland, where they significantly did a really big study looking at moving people to a four day work week. And what I'm saying that, as you're saying, that 40% in how many years will not have their full time jobs, their jobs will be replaced, and you will need more creativity and so on. Reducing the work week to four days might actually be something that can happen, will happen to something that has to happen if computers can do a lot of work. And then using that time for more movement and more, you know, allowing for that more creativity.
So I think that is something that leaders can think about, whether it is the four day work week, or whether it's more how to employees, and how are they encouraged to spend time either at work, or I mean, for a leader, I think specifically, you should think at work, you know, without being clued in there, working hours, so to say. So being a bit creative around that. Yes, exactly. And I do think as as a leader, see what can you weave into your everyday work, right?
And let's say that you and your team have a super important meeting where you need to be focused and creative, invite everyone to go for a walk and talk before you go into the meeting, right? So let's say, okay, everyone, so meeting starts in 30 minutes, let's all get on this brainstorming, we'll walk and talk and just listen to each other before we get into this meeting, right? To have our focus there. And I think if you're having the team meeting and you are meeting live, instead of sitting down, do it standing up, right, huddle around the flip chart, or and write down your thoughts there, move away all these electronic devices and just stay in the moment in the flow.
I think that I'm working on the flip chart, it's such an important part and it's also about working with hand movements, gestures, with connecting. My husband, he's immediately now our whiteboard is in storage here and it's really hard to access our storage, at least the things that are far in the storage. And he's like, I can't think without my whiteboard, you know, I need to move, but it loosens up my ideas, my creativity starts to come to me when I make my, you know, when I draw on a big piece of paper. And this is this is I mean, the book that you're talking about the, what was it called in mind, I know that there's references to that, right, to moving your body.
So that is for sure something that leaders can do and support. And also I think for leaders so much around it is to model behavior. Yes. So be the one who starts to standing up, do what you and I do in workshops, which might be awkward, right?
But it's kind of like, okay, everybody, you have to be the cheerleader sometimes, I think if you're a leader and make people or give people the possibility to try it out. Yeah. And you know what I think is important that when we do that as leaders that we explain the why behind the what, because, you know, sometimes I forget, right? And I can see everyone, you know, who's this enthusiastic person, right?
And just forcing us to stand up all the time. But really, I think we're all adults, we want to know, like, you know, what's the difference? How will our brain work differently if we stand up versus if we sit down, right? And give them the facts.
And I think that is really quite important. I also think what we can do is weave in little moments of having quick short breaks, where we really allow for people to go out and move and make sure if you do have an office that you're there, like, are you having standing desks? Are you allowing for your people to get standing desks back home, right? All these things, depending on where you are in the organization, you can have a massive impact on the smartness of your people, right?
And it's not just about setting cool, smart goals and letting people fix this on their own, but it's sort of setting that culture. Yeah, no, absolutely. And also, perhaps, because there were some more ideas, in terms of being a bit creative around movement. So a lot of it is kind of that physical walking.
And I mean, walking is the best, right? And even this research tells that running essentially, running in a 70% case, sorry, three to four times a week, for half an hour, like, that's the optimal kind of movement. But finding these micromovments throughout the day and being a little bit creative. So even, I mean, this might be funny, but even things like drinking or eating really strong or spicy food.
And for me, this relates to movement, right? It's not physical movement, but it's moving a bit in the body. I was thinking in my head, so you run to the bathroom. But that's not what you know, but doing those kind of things.
So for example, at a start of a workshop, drinking a spicy ginger shot, creating a little bit of heat. That is also something that we can talk about that in another episode, but that also relates to creating more connection with the people around you. And so is any kind of synchronous movement with your partner, with colleagues, whatever, that is creating that feeling of collaboration, of connection. So there's a lot of different ways that, I mean, there's lots of bonding having overtaking shots in the bar.
I said, can we create that feeling with a ginger shot that we're working on? Why not? Like, all right, everyone. Yeah.
So that is all about work. So we've spoken about us as individuals. We've spoken about what we can do as leaders and to impact our organization really. But here's a tricky one for you.
What can we do to encourage our fellow family members to move and, you know, let's say that, whoever you are listening to us right now, that you are the one being passionate about this, like the two of us. How do we get everyone else feeling passionate about this? Because that can be really hard, right? Yeah, it can be really hard.
And I think family dance is kind of good. Also, you obviously don't have teenagers, but yeah, it depends on the age. Again, I think modeling here is crucial. And it was really good.
Steve took the initiative the other day. His brother was here, you know, and we all started to have a workout outside, put the music on. And, you know, then the kids just join automatically. They want to be part of the fun, so to say.
So in that kind of age, it's about just giving the opportunities. And then I think identifying things that they like. So again, speaking of my young kids, but do they like to buy, you know, see, what are the things that they want to do? And then you kind of have to just engage with that.
I find that it can be quite a sometimes it's working perfectly and sometimes it can be really hard. And last weekend, when I was driving, I saw this couple and they were running. Well, actually, she wasn't really running. She was sort of walking.
She was all red in her face. You could see the frustration. And he was sort of giving around her, like running with this encouraging face. And I saw this all scenery because I started driving slowly past him.
And I'm like, Oh my God. And I could just recognize myself, I guess, mostly in him, but sometimes in her too, right? Like all these emotions on this sort of sidewalk that was happening and how he was like, well, yeah, probably a little bit more fit than her. And you can see that he was really like wanting to give this experience of lovely out and running with his wife.
And she really looked like she wanted to kill him. And I was like, and that feeling. And sometimes that enthusiasm for movement, if someone else is not really there, can also be really almost limiting, which makes me think of another one of my favorite books and the contents that I also facilitated on multipliers. It's like this, when you have such strong feelings yourself as you're so optimistic and you're so like, paid, said, or you think your intention is that everyone else will get smitten by this like, and they will also get optimistic and speed up.
But in reality, it has the opposite effect. So and I know that you and I both experienced this in our extended family at times. Like, how do you deal with that? Yeah, I mean, to some extent, I think it's encouraged people to do the things that they kind of like or start to see.
And again, maybe they shouldn't be out running. Maybe they should have a lovely walk. That's that couple. And then he could run off his extra energy, you know, at the end or at the start.
And so that we don't push too far. I mean, they always say, right, it's just so much important, more important that it happens rather than that it is that big thing. I'm really hooked on this idea of micromemants, just because I find it so hard myself when working, you know, I do kind of at the start of the day and at the end of the day. So just kind of encouraging those small moments, setting the timer and getting it done.
Yeah, people, I think it's really about starting to see the benefits. I mean, you and I both do a lot of the exercise because we, it makes us feel so much better. Yeah, right. Yeah.
In the end, it's for the individual, I think, to feel it. I agree. So, but it's like, well, let's just start out walking then. Let's do something little and start with that point.
And another thing that I have done with my daughters is just that, again, how do we focus, right? And just really encouraging my daughter. So this does not work in the US, but it depends where you live, but to bike to school. And really, because there are smart girls, tell them the research, actually, it's going to help you to focus much better on that test that you have in the morning.
If you bike there versus if you get into that is car and he drives you there, or here like the school bus. So it's like really again, even with younger kids to have that talk about what it does to our brain and share the way behind the walk, right? Yeah. And it makes me terrified how much they sit down at school.
We already hear an H5. So that was another example in this book that I'm so inspired of. And basically, it's like, it gives me the facts of all the things that I'm thinking are so important, but where they also, again, was talking about classrooms where they did an experiment in one school, where they actually just took away the chairs, no chairs, there were bouncy balls, they could stand up and they could just and the focus and the amount of how it really helped all these kids, which again, goes back to that historical idea, like sit down and focus. It's completely counterproductive, right?
Yeah, that's super interesting. And education is so behind. It's scary. Yeah.
Behind education is yes, exactly. So really, I think that's where we also then can contribute as parents and to sort of see like, could your kids have a standing desk or don't feel that they have to sit by their desk because they walk and talk and maybe tell you about what they learned today, like, and do a teach to learn during their walk, rather than just sitting there, punching the numbers or writing like, there's certain things that we need to sit down to do, but maybe we need that walk or dance or whatever it is before we sit down and actually do it. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so moving in from the physical movement and what we can do around that to our surroundings.
Yes, the physical surroundings, right? Exactly. Because as I mentioned before, right? If movement is creating new brain cells, how do we keep them?
And stimulation is really one of the key factors for keeping our new brain cells. And surrounding is such an important part of this, which I didn't know much about. I mean, it makes a lot of sense. But it's really related to seeing something new and especially seeing beautiful things.
So seeing beautiful architecture, museums, or of course, the winner that takes it all being in nature. So if we do kind of the movements that we have talked about, if you do the exercise that we're talking about, if you're running a treadmill in a gym, yes, you're creating perhaps the same amount of brain cells, but you won't keep them as if you're running outside in a more stimulating environment and there will be more need for your brain cells to keep. Yeah, I mean, personally, I just know that the healing nature of getting out in nature, it's amazing. So it's with no scientific back up.
It's just my own sort of self study, I guess, how that is so empowering to just get out there and get that beautiful nature. And again, I read studies also in the extended mind. It's like packed with studies for everyone who wins the fact around where they did research, where they let people go for a walk. And one was sort of staying in the city environment.
And one group got to walk in the park. You don't need to go to like the extraordinary mountain range or beaches or anything like that, but the difference that you were in the greenery with the trees and the park just made added so much more value to your brain, really. So to be a little bit more mindful of where we do that movement, I think that is key. Yes.
And like you said, though, you don't have to be in the most beautiful place, but when you can, yes, you can, this idea of being in awe, which can happen with beautiful music, but also with beautiful, beautiful nature and surroundings. Psychologist says that that is like setting a reset button for our mind. So it gives this other piece of calm, of connection, of understanding that we are quite small, but in a beautiful way, we become insignificant in that really great way, which means that the problems of the world are no longer on our shoulders. So that is being able.
And so perhaps, you know, if you can go occasionally, I mean, we've done that several times to like a beautiful retreat or doing something in a different place that is new to you, that will really, I mean, you already know intuitively that that feels good, but actually the research is now backing out that that is going to make you smarter and happier and more open. You know, so that makes me think, so I've really been quite good at this this fall. So and this is then an idea to all fellow travelers who travel for work. And it's so easy to just go to that new place and be absorbed.
And you're thinking that I'm away from home. So let's use this time, productively in work, work, right? But then a month ago or so, I was in Tory Pines to do a keynote, and it was two keynotes and we needed to be present for dinners and things. But then I just took time out and I went on that most amazing hike, right?
In like in this nature and then coming down to this like Pacific Ocean, beautiful, gorgeous, I'm still living off that energy. And it's like, so even though it was like, oh, where did I find this place? You know, it was a little bit inconvenient. It could have been easier to just stay.
I had nice sort of view from my balcony, but just to do that extra in movement and thinking it just gave me so many ideas and so much energy. So it does take a little bit extra effort, but look for it, right? Yeah, no, absolutely. Another point in relation to that is to give that your full attention.
Yeah. So there's this idea around not consuming. And of course, we love podcasts. We love that you listen to our podcast, perhaps when you're moving, but also turn it off.
Also let yourself neither with your thoughts. Because this constant consumption means that we don't learn, there's no there's no development of our own thoughts, our own ideas, we need that space. So I think podcasts are going forward when you're in your car or traveling. But I never listen to anything when I walk unless I call like you or someone else like, but I don't even want music when I'm running.
I want to absorb the sounds of my surroundings, if you wish. I'm not there yet, but perhaps I'm trying to. I will be there. And then a final point on surroundings is this idea for our brain to learn how we can just use the surroundings of where we're working differently during the day in order to maximize our learning so that we can move around.
So for example, if you're learning something new or if you're reading something, you could do one chapter in one specific location and then do something else in a different location of the house. And there are many reasons for this, but a really important reason is that it helps our brain to file the information related to the location that we were in. So it's much easier to access the information. If you remember, I was sitting on that park bench outside and a lot of it will come back to you.
And it's I mean, I know you probably can't tell us very much yet, but this is so interesting because this is kind of what you and Steve are trying to build and create your vision for a Mallorca really to give everyone that space. Do you share a little bit about it or is it more to come? But for sure, we want to find a place where people can come and work and be productive and do all of these things that they might do with their teams, but do that in a setting where they can also really focus on their health, being in nature, to kind of get that full ballistic nurturing experience. I can't wait for that to happen in reality.
So finally, the grand finale talking about energy. So we've talked about how to move throughout your day. And then all of this could boil down to also, you know, how do we keep our energy flowing and going throughout the day? Yes, how do we keep our focus, energy?
And we thought we'd do a little, it let you if you want to join us in a little activity, something that I do with my clients, also when I work with the time and energy parts. And this is very simple. And it is drawing your own energy line. So basically, if you have just a piece of paper and you'd sort of draw a big line across that paper.
So you're drawing now, right? And you have that like the starting point is your wake up. And the ending point is sleep, right? When you go to bed, right?
Or when you fall asleep, right? So wake up to fall asleep. That's your straight line. Now, think about a typical workday, right?
So let's not do weekends here. But a typical workday, how does your energy fluctate? So for example, like, I'm the morning person. So usually I wake up like, if let's say that line represents average energy, right?
The one you draw. And then it's like, I go up from average to like, whoa, lots of energy my morning. So you just really feel, if I don't do anything actively to sort of keep that energy stable, I'm going to have a mega dip by after lunch, right? So it's like, that's when I'm sort of dipping and then I'm sort of struggling, I'm getting up in the afternoon.
And like, by the time you start to finish, I'm sort of up again. And then usually, again, if I don't do anything about it, it happens that I'm like, giving so much energy at work that when it's my workday ends, I'm like, just balloon that lets out of air and it goes sort of down unless I do something, like go to my tennis. Then I'm like, oh, there's it. So what would your typical energy line look like, just being did right now?
Yeah, I mean, I did draw it. I kind of stopped somewhere in the midst because I got so fascinated by hearing about your line. At the moment, mine has started so tired in the mornings. And then but then yes, then going really high and productive and then dipping.
I mean, it's probably a relatively similar pattern. So I guess what's interesting to see is how do you increase that window of tolerance, you know, how do you make that dip lower and more constant? Yes, exactly. So that's the point.
So draw your energy line, share it with someone and then have a look at it and then take a moment and pause and think about what can you do about these dips? Is that where you need to go for a walk? Is that how do you recharge and how do you, you know, get back in energy? And also then you can start to think what different activities do I do in my day that fits that level of energy to, right?
So it's okay. Maybe it's like, okay, my energy is a little bit lower at that point. So guess what? That's going to be my cozy time and I'm going to have a couple of tea and just read a book and it's going to be okay, right?
Yeah, exactly. So maybe looking into movements that we've talked about today, obviously nutrition and then rest. Yeah. So where do you fit in your your breaks?
Yeah, your power. Now, how do you recharge? Yeah, great. Yeah.
Yeah. So everyone. Thank you for that. Yeah.
Yeah. So post your energy line. So let us know how you're doing and thank you everyone so much for listening. And if you think that there's someone around you that could, you know, benefit from a little bit of an energy boost or maybe get some inspiration around why we should be moving or what we can do about it in our families, for ourselves and in the organizations that we work in, feel free to share your leaders.
Yes. Yeah. Or your team. Yeah.
So thank you everyone for listening. Yes. Thank you everyone for listening. Have a beautiful day.
Bye.