This Mental Health Awareness Week We Stepped Away From The Everyday

In the rush of our work lives it’s all too easy to find ourselves stuck in regular routines. Desk-to-meeting-to-video call-to-laptop. Sometimes the repetition is exactly what we need. It can give us structure, a dependable rhythm. But sometimes it can feel stifling.

If the daily grind starts to dull our spark, giving your mind space to think, expand and dream, and your body a chance to stretch and move could be just what you need to get it shining again.

Plenty of studies have proved that stepping away from tasks for even brief periods to engage in something new or stimulating can recharge our mental batteries, boost your mood and unlock your creativity. In other words - taking a break isn’t going to get in the way of your work, it’s going to help you get it over the line and make you feel better too.

That’s why this Mental Health Awareness Week we encouraged the team at TS Towers to step away from our desks and add a little sparkle to our days by setting ourselves a challenge: to walk 500 miles in seven days. And we smashed it.

Overnight, mini walking clubs were formed. People spent the week sharing ideas and photos of where they’d been and what they’d seen. There were endless words of encouragement. And a little healthy competitiveness as the tally spreadsheet was checked every morning.

Spurred on by some fantastic Spring weather, Tube and bus commutes were swapped for walks across parks, people took evening strolls through new parts of town, forests and coasts were hiked, pet dogs found themselves thoroughly worn out, galleries were toured during lunch breaks, and there might have been the odd pub crawl too.

By the end of the week we hadn’t just hit our 500 mile goal. We’d more than doubled it. We all felt a fantastic sense of achievement. But more than that, we all felt great. Calmer, inspired, energised. We’d found moments to recharge, to reflect, to consider challenges from new perspectives. And we’d formed new habits that many of us will be very happy to keep up as Spring rolls into Summer.

So, next time you’re feeling stuck or blocked or not quite yourself, why not try standing up, stepping away from your desk, going for a little exploration somewhere?