
- Get up off the couch and walk to a predetermined place in the house during commercial breaks
- Stand while reading books, morning newspaper, e news on tablets etc
- Always answer the phone, text messages, social media etc while standing
- Walk while carrying small children
- Childcare standing – dressing, bathing, grooming, feeding, occasional lifting of child-light effort
- Take the dog for a walk
- Use a standing desk at home or in the office
- Stand while pumping petrol, change light bulb, etc.
- Wash the windows, clean the garage
- Make more trips to put out the garbage, fill the car etc.Walking loading /unloading a car

- Iron while standing
- Stand while doing the laundry, fold or hang clothes, put clothes in washer or dryer, packing a suitcase
- Put away clothes and laundry
- Make the bed
- Do more household chores, such as folding the clothes, ironing, was the dishes while standing watching television
- Perform multiple household tasks all at once
- Clean sink, toilet and showers
- Take out rubbish
- Vacuum or mop the floors
- Dust the house
- Tidy up the house by re-arranging the furniture.
- Hang out the clothes rather than use the clothes dryer
Ways to make your food preparation more active:
- Wash dishes – standing or in general (not broken into stand/walk components
- Clear dishes from table one piece at a time
- Cook or food preparation while standing (not broken into stand/walk components), use manual appliances
- Serve food, set table while walking or standing
- Put away groceries (e.g. carrying groceries, shopping without a grocery cart), carrying packages
- Go food shopping with or without a grocery cart, standing or walking non-food shopping,
- Walk while shopping (non-grocery shopping)
- Put away household items one a time
- Shop by visiting the store, no internet or takeaway delivery
- Eat the evening meal standing up
- Wash and dry the dishes and put them away one a time
- Keep the kitchen clean, wipe down benches, cupboards etc
- Walk down every aisle at the shopping centre
Ways to make your gardening more active:
- Weed the gardens
- Keep the yard and garden clean by picking up leaves, branches etc
- Stand to water the garden, plants and bushes
- Walk while applying fertilizer or seeding a lawn
- Pick fruit off trees/vegetables
- Rake the lawn
- Sack the grass, leaves
- Trim shrubs or trees, power cutter, using leaf blower, edger
- Mow the lawn using a power mower
- Plant seedlings, shrubs, trees
- Chop wood
- Clear land, haul branches, wheelbarrow chores
- Dig, spading, filling garden, composting gardening with heavy power tools, and tilling a garden, chain saw
- Mow lawn with a hand mower
Ways to make your work more active:
- Stand and take breaks from your computer or desk every 30 minutes
- Take breaks in sitting time from long meetings
- Stand and greet visitors to your office or workstation
- Stand up while taking phone calls
- Walk to colleague’s desk rather than emailing them
- Drink more water by standing and walking to the water cooler or toilet
- Move your bin away from your desk so that you have stand up and move toward it
- Call stand up or walking meetings
- Eat your lunch away from your desk
- Take a short walk during your lunchtime
- Position the printer away from the computer to ensure you stand and retrieve
- Use software that prompts you to stand up and/or take a break from your computer
- Install height adjustable “˜hot-desks’ that employees can share
- Use headsets or the speakerphone during teleconference so that you can walk and talk
- Stand at the back of the room during presentations
- Devote some part of your lunch hours to walking or standing. Do your banking, shopping etc during this time
- If required to park at the workplace before taking the steps to the office walk for 15 minutes around the area before going into the office building
- Eat lunch while walking easy for 30 minutes easy and then spend the remainder of lunchtime eating lunch standing up.
- If at airport for work walk up and down the terminal
- Stand and squat at least 32 times per day. Every 15 minutes stand for a minute for 8 hours work shift.]
- Walk the long way back to your desk or workstation
- Isolate your workstation so that you have to walk and move for every service
Ways to make your transport more active:
- Leave your car at home and take public transport
- Drive a manual car rather than an automatic
- Stand up in the train or the bus
- Get off a station before your destination and walk the remainder
- Park your car away from your destination and walk the rest of the way
- Plan regular breaks on a car journey
- When travelling on planes or as a passenger in a car use the exercise routine recommended by the airline to keep muscles working and blood flowing
- Walk or ride a bike to walk
- Develop an active travel plan sourcing travelling options to and from work
- Map walking routes near work that can be used during the lunchtime, beginning or after work.
- When travelling on planes use the exercise routine recommended by the airline to keep muscles working and blood flowing
- Drive a motor scooter or motorcycle
- Walk while pushing or pulling stroller with child or walking with children
- Walk from the house to car or bus, from car or bus to go places, from car or bus to and from the worksite
- Walk to shops, neighbour’s house or family’s house
At School:
- Select activities that require a minimum of standing up and preferably with some walking or additional movement
- Watch sporting activities, concerts etc while standing up for as long as possible
- Stand while playing a musical instrument or any other hobby or interest
Take a “Whole day approach to movement” and try to move as much as possible during the day, every little bits helps.
Lots of options, so start moving 🙂
Dr Paul Batman
Australian College