Nicole writes recently in our SLACK Channel: “I have to go out for a moment. I feel like I move much less in the home office than I used to in the office. .“

In the office – time permitting – we tend to drop in on colleague X for a chat (or an important professional conversation! 😉 ). We go to the bakery at lunchtime, or take a walk with colleague Y in the park. Take the stairs up to the management, use the massage offer during the lunch break (if we’re lucky to work in a company offering in-house amssages 😉 ).

A lot of that falls away in the home office.

Instead, we spend hours in front of the computer in the same posture. We have aching wrists, tense shoulders, tired eyes.

That was also the case when we were all sitting in the office 100% of the time.

But somehow it hasn’t gotten any better since then.

And since we work in the home office all the time here at BusinessMind, we’re writing an article today as a reminder to you, and to ourselves. About how important it is to move every now and then.

As always, it’s packed with ideas and tips for your personal work routine, as well as for virtual event formats. By the way, you can do most of the exercises presented just as well on site and without a screen.

Our 4 favorite energizers and activation exercises

In an older blog article we already introduced you to a few simple exercises. Namely, the rotating seat, the eye palming, as well as the always funny “disappear from the picture” – here you can read about these exercises.

A few general tips in advance to get you started:

• When doing the following exercises with a group, don’t forget the introductory Omega Rochade, as we’ve explained here before. Explain WHY you’re doing this exercise now, anticipate potential concerns, and most importantly, don’t obligate anyone to participate. The exercises are an offer. As a rule, your participants are skeptical at first, but are usually grateful when you offer a break in between.
• Another insight: as always, it depends on the goal of the interruption. If you only want your participants to move for a short time, a short “break” is sufficient. If the aim is to introduce a new section of your meeting/workshop and you want to prepare your participants mentally for this, the chosen methodology may also have a content aspect and last longer accordingly (see also our favorite exercise number 4).

1. Start simple! – Focus on the breath and your posture

The simplest and easiest method: set an alarm, or use one of the many smartphone apps (like Breathe) that remind you to pause and take a few conscious deep breaths.

Straighten your back as you do this. Imagine a thin thread pulling you upward at the top of your head – straighten your spine.

Then inhale deeply through the nose into the belly and exhale again. Feel free to close your eyes while doing this.

So simple, and so effective.

2. Tapping

To activate your body besides relaxation through conscious breathing, the method of “tapping” is suitable.

To do this, stand up and make a fist with your right hand.

Now start tapping your outstretched left arm from top to bottom. First on the inside, then on the outside. Repeat in reverse on your right arm. Down your torso, tap your organs on the front and back of your body. And finally, tap your legs. Front. Back side.

Finally, give yourself a good shake.

The “tapping” serves on the one hand for relaxation as well as for gentle activation of the body. In stressful situations, our energy flow in the meridian pathways tends to stall. That is why we tap it free again.

3. Screen yoga

Here at BusinessMind, we are all big yoga fans. So it’s no surprise that yoga is one of the first places to go when it comes to exercise, even in our day-to-day work.

There are countless videos on the internet about office or desk yoga. Here is one of our favorites!

For the brave among us, we recommend a session of laughter yoga. What we’ve already done online, for example: get up, get on the imaginary old rickety motorcycle, start it up – oh no, it doesn’t work – so start it up again, and off you go.

You won’t believe how funny it is when 10 people ride imaginary motorcycles in front of their respective screens and the wind of ease blows through their hair. Rarely laughed so much.

4. “Find something yellow!”

Another of our favorite activation exercises is the “Find something yellow!” method, where you ask your participants – literally – to find something yellow in the room (or apartment) and hold it up to the camera. The last person back determines the next object.

For example, in the case of the group of female chemists from the Vienna University of Technology that you see in the picture below, it should be “something disinfectant.” 😉

This exercise can also be linked to the theme of your event. For example: today is about project management. “Run and get something from the kitchen that represents project management to you.” Afterwards, you can exchange ideas about the objects you brought with you.

By the way, this exercise is great fun, and most of the time your participants are additionally motivated to move due to the slight competitive situation. After all, if you’re too slow, you lose.

We hope you enjoyed the methods presented and we were able to motivate you to do some exercise at work.

Feel free to share your ways to energize in between – we welcome any inspiration!

All the best,
Your BusinessMind Team