To be honest, I've never been someone who sticks to strict fitness regimes, but about four months ago, I decided to start going for a thirty-minute brisk walk every single morning before breakfast, completely leaving my mobile phone behind at home.
I made this decision because I was feeling terribly sluggish. My job involves being desk-bound for almost eight hours a day, and I had fallen into the trap of waking up, immediately scrolling through work emails, and feeling stressed before the day had even properly begun. I realised I desperately needed some sort of boundary between my sleep and my working hours, so I decided to use the local park as a way to kick-start my mornings.
In the beginning, it was actually quite tricky to maintain. Overcoming that initial inertia when the alarm went off at half past six, particularly on chilly and drizzly mornings, took a fair bit of willpower. I also felt a strange kind of phantom anxiety without my phone in my pocket. However, after pushing through the first couple of weeks, it became second nature, and now I genuinely look forward to that quiet time.
In terms of my well-being, the difference has been night and day. Physically, it gets my circulation going and wakes me up far better than a cup of coffee ever could. Mentally, having half an hour of uninterrupted silence helps me clear my head and organise my thoughts, which sets a calm, positive tone for the rest of the day. It has really made a remarkable difference to my stress levels.