Tips on Staying Active as a Busy Engineering Leader
Engineering leadership is a demanding job, where back-to-back meetings and challenging conversations characterize each day — you might have disagreements with someone, you might have to deliver tough feedback, etc. It is a role that can lead to a predominantly sedentary lifestyle, sitting on a chair either at home or in an office for at least 8 hours per day.
However, the need for physical activity is crucial to maintain both physical and mental health.
In this piece, I’ll explore practical ways to stay active, even with the constraints of our demanding profession. Let’s first understand why it is essential to stay active.
Understanding The Importance of Staying Active
As shown in this study, extensive research highlights the risks associated with prolonged sitting, including increased body fat and elevated blood sugar levels. Moreover, other studies, such as this one, show the impact of sedentary behavior on anxiety, depression, and general mental well-being.
Are we condemned to have poor health given our profession, then? Fortunately, there’s a silver lining: breaking up long periods of sitting can counteract these adverse risks.
As engineering leaders, it’s vital to recognize that incorporating movement into our daily routine is not just beneficial but essential for our overall well-being
Prioritizing your Health in your Busy Schedule
My guiding principle is “Health is the foundation; upon it, all else stands.” which highlights prioritizing my health first. As an engineering leader, I’m accustomed to prioritizing tasks, prioritizing deliverables for my teams, prioritizing meetings, etc. Similarly, I consider prioritizing health and fitness in my busy schedule a natural extension of my role.
Practically, this requires identifying opportunities throughout the day to add physical activity.
In the next section, I’ll discuss some tips I adopt to stay active.
*Side note: Given I’ve been working from home in the last few years, these techniques might be more relevant for this arrangement.
Practical tips
1. Incorporate small breaks during the day
One of the most effective ways to stay active is to incorporate brief walks into your day — this is backed up by this study (a randomized crossover trial of 30 people), concluding,
“In addition to the beneficial impact of physical activity on levels of energy and vigor, spreading out physical activity throughout the day improved mood, decreased feelings of fatigue and affected appetite.”
Hence, a quick 15 to 30-minute stroll, whether planned in your calendar or spontaneous, can have substantial benefits.
Moreover, as shown in this paper (study in a four-week field study with 23 people), setting goals and rewards can motivate physical activities. For this reason, I set goals around reaching a particular destination or an exact step count. For example, I love coffee and set a goal to go to a daily coffee shop to reward myself with a cup of coffee in the mornings whenever possible. This is a big driver for me to step outside for a quick walk.
Those small breaks can also be impromptu — for example, if I wrap up a call in 15 minutes instead of the allocated 30 minutes, I quickly rush out of the door to make a 10-minute walk.
*Side note: Living in Los Angeles makes things more accessible since the weather is excellent and primarily sunny throughout the year.
2. Plan your workouts
I aim for structured workout sessions, like strength or cardio training, for 60/75 minutes three times a week. Flexibility in timing — whether it is before work, during lunch, or after work — is critical.
The goal is consistency, even if it’s not always at the ideal time.
For example, Mondays and Tuesdays might be packed, so I align my workouts on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I alternate different workouts; for example, if I do a High-Intensity strength training session on Wednesday, I might do a Zone-2 Cardio session on Thursday.
Given that those workouts require longer than the small breaks described in tip #1, I usually plan them at the beginning of the week.
3. Utilize standing desks
As shown in this study (randomized controlled trial of 74 people in a three-month intervention study), standing desks can also be a good practice against the sedentary routine. For this reason, I have a standing desk (credit to my girlfriend who gifted it to me), which I use daily.
Another study shows that standing while working can improve posture and reduce back pain.
Moreover, thanks to using a Co yntinuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) (see post here if you want to learn more about CGMs), I learned standing after meals helps manage blood sugar levels.
To keep myself on track, I have a sticky note at my desk to remind me to “Stand Up”.
4. Walking meetings Are a Thing
I sometimes turn calls or one-on-ones into walking meetings, ensuring I inform the other party in advance. Some of the pitfalls here are around the connectivity and the background noise — for this reason, I choose locations with good connectivity and minimal noise. This comes with some risks since there might be unexpected noises while you walk outside.
I reserve this strategy for conversations that don’t require privacy or challenging conversations. I use this technique only when I haven’t been active most of the day.
Challenges
What if the weather doesn’t allow you to walk outside?
When outdoor conditions are unfavorable, I turn to indoor activities like using a stationary bike, stretching, or yoga. Simple exercises like push-ups, squats, or planks are also great options, but I haven’t tried them since I prefer allocating a more extended timeframe for strength training.
What if I have a close deadline and all meetings in a day are very urgent?
On hectic days, there are two things I consider doing:
Waking up a bit earlier for a short walk or stretch.
Preparing a smoothie the night before and having a walk while drinking the smoothie.
Those are strategies that can be effective in constrained situations.
How can I keep myself motivated?
Setting goals and measurements helps with staying on track. I have an Apple iWatch that helps with step count and hours count when I stand up. This is an easy way to approximately meet my goals.
For engineering leaders, staying active is more than just a physical necessity; it’s a powerful tool for maintaining mental sharpness, emotional resilience, and overall well-being. Integrating these simple tips into your daily routine lets you stay active and healthy despite a busy schedule.
Remember, your well-being is integral to your effectiveness as a leader.
Walking meetings are so underrated
I just had 1 hour walking business meeting last week and we all enjoyed it