10 Ways to Sit Less at Work

BY LAURA VANDERKAM

You’ve heard it before: Sitting is the new smoking.
New research finds that even if you’re active, logging eight hours a day on your rear end in front of the computer can shorten your lifespan.
​Fortunately, there are other ways to spend less time sitting. Try these 10 tips to cut time in your chair.

1. GET A STEP COUNTER.
A Fitbit, A Nike+ FuelBand, or a Jawbone Up can encourage you to move more by showing how many steps you’ve taken (and pitting you against friends and colleagues if you like). If you see you’re far under 10,000 steps for the day, you might get up and walk the halls rather than surf the web when you need a break.

2. SET AN ALARM.
Much sitting is unconscious. Set an alarm to remind yourself to get up at least once an hour to grab a drink, stretch, or otherwise engage your muscles.

3. STAY HYDRATED.
Drinking water has many upsides, but one obvious side effect is you’ll have to hit the bathroom frequently. Try visiting one on the other side of the building or on a different floor to increase your time in motion. Bonus: Refill your water bottle from a water fountain that’s far away as well.

4. EAT ELSEWHERE.
If your favorite lunch joint is a quarter mile away, that’s an extra half mile you’ll walk daily. But even if you’re brown bagging it, find a spot for a picnic and invite colleagues to join you.

5. TAKE A WALKING MEETING.
If you’ve got a one-on-one scheduled, ask that colleague to walk with you to grab coffee, or try any walking trails or reasonable sidewalks you might have nearby. It may actually be easier to have difficult conversations this way, when you’re walking side by side rather than staring at each other.

6. DO A STANDING MEETING.
A bar-height table in the office kitchen makes a great place for an informal get-together. Not every meeting requires a conference room, and most people are okay to stand for a few minutes.

7. PACE.
Unless you’re taking notes while on the phone, you don’t have to sit. Walk the halls with a headset or move around your office.

8. TRY A STANDING DESK.
A desk (or desk addition) that adjusts your screen and keyboard to standing height is less of an investment–and less of a strange sight–than a treadmill. Set a goal to move your chair out of the way twice a day or so, and try standing for a few minutes as you edit a document or send emails.

9. VISIT YOUR COLLEAGUES.
If you need a quick answer to a question, it’s often as easy to walk to someone’s office as it is to email or call. Face-to-face conversations lower the risk of misinterpretation, too. If you work with people in different buildings, offer to come visit them, rather than snagging the conference room near you.

10. HIT THE OFFICE GYM.
If your company has one, use it, especially if the weather is bad or work in an extremely secure building that’s hard to leave. A moderate 25 minute walk on the treadmill won’t leave you sweaty enough to require a shower, but it will let you catch up on an episode of your favorite TV show while you’re at work. Even without the extra steps, that’s an incentive right there