As you may recently have heard, Rob O’Byrne has a new passion to add to his list of many—A passion for fitness. Rob realised that like many busy professionals, while he was taking care of business, he was neglecting to take care of his own health and fitness. Rob also recognized that this was a situation he needed to change if he is to continue his personal mission to help people succeed in their professional lives.
In his inimitable style, Rob’s solution was nothing short of monumental. He decided to kick off his health drive by training for and completing the Camino De Santiago—a very long stroll of around 800 Kilometres.
Rob In Search of Santiago
But You Can Start With a Short Stroll
If you are a busy supply chain or logistics manager; in fact, if you are anyone with a business life seemingly too full to find time for fitness, you owe it to yourself to reconsider your priorities. Just as Rob realised, if you don’t look after your fitness, you’re limiting your ability to meet your professional goals.
You don’t have to undertake a pilgrim’s journey across Spain; you don’t even have to take up membership of a gym, although you can if you wish. What you do need to do though, is find a way to fit some fitness time into your busy supply chain working life, even if that means starting off with a five-minute walk around the block each day.
Quick Fitness Activities for Busy Supply Chain Folks
Here are a few quick ideas to get fit and stay fit, without eating too much into those precious working hours (although it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on your work/life balance too).
- Walk or cycle to work, if distance allows.
- Take a brisk walk or even a run at midday.
- Use the stairs instead of the elevator—a very convenient way to get fit if your office is above the ground floor.
- Hold walking meetings, instead of having them in the boardroom (use a voice recorder instead of trying to take notes).
- Schedule some short, five-minute stretch breaks into your working day (schedule them into your to-do list, diary, as phone reminders and any other way that will stop you from forgetting about them).
These are but a few suggestions. There are many more ways to include some fitness time in your working day. Just be sure to do something, if you really don’t want your successful and busy supply chain career to be hampered by ill health.
Rob shares some thoughts on his walking ‘Pilgrimage’ here: Reflections on Rather a Long Walk
His Camino journey is documented here: Rob’s Camino
