Mindset in Motion

AI could give us more time… and we'll probably ruin it.

There. I said it.

We've spent years removing every bit of "wasted" time from work.

Now AI promises to make us even more efficient.

But there's a problem.

Humans need the bits in between.

The walk between meetings.

The conversation making a coffee.

The minute staring out of the window.

The pause before the next difficult decision.

We've started treating every empty space in the working day as something that needs filling.

And I think that's a mistake.

So here's one thing you can do today:

When AI saves you five minutes, don't automatically fill it.

Stand up.
Move.
Think.
Breathe.

Give your brain a chance to catch up with your workload.

Because sustainable human performance isn't about squeezing productivity from every available minute.

Sometimes doing less for five minutes helps you perform better for the next fifty.

If AI gave your team 30 minutes back every day, would you genuinely let them keep it?

Or would you find another 30 minutes of work?

Before you reach for another coffee, try this.

How do you feel right now?

Energy.
Focus.
Stress.
Mood.

Give them a quick score out of 10.

Now give me 3 minutes.

Today’s Movement Snack is my Traffic Light Reset:

🟢 GREEN: 20 seconds fast marching
🟠 AMBER: 20 seconds slow marching
🔴 RED: 20 seconds squat hold

Repeat x3.

You can do the whole thing before the kettle boils or during an ad break.

Now ask yourself again:

How do I feel?

Score those same four things.

Did anything change?

Because this is the bit we often get wrong at work.

When our energy drops, we reach for caffeine.

When our focus disappears, we try to push harder.

When stress rises, we keep sitting there staring at the same screen.

Sometimes you don't need to push through.
You need to change your state.

A short burst of movement gets your muscles working, breaks up sedentary time and gives your brain and body a change of stimulus.

And you don't need Lycra, a gym or an hour in your diary to do it.

You need a few minutes.

This is also the thinking behind my Performance Microbreak Platform.

Employees choose what they need in that moment - focus, energy, calm, stress reduction, fewer aches and pains, and get a short Movement Snack matched to it.

Crucially, they score how they feel before and after.

So organisations can start measuring whether these tiny interventions are actually shifting the things that influence performance.

Because better focus, energy and stress management aren't just wellbeing outcomes.

They can influence productivity, absence, mistakes and ultimately the bottom line.

But don't take my word for it.

Do the Traffic Light Reset in the video.

Then tell me:

What changed between your BEFORE and AFTER score?

“I’m not doing Movement Snacks at work. I’ll look ridiculous.”

I hear this more often than you might think.

And I get it.

Nobody wants to be the person doing jumping jacks next to the photocopier while Dave from Accounts watches over his sandwich. 😂

But here’s the problem:

We’ve created workplaces where sitting still for 8 hours looks normal, but moving your body looks weird.

That’s the culture I want to change.

And no, you DON'T have to start lunging through the office.

Start with what you’re already doing.

Need to print something?
Get up and collect it straight away instead of letting everything pile up until the end of the day.

Need the photocopier?
Walk over each time rather than batching it all together.

Going upstairs?
Take the stairs instead of the lift.

Need the toilet?
Use the one on another floor and get a little extra movement in.

None of these will make you look silly.

But they WILL break up long periods of sitting and get your body moving more frequently throughout the working day.

That’s what Movement Snacks® are about.

Not finding more time to exercise.
Finding the movement hiding inside the day you already have.

And imagine what happens when one person starts doing it.

Then another.

Then a manager joins in.

Eventually, movement at work stops looking “weird”.

It becomes what we do around here.

That’s culture change.

Why are we more embarrassed about moving at work than we are about sitting virtually motionless for hours?

The comments on my last AI post proved exactly why this conversation matters.

One person told me that within a year, AI will be so autonomous that leaders won't really have this choice anymore.

It's an interesting point.

But I think they're looking at the wrong decision.

The real decision isn't made when AI writes an email or schedules a meeting.

The real decision is made much earlier.

What are we asking AI to optimise for?

If success is defined as:

➡️ More output.
➡️ More utilisation.
➡️ More work.

That's exactly what AI will help us achieve.

But if success is defined as:

✅ Better decisions.
✅ Better thinking.
✅ Sustainable performance.
✅ Healthier teams.

AI can help us achieve that instead.

Technology doesn't create culture.

It amplifies it.

So perhaps the question isn't -

"Will AI increase burnout?"

It's -

"What kind of organisation are we asking AI to build?"

I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts.

What do you normally do while you're waiting for your toast to pop?

I spend those 60 seconds doing a wall sit.

Why?

Because I'm already waiting.

A wall sit wakes up your legs, activates your core, improves posture and gets your blood flowing before you've even eaten breakfast. More importantly, it wakes you up.

The alternative?

Standing still, scrolling your phone, or simply watching the toaster.

Same 60 seconds.

Completely different outcome.

This is what I call habit stacking - pairing movement with something you're already doing, so you never have to "find time" to exercise.

Imagine starting every day feeling just a little more energised, focused and ready for what's ahead.

That's exactly why I created the Performance Microbreak Platform.

It isn't an exercise app.

It simply asks one question:

"How do you want to feel?"

You choose the outcome - more focus, more energy, less stress, fewer aches, and it delivers the right 60-second Movement Snack, measuring the difference before and after so you can see the impact.

I'm currently offering a 30-day free trial for organisations who want to improve performance through evidence-based microbreaks.

What's one everyday task you could pair with a 60-second Movement Snack?

You can't outwork a poor plan. And you can't out-eat burnout.

When I burned out as a lawyer, I thought the problem was my workload.

It wasn't.

It was everything my workload stopped me doing.

I'd skip meals.
Grab convenience food.
Work so late that dinner became a takeaway, processed snacks, or nothing at all.

I never connected the dots.

Poor nutrition wasn't just affecting my weight.

It was affecting my:
➡️ Energy.
➡️ Focus.
➡️ Mood.
➡️ Sleep.
➡️ Productivity.
➡️ Decision-making.

I was trying to perform on an empty tank.

Now one of the biggest burnout prevention tools I use isn't complicated.

It's planning.

Every week I write my meals on the planner stuck to the front of my fridge.

I batch cook.

I double up ingredients.

I keep frozen vegetables in the freezer.

There's usually leftover pizza dough ready for a quick meal.

And yes... there are always a few tubs of my homemade healthy ice cream waiting for dessert.

For the last few weeks I've been home alone and working until around 7pm most evenings.

Old me would have ordered a takeaway.

Now?

I open the freezer.

A batch-cooked meal goes into the microwave.

Five minutes later I'm eating.

No stress.

No washing up.

No standing in front of the fridge wondering what to cook when I'm already exhausted.

Because the decision was made days ago.

That's what planning really gives you.

Not just healthier food.

It gives you energy when you're running low.
It reduces decision fatigue.
It protects your evening.
It helps you recover instead of simply getting through another day.

Burnout prevention isn't built on big heroic changes.

It's built on small decisions you make before life gets busy.

What's one thing you do that makes healthy eating easier on your busiest days?

If your employees finish one Teams call and immediately join the next, you're paying for tired brains instead of better performance.

Here's a 60-second Movement Snack I want every office worker to try after every meeting:

✔️ Hip circles
✔️ Back extensions
✔️ Reach overhead and stretch
✔️ Slow neck circles

That's it.

One minute of movement helps undo stiffness from sitting, improves circulation, wakes up the muscles that support your posture and gives your brain a chance to reset before the next conversation.

The result?

Your people feel more alert.
More focused.
Less stiff.
Less mentally drained by the end of the day.

And that's exactly what high-performing employees want. They don't want to crawl home with aching backs, tight shoulders and zero energy left for their families.

For leaders, this isn't about squeezing another wellbeing initiative into an already busy calendar.

It's about protecting performance.

More focus.
Better decision-making.
Higher engagement.
Fewer aches and pains.
Less presenteeism.
A workforce that still has energy at 5pm.

You don't need an hour in the gym.

You need one minute between meetings.

Would your organisation benefit from a simple habit like this?