Put your hand up if you struggle to move mid-week? You’re certainly not alone!
Life just seems to get in the way. If you’re not staying late at work, or taxiing the kids, then there’s always the cooking, cleaning and chores that need to be done. You struggle to fit in spending time with friends and family, let alone carving out any time for yourself. Then the hectic weekend comes and you’re knackered and need rest before you rinse and repeat.
It’s here the oxygen mask metaphor comes to mind. We have all heard time and time again. Put your oxygen mask on before helping others. We know theoretically that we should carve out that time for us so we can give more to our loved ones, but how do we remove the barriers that just keep stopping us?
We’re here to help. Here’s four tips to help you get out on the trails during your work week:
Bring the gear. One of the wonderful things about hiking is the gear is scalable. Sure, you want to be prepared if you’re going to be out of cell phone reception and hiking for 6 hours. But if you’re fitting in a quick hike near civilisation, you don’t need to lug loads of gear around all day. Pack a change of clothes, a pair of sneakers and a big water bottle and you’ll be set for an hour or two on the trails.
Stay local. Hiking isn’t all about far distant places; there’s some beautiful trails right in our backyard. If you want to hike mid-week don’t travel far. For those in the Perth CBD, there’s trails in Kings Park to the west and Heirisson Island to the east. If you’re driving home anyways, don’t forget the more central spots like Bold Park and Lesmurdie Falls – both 15-30min drive away.
Get your team involved. For those that prefer not to hike alone, think about enlisting your workmates. You have a ready-made team in need of a debrief – make your meetings a chance to walk and talk or book hikes through your wellness program. You could even knock off early and do some team-building for an hour or two.
Make the timing work. Work out what time works best for you. Struggling to get out of the office on time? Get in a hike before work. Distracted once you get home? Stop for a hike on the way home. You can even make it part of your commute! Work around your must-do commitments and make a mid-week hike a priority for you.
