How to Walk More When You Work From Home

Working from home can remove many of the small walks that used to happen without planning. There may be no walk to a station, no journey from the car park and no movement between meeting rooms.

Your desk, kitchen and bathroom may all be only a few steps apart. A full workday can pass before you realise how little you have walked.

The answer is not to interrupt your concentration constantly or turn every meeting into exercise. It is to create a few predictable walking opportunities around the beginning, middle and end of the workday.

This guide will help you replace missing transitions, use short walking breaks and build a daily walking goal that works with home-based work.

Why can working from home reduce walking?

Remote work can be convenient, but convenience also shortens everyday journeys.

You may no longer walk:

• to and from public transport
• from a car park to the workplace
• between different rooms or floors
• to speak with a colleague
• outside to buy lunch or coffee
• back home at the end of the day

These journeys may have been brief, but together they created movement and transitions throughout the day.

At home, the next task is always available on the same screen. Without a deliberate cue, it is easy to continue sitting from one meeting or work block to the next.

Choose a daily walking goal for work-from-home days

Begin with a specific amount of walking rather than a vague plan to move more.

Your goal might be:

• 10 minutes before work
• 15 minutes during lunch
• 20 minutes divided across the workday
• 30 minutes split between the beginning and end of work

The number should reflect your current activity and normal schedule. It does not need to be the same as someone else's goal.

Use How to Choose a Realistic Daily Walking Goal if you need help selecting the amount. If you want to understand the general weekly activity recommendation, read How Many Minutes Should You Walk Each Day?

Create a walking commute without travelling to work

A short walk before opening your computer can replace part of the transition that a commute used to provide.

You could:

• walk around the block and return home
• follow a short out-and-back route
• walk indoors or on a treadmill
• walk to buy something you genuinely need
• take the dog out before the first work task

Treat the walk as the journey to work. When you return, begin your normal start-up routine.

An after-work walking commute can be equally useful. Close the computer, leave the work area and walk before moving into the rest of the evening.

You do not need both walks. Choose the transition that fits your schedule most reliably.

Put walking breaks between work blocks

Remote work often has natural boundaries: finishing a meeting, completing a task, sending a report or reaching the end of a focused work period.

Use one of those boundaries as a walking cue.

For example:

• After the morning meeting, walk for five minutes.
• After finishing a major task, take one lap around the block.
• Before lunch, walk for 10 minutes.
• After closing the final work tab, complete the remaining minutes.

The CDC's Physical Activity Breaks for the Workplace guide includes ways to build short activity breaks into a workday. Although designed for workplaces generally, the same idea can be adapted to a home office.

The break does not need to happen after every task. One or two predictable boundaries may be enough.

Walk during suitable phone calls

Some calls require a screen, notes or complete concentration. Others only require listening and speaking.

For an appropriate audio-only call, you could:

• walk around your home
• walk outside with a headset
• pace in a clear indoor area
• use a treadmill at a safe, comfortable speed

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has specifically suggested taking activity breaks and walking around the house during conference calls when working from home.

Do not walk during a call if you need to look at confidential material, type detailed notes, operate equipment or pay attention to traffic and other hazards. Walking should support the task rather than make it unsafe or less effective.

Protect part of your lunch break

When home and work share the same space, lunch can become another period at the computer. Decide in advance whether part of the break belongs to walking.

Make the walk easier by:

• blocking the time on your calendar
• choosing a route before the break starts
• keeping shoes near the door
• setting a turnaround reminder
• having an indoor alternative

A 10- or 15-minute lunch walk can stand alone or form part of a larger daily total.

If time keeps disappearing from your day, use How to Make Time for Walking During a Busy Day for a broader scheduling method.

Use calendar gaps carefully

A 10-minute gap between meetings may look like walking time, but some of it may be needed for notes, water or preparation.

Choose gaps that genuinely allow movement rather than creating a rushed transition.

A simple plan could be:

• 25-minute meeting ends
• two minutes to record essential notes
• five-minute indoor walk
• three minutes to prepare for the next task

If your calendar is under your control, avoid filling every available minute. A small buffer can support walking as well as ordinary transitions.

Divide your walking target across the day

Remote work is well suited to accumulated walking because you can attach brief walks to several transitions.

A 20-minute target could be:

• 10 minutes before work and 10 minutes after work
• four 5-minute walking breaks
• 5 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at lunch
• one continuous 20-minute walk after work

Current physical activity guidance allows activity to be accumulated in shorter periods. Decide before beginning whether divided minutes count towards your personal Walking Path goal.

Compare the formats in One Long Walk or Several Short Walks: Which Is Better? and learn more about short bouts in Does a 10-Minute Walk Count?

Create an indoor walking route

An indoor route gives you an immediate option when weather, darkness, caring responsibilities or work demands make an outdoor walk impractical.

Your route might include:

• walking between several rooms
• using a hallway
• walking laps around a table or clear area
• using stairs when appropriate and safe
• walking in place
• using a treadmill or walking pad

Clear trip hazards and choose a route that does not disturb other people working or resting in the home.

For additional options, see Indoor Walking Ideas for Bad Weather.

Do you need a walking pad?

No. A walking pad can be useful for some people, but it is not required for a work-from-home walking routine.

It also does not suit every work task. Walking while typing, designing, analysing detailed information or attending an important meeting may reduce concentration or create safety problems.

Before buying equipment, test whether you can meet your goal using:

• a before-work walk
• a lunch route
• short indoor laps
• an after-work walk

If those approaches work, you may not need additional equipment. If you do use a walking pad, follow the manufacturer's safety instructions and use it only during suitable tasks.

Keep walking shoes visible

At home, a visible cue can replace the environmental reminders that exist outside the home.

You might place:

• walking shoes beside the door
• a jacket near the workspace
• your Walking Path beside the computer
• a calendar reminder before lunch
• a note on the closed laptop for the after-work walk

The cue should point towards a specific action. “Walk for 10 minutes after this meeting” is more useful than a general reminder to be healthier.

Example work-from-home walking schedules

Example: 10-minute goal

• 8:45 a.m. — 10-minute pretend commute before work

Example: 20-minute goal

• 10:30 a.m. — 5-minute walking break
• 12:30 p.m. — 10-minute lunch walk
• 3:30 p.m. — 5-minute indoor walk

Example: 30-minute goal

• 8:30 a.m. — 10-minute before-work walk
• 12:30 p.m. — 10-minute lunch walk
• 5:00 p.m. — 10-minute after-work walk

These are examples, not required schedules. Choose walking times that respect your working hours, responsibilities and current ability.

Walking more is not the same as going outside more

Walking and outdoor time often overlap, but they are not identical goals.

You can complete a walking target indoors. You can also spend time outside while sitting, gardening or doing another activity that is not part of a walking goal.

If your priority is daylight, fresh air or simply leaving the house during remote work, read How to Get Outside More When You Work From Home. If your priority is accumulating walking minutes, continue using the strategies in this guide.

Track one work-from-home day at a time

The printable 30 Day Walking Path lets you choose your own daily walking target.

Write the number at the top and decide whether shorter walking breaks can be combined. At the end of the day, complete one circle when the total has been reached.

A visible Path can also remind you that the working day should not absorb every available minute.

If you prefer measuring all daily movement with steps, use How to Walk 10,000 Steps a Day: A Simple 30 Day Guide.

Replace the movement that remote work removed

You do not need to recreate a long commute or walk continuously while trying to work.

Begin with one reliable opportunity: a short commute walk, a protected lunch route or an after-work transition. Add walking breaks only where they fit without disrupting important tasks.

Keep an indoor route ready, make the goal visible and collect the minutes in a way that works for your home and schedule.

Use How to Start Walking Every Day: A Simple 30 Day Challenge to connect these work-from-home strategies to the complete walking routine.