What 9 Years in Business Taught Me: Movement Is the Most Underrated Productivity Tool

Picture a typical day at your office. People typing at desks. Sitting in meetings. Sitting in the kitchen grabbing lunch. You can go through an entire workday without standing up once. That should worry any founder trying to get real output from a team.

I’ve spent nine years building and scaling BetterMe, and if there’s one lesson I keep returning to, it’s this: movement is one of the most underrated drivers of productivity in business, and most companies treat it as a wellness perk instead of infrastructure. A meditation stipend or a gym reimbursement doesn’t fix a workday designed around sitting. Rethinking the workday itself does.

Here’s how I approach it — for myself and for my team.

What happens when people stop moving

Think about a lazy, couch-bound Sunday. After a day like that, do you feel energized? I don’t. I feel sluggish, slower and even simple decisions get harder. That’s the exact state employees end up in after spending a day moving from one chair to another.

The qualities we value most at work — creativity, mental clarity, problem-solving — all rely on good blood flow and oxygen reaching the brain. Movement supports both. When you move, circulation improves, more oxygen reaches the brain and cognitive function sharpens.

There’s a real economic case too. The McKinsey Health Institute estimates that improving employee health and well-being globally could create up to $11.7 trillion in value each year. Much of that comes from higher productivity and less presenteeism — people who are technically at work but nowhere near their full capacity.

What my day actually looks like

Staying physically active isn’t a wellness habit for me. It’s one of the tools that keeps my energy and focus where they need to be. Instead of squeezing in a workout when I can find time, I’ve built movement into the structure of my day.

In the morning, I start with at least an hour of movement. Most days it’s Pilates or yoga. A few times a week I get out for tennis or golf. By the time I sit down to work, I already feel switched on. During the day, I schedule short breaks for stretching, walking or a quick exercise. Even ten minutes can reset your energy. In the evening, I slow things down with quieter mindfulness practices — meditation, chanting mantras and Pranayama breathing. It reduces stress and clears mental noise. When I go to sleep with a calm mind, I wake up more focused.

None of this is unusual. What’s unusual is treating it as non-negotiable and letting it shape how the workday is structured.

The changes that actually move the needle

Culture isn’t purely top-down, but it helps when leadership sends the first signal. When a team sees a founder step away for a walk between meetings, others feel like they can do the same without overthinking it.

From there, a few specific changes make it easier for everyone.

Make the environment movement-friendly. Adjustable desks that let people switch between sitting and standing. Whiteboards, coffee and supplies placed farther from workstations. Open space to stretch or walk between calls. A dedicated recovery zone with soft lighting, plants and a view outside.

Rethink meeting culture. Not every meeting needs to happen sitting down. Turn 1:1s into walks. Make stand-up meetings live up to their name at a standing table. And on some calls, make cameras optional — say upfront that they can stay off so people feel free to stretch, walk or move while listening. That one change did more for our meeting culture than anything else we tried.

Create shared rituals. A quick stretch before any meeting that runs more than an hour. A short exercise after 30 minutes of sitting. A Friday step-count check-in with a weekly leaderboard. Small habits, shared by the team, give the day structure.

Make it social. It’s easier to stay consistent when you’re not doing it alone. Sign up for a step challenge as a team. Turn team-building events into something active — badminton instead of drinks. Set up a Slack channel to share progress and small wins.

Block it on the calendar. If it’s not scheduled, it’s easy to skip. Encourage employees to block windows for movement resets. When people see those blocks on each other’s calendars, stepping away stops feeling like something only they do.

The point isn’t to turn the office into a gym. It’s to stop pretending that eight hours of sitting produces the best version of the people you hired.

Why this compounds

A study from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School found workers are 13% more productive when they feel better at work. Movement is one of the most direct, cheapest levers a leader has to move that number.

Strong teams don’t just brainstorm together. They move together.

And if it’s been a while since you last stood up, this is a good moment to do it — and to show your team it’s okay to do the same.

Picture a typical day at your office. People typing at desks. Sitting in meetings. Sitting in the kitchen grabbing lunch. You can go through an entire workday without standing up once. That should worry any founder trying to get real output from a team.

I’ve spent nine years building and scaling BetterMe, and if there’s one lesson I keep returning to, it’s this: movement is one of the most underrated drivers of productivity in business, and most companies treat it as a wellness perk instead of infrastructure. A meditation stipend or a gym reimbursement doesn’t fix a workday designed around sitting. Rethinking the workday itself does.

Here’s how I approach it — for myself and for my team.