On walking and creativity

I love walking.

 

Whenever I can I choose to walk, even when it’s not the quickest method, even when my friends and colleagues raise an eyebrow.

 

There are obvious benefits to walking. It’s a great form of exercise. It gets you away from your screen. It gets you out in the fresh air, or at least air as fresh as London can offer.

 

It allows you to get to know where you live that little bit better. I often find myself walking around London and suddenly realising that places I thought were miles apart are actually quite close, or that I know more of my city than I realise. Nothing helps you master a city better or quicker than walking around it.

Walking is also one of the best ways to chat to someone, it diffuses any awkwardness and removes a lot of life’s distractions. For me, that even extends to phone calls, which is why I’m always lightly out of breath when I speak to my mum.

 

But for me the real joy of walking is just walking.

 

I love the steady rhythm of it. There’s something immensely calming about walking, I guess that’s why so many people turn to pacing when they’re nervous.

I love how empowering it is, knowing I can get myself from A to B is such a great feeling. Growing up if I wanted to go anywhere on my own, into town, to see a friend, I had to walk. So it takes me back to those first moments of taking my independence. Now it gives me the independence to leave the tube behind, and make the city my own.

I love how it gives me time to think. Whether I’ve got my headphones on or not, whether I’m taking a leisurely stroll or powering my way into work, I always seem to do my best thinking when I’m walking.

Walking helps me work through problems in my work and my head. It’s my idea generation space. If I’m ever stuck with a brief I can’t unpick or just stumped for ideas, I take a walk. I’m not the only one who thinks so, there have been numerous psychological studies into how walking can boost creativity.

There are a number of reasons why we think more creatively while on the move, but I think this explanation from Ferris Jabr’s New Yorker article sums it up the most accurately and poetically for me:

“Walking at our own pace creates an unadulterated feedback loop between the rhythm of our bodies and our mental state that we cannot experience as easily when we’re jogging at the gym, steering a car, biking, or during any other kind of locomotion. When we stroll, the pace of our feet naturally vacillates with our moods and the cadence of our inner speech; at the same time, we can actively change the pace of our thoughts by deliberately walking more briskly or by slowing down”

Marching to the beat of your own drum, and pumping that little bit of extra blood to your brain, isn’t just good for the waistline or even the soul, it’s great for your creativity too.

Natalie