I used to think walking meetings were one of those Silicon Valley affectations — something tech CEOs did to seem interesting in profile pieces. Then I tried one during a particularly brutal stretch of back-to-back Zoom calls last winter, and I haven’t looked back.

Here’s what happened. I had a one-on-one scheduled with a colleague that didn’t require screen sharing. I suggested we take it on the phone while walking. Twenty-five minutes later, we’d covered everything on the agenda, I’d walked 3,000 steps, and I felt genuinely energised instead of depleted. The conversation was better, too — more honest, less performative.

That wasn’t a fluke. There’s solid science behind why walking meetings work, and I think more of us should be doing them.

What the Research Says

A Stanford study found that walking boosted creative output by an average of 60% compared to sitting. The effect persisted even when people sat down immediately after walking — their creative thinking remained elevated for a period afterward.

More recently, a 2025 paper in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that even brief walking bouts (as short as 11 minutes) during the workday reduced self-reported stress and improved afternoon focus scores. Participants who took walking breaks reported better mood at the end of the day compared to those who stayed seated.

Australian data backs this up too. A University of Melbourne study on workplace movement found that employees who incorporated walking into their workday had 23% fewer sick days and reported higher job satisfaction. The mechanism isn’t complicated: movement reduces cortisol, improves blood flow to the brain, and breaks the physical tension that builds from sitting.

Why Walking Makes Conversations Better

There’s something about walking side by side that changes the dynamic of a conversation. You’re not staring at each other across a desk or into a camera. The reduced eye contact actually makes it easier to discuss difficult topics. There’s less social pressure, less performance anxiety.

I’ve noticed this with my own conversations. The hard stuff — feedback, personal challenges, strategy disagreements — flows more naturally when we’re moving. There’s a shared rhythm to walking that creates a kind of psychological safety. You’re literally going somewhere together.

Psychologists call this the “side-by-side effect.” When people interact while engaged in a parallel physical activity, they tend to be more open, more collaborative, and less defensive. It’s why therapists sometimes walk with clients and why some of the best conversations happen during car rides.

How to Make Walking Meetings Work

Not every meeting should be a walking meeting, obviously. Here’s what I’ve found works:

Good candidates: One-on-ones, brainstorming sessions, project check-ins, mentoring conversations, anything that’s primarily verbal and doesn’t need a screen.

Bad candidates: Anything requiring shared documents, detailed data review, more than three people (logistics get messy), or formal presentations.

Practical tips:

Start with your calendar and identify two or three meetings this week that could work as walking meetings. Don’t overhaul everything at once. Pick the easy wins.

If you’re doing a phone-based walking meeting, invest in decent wireless earbuds. Nothing kills the momentum like asking someone to repeat themselves because your phone speaker can’t handle traffic noise.

Keep a set route in mind that takes roughly as long as your meeting. I have a 20-minute loop and a 30-minute loop near my office. Knowing the route means I can focus on the conversation instead of navigation.

Weather will be an issue sometimes. That’s fine. Have a backup plan. Even walking around inside a building is better than sitting — the movement still helps.

For the Australia-specific crowd: we’re heading into autumn now, which is actually perfect walking meeting weather in most of the country. Not too hot, not raining every day. March through May is prime time to build this habit.

The Wellbeing Angle

Beyond productivity, walking meetings address something most wellness advice ignores: the structural barriers to movement during work hours.

We all know we should move more. The Australian Government guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. But telling someone who works nine hours at a desk to “just exercise more” misses the point. The problem isn’t knowledge or motivation — it’s time and context.

Walking meetings solve this by embedding movement into something you’re already doing. You’re not adding exercise to your day; you’re replacing sitting with walking. The time cost is zero.

I’ve tracked my step count since starting regular walking meetings six months ago. On days with at least one walking meeting, I average 8,400 steps. On fully seated days, I’m lucky to hit 4,000. That difference compounds.

Start Small

You don’t need to convert your entire meeting schedule. Start with one walking meeting this week. Pick something low-stakes. See how it feels.

The worst that happens is you get some fresh air and move your body for 20 minutes during a day that would otherwise have been entirely sedentary. The best that happens? You might find, like I did, that some of your most productive thinking happens when you’re not trying to look productive.

Your desk isn’t going anywhere. But maybe you should be.