Excerpted from 55 and Out, Life Optimization
Walking Meetings: A Year In
· 3 min read
I started walking meetings as a Covid hangover — I was tired of sitting and tired of Zoom. A year in, roughly 80% of my one-on-one calls happen while I'm walking. Here's the report.
What changed in the meetings. Conversations got shorter and better. A 30-minute meeting on a walk usually wraps in 22, because the format doesn't reward filler. The other person, even if they're seated, often matches the cadence — sentences get tighter, decisions get made faster. I cannot prove this with data. I notice it every week.
What changed in my body. I added roughly 4 to 6 miles to most weekdays without adding any time to the day. Resting heart rate dropped. Knees feel better, not worse. The first month was rough — I had a bad pair of shoes and learned the hard way.
What I learned about shoes. Cheap walking shoes are a false economy. I bought a pair of well-cushioned ones that cost more than I wanted to spend. They lasted 18 months and prevented the shin splint episode I'd been ignoring. Buy good shoes if you're going to do this.
What I learned about weather. Cold is fine with layers. Heat is fine before 9 AM or after 7 PM. Rain is fine with a baseball cap and a windbreaker — it's actually one of the best meeting environments because nobody else is outside, so the audio is clean. The only weather that defeats walking meetings is wind above about 25 mph, which kills the microphone. I sit those out.
What broke. A few calls had connection issues in dead zones near my house. I now have a mental map of where the signal drops and I avoid those blocks during important calls. One person told me, gently, that they could hear me breathing harder than they wanted to and could I please not climb hills during our calls. Fair. I keep the climbs for solo time.
What I'd do again. All of it. What I wouldn't: try to walk during a call where I needed to take notes. Voice memos work for capture, but if it's a complex decision call, I sit at my desk.
The unexpected gift: I now know my neighborhood better than I did after a decade of living in it.