I first heard about micro-adventures through Sarah Wilson who preached the benefit of adding them to daily life. First on how they make your life better. I’m not a good desk person, I cannot sit for hours on end staring at a screen and be highly productive. It’s just not in my veins. So the idea of taking a quick adventure on a WEEKDAY, thrilled the pants off me! 😉

The idea is that taking some time out of each day to throw yourself back into your natural and instinctual surroundings for 20 – 30 mins actually makes you more productive, more alert, it gives you more energy and makes you feel happier. I see it as something like neuro-linguistic programming shaking up your routine to keep you on your toes – with scenery.

I thought about how this could work for someone in business, someone who can sit for hours zoned into a screen. I thought about the benefits this could have for an online business owner. So I decided to try it myself for a week and see whether I really did feel more energised, productive and happy.

My results from 7 days of micro-adventures

I alternated between 3 micro-adventures around my neighbourhood throughout the week. A 10 minute stroll through the native bush, a 20 minute plunge down an endless track of stairs that lead to a secluded bay and a 30 minute exploration around some rock pools – we live by the sea. Here are my results:

Settling quicker

My biggest nemesis when it comes to work is procrastination. It just takes me forever to settle in. I’m a crazy cat lady kind of tab switcher that can’t read an article without starting 3 others at the same time. But once I started the adventures I definitely found I wasn’t as restless as I usually am. Interesting.

Increased focus

Not only could I settle quicker, but I could focus for hours at a time on tasks without distractions. With my increased productivity I found I was getting 2 – 3 extra tasks done on a daily basis. Hmmmm…

More time

Following the increased productivity, I found I actually had a lot more free time! It seems that because I was able to settle quicker and stay super productive for the time that I was working, it actually made me work quicker! I found I’d have an extra hour or two to do whatever I wanted with. Can I hear a Harry Potter marathon anyone?

Increased positivity

You know those irritating people who seem to be happy all the god damn time? Yeah I became one of them. And I LOVED it. Not the irritating part, but the fact that I just felt good. Balanced even. Like the cup overfloweth. I put this down to the endorphin release from the sudden oxygen inhalation + cardio activity.

After only 7 days I noticed this small differences. Imagine what micro-adventures could do for your business in 30, 60, 365 days?

If you’re still not totally convinced, I strongly urge you to give micro-adventures a try to see if it has the same affect on you. If it’s ideas you’re struggling with, try Sarah’s 18 micro-adventures to try. Or even if you are convinced, start sprinkling them into a least one or two days a week starting THIS WEEK.

Elise McDowell