31. March 2023
M&M

“How we do it when we do it!“

One of the questions we get the most: How do we succeed in operating as a team – trusting each other; being supportive while we all develop within our industry; creating not only a professionally dependent, but also personally open community?
There is not only ‘the one answer’ to that question, so today we share an aspect in our team building process, which some of us like more, some less: Competition! Real competition, like in sports!

As a distant team, we keep this simple and don’t overthink it: we take our smart watches – in our eco system that’s Apple Watches (not ‘iWatches’, as some in the team still refer to…🤓). We invite each other through the ‘Fitness’ app, and off goes the competition on the hunt for the ‘600’ (that’s the max points to collect in a 24 h time period).

We collect these points based on personal preferences: walk our dog, walk in the park, working out, running, lifting, yoga, … it doesn’t matter!

Besides the constant personal exchange (and all the exhausting workouts), these challenges seem to have a range of positive outcomes that go beyond fitness and physical wellness.

Let’s discuss some benefits of challenges while working remotely:

We all work more or less on our own, in a self chosen environment. And while we’re still connected in virtual ways, there’s not many chances to ‘go out’, go for a run with each other or develop any other daily routine to ‘get moving’ together. So, our workout challenges help instill this missing sense of healthy competition among us. They can drive our motivation and help us push ourselves further, perhaps also leading to better results both in our personal fitness goals and in our work.

Engaging in fitness challenges can improve our bonding and team spirit – just by setting a different stage, compared to our daily business. The ideas go from better collaboration and communication, to a stronger sense of belonging – which can lead to higher job satisfaction on a daily basis.

Well, that’s also self explanatory. Regular physical activity improves our cognitive function, including memory, attention, and creativity. Fitness challenges in our daily routines boost brainpower and creativity, leading to more productive and innovative work.

We’re all aware of the negative effects, sitting in front of a computer for extended periods of time, with consequences for one’s physical health. So, our challenges are also a reminder, to ensure we are moving enough throughout the day.

That’s a good one: setting fitness goals and tracking our progress can help to develop better time management skills. This can translate into better project management and more efficient workflows and a higher productivity – we end up having more time for our personal lives.

So, we see a range of positive outcomes beyond just physical fitness – but most of all, for the moment, it’s just a lot of fun!

One more thing: Vanessa is in the lead this week, good for her, let’s see how long that lasts!

Because this is our recap of our Q1 challenges: if you feel intrigued to join in, let’s do it! Q2 challenges have just been kicked off 💪🤓

No results, no pics, no proof. Here’s some team data from our challenges in Q1 to enjoy:

Challenges 2023: 19
Max points/week: 4200
Hours on our yoga-mats: 20
Hours on bike: 15
Hours at oars: 13
Hours on horse: 21
Max km/month: 160,2
Max steps/day: 22.000
Max kcal/month: 12.732
Max heart rate: 175 ❤️‍🔥