Create your Own Active Break Movement Menu
Build a go-to list of energising movement options for your workday
Our workday sitting habits didn’t evolve in a vacuum. They’re shaped by the environment around us, our space, our schedule, even the people arounds us. So even with the best of intentions it’s easy to fall into a pattern of sitting for long hours of the workday.
If we want to move more, sit less we need to reshape our habits to integrate movement breaks into our day.
But building new habits is hard. The routines and patterns we have established at work are automatic, we rarely pay attention to them because they sit in the background of our day and are almost invisible.
To make a change we need to rewire the routine, make the new action, like a five-minute active break, just as easy, just as accessible, just as automatic.
We can do this by creating a list of active break strategies to use as a movement menu that you can pick from throughout the day when the opportunity for a short break arises.
Why You Need a Movement Menu
We tend to think of work as a mental activity, and it is. But our bodies don’t switch off just because our job description doesn’t mention movement. In fact, the human body was built for motion. Joints need to move. Muscles need to contract. Blood needs to flow. And brains? They think better when the body moves.
When we sit at our desks for hours, shoulders hunched, hips locked, mind overstimulated but body inert, it takes a toll. Not just physically, but mentally too.
You’ve probably felt it: the creeping brain fog, the slouch that becomes a slump, the quiet irritability that builds throughout the day. You haven’t done much with your body, but some how you’re exhausted.
That’s not laziness or burnout, you are under-moved.
Weaving short bursts of regular movement into the day, just five minutes at time can:
Wake up your muscles and metabolism
Improve focus, mood, and memory
Reduce stiffness and long-term musculoskeletal strain
Lower the stress load on your brain and body
Signal to your nervous system that it’s safe to reset
But the real challenge isn’t knowing movement is good for us, it’s doing it.
We know we’d feel better with a stretch or a quick walk. But when a short break appears, the moment often disappears, not because we don’t want to move, but because we didn’t have a plan.
A Movement Menu changes that. It removes the decision-making burden by providing pre-selected, pre-approved actions and gives you a friction-free nudge into action.
Think of it like having snacks prepped in the fridge. You don’t have to think, prep, or search. You just grab and go. Only in this case, you’re feeding your nervous system and mobility, not your stomach.
What is a Movement Menu
A Movement Menu is your personal shortlist of five-minute physical activities you can use to break up long periods of sitting, without overthinking it.
It’s not a workout plan. It’s not another thing to feel guilty about. It’s a tool designed to reduce decision fatigue and make movement easy, accessible, and automatic during the workday.
Think of it as a “go-to” list for your body, like having a mental shortcut for what to do when you feel foggy, stiff, restless, or tired.
Your menu might include:
Two laps around the block after a long call
Standing up and shoulder roll resets between emails
Squats while you wait for the kettle to boil
A standing stretch when your brain hits the afternoon fog
The magic is in the pre-selection: it’s a ready-to-use list of movement ideas you’ve already chosen to fit your space, your energy, and whatever you happen to be wearing.
Instead of making a new decision every time, you make the decisions in advance: a shortlist of movement options that are doable, appealing, and work in your environment.
Now, when the opportunity for a break arrives, you don’t have to think. You just pick the next activity on the list and go. Whether it’s five minutes of stretching, a short walk, stair circuits, or kitchen counter push-ups, the action is already teed up.
It might sound like a simple idea , a shortlist of 5-minute physical activities you can pick from during the workday. But behind its simplicity lies a powerful foundation in behavioural science. A Movement Menu can transform good intentions into consistent action, not by demanding more willpower, but by making the path to movement friction-free.
Build Your Own Movement Menu: A Quick Start Guide
You don’t need a massive list or a formal fitness plan, just a few go-to options that fit your life, your body, and your workspace.
Your Movement Menu should be:
Realistic (not aspirational)
Flexible (for low-energy and high-energy moments)
Adaptable (for different clothes, spaces, and moods)
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s to make movement easier to integrate into your 9 to 5 workday.
Here are five simple categories to help you create your own personalised Active Break Movement Menu. You don’t need something from every category, choose movement that you will enjoy:
Seated Movement & Micro-Mobility - Even if you’re stuck in your chair, your body doesn’t have to be. Small stretches and joint movements can release tension, reset your posture, and quietly wake up your system, no need to leave your seat.
Standing Stationary Movement - No space? No problem. A single spot beside your desk is enough for strength, stretch, or balance work. Just standing up changes your physiology, and a few simple moves can shift how your whole body feels.
Use the Space You’ve Got - You don’t need a gym. You just need a route. Whether it’s pacing the hallway, walking loops in your kitchen, or climbing the stairs, movement in your environment, however small, adds up fast.
Energy Boosters & Mood Shifters - These are the five-minute resets that help you shake off the slump, calm a wired brain, or re-centre when stress hits. Because sometimes the best reason to move isn’t physical, it’s psychological.
Stacked & Opportunistic Movement - You don’t need extra hours, you need better timing. These are the micro-movements you can layer onto existing tasks: calf raises while brushing your teeth, stretching while the kettle boils, walking during a call. Movement, built right into your day.
Here’s how to build your own Movement Menu.
Step 1: Start with a Brainstorm
What physical activity could you do in 5 minutes or less? Use these questions to brainstorm a personalised menu of movement options you can use during active breaks.
Seated Movement & Micro-Mobility
1. List all the neck, shoulders, arms, hands, back, leg, ankle stretches you could do sat in your chair.
2. Did you include circular, side to side, front to back stretches?
3. Did you include any isometric exercises (e.g. muscle contractions without movement)?
4. Did you include any breathing or meditative exercises that help calm or reset your mind?
Standing Stationary Movements
1. List all the movements you could do beside your desk.
2. Did you include movements that stretches, body weight exercises, resistance band exercises, balance exercises?
3. Did you include movements that’s increase your flexibility, challenge your aerobic stamina, involve carrying weight, require balance or core control?
Use The Space You’ve Got
1. List all the physical activities you could realistically do in the space available to you, whether at home, in a home office, or at work.
2. Did you include walking options (even short laps or loops)?
3. Did you include anything that gets you away from your desk, even briefly?
4. Have you listed any activities you could combine with other tasks (e.g. walking while on calls, stretching while waiting for the kettle)?
Energy Boosters & Mood Changers
1. What movement or physical activity always makes your feel more energised?
2. What movement instantly wakes up your body?
3. What movement helps you relax, calm down, breathe more deeply, or feel grounded?
4. What movement helps you shake off stress, restlessness or frustration?
Stacked & Opportunistic Movement
1. List all the tasks you do during your workday where you could add movement.
2. List all the movement options you could combine with those tasks.
3. Did you include movement during your commute, adjacent to meetings, on phone calls, or while speaking with colleagues?
4. Did you include movement options that fit into household or workplace routines (e.g. stretching while tidying, calf raises while waiting, squats between chores)?
Step 2: Create Your Shortlist
Now that you’ve brainstormed a wide range of ideas, it’s time to collate them all in a SHORTLIST.
Look over your list and highlight the options that feel realistic, doable, and appealing, the ones you’d actually be willing to try on a regular Tuesday afternoon, not just when motivation is high.
Ask yourself:
Which actions feel easiest to do right now, without any prep, planning, or wardrobe changes?
Which movements would you actually enjoy (or at least not dread)?
Can you group them by energy level?
Low (breathing, posture resets)
Moderate (shoulder rolls, wall push-ups)
High (stairs, walking laps, dance breaks)Can you match one or two movements to specific workday states?
Foggy brain
Sluggish energy
Stress build-up
Afternoon fatigue
The goal here is to create a practical, no-excuse starter menu of movement that fits your real life. They should feel easy to remember, quick to complete, and satisfying enough that you’d want to repeat them.
Don’t overthink it. You’re not trying to create the perfect list, this is your first shortlist, next we need to test and experiment the strategies you’ve selected.
Step 3: Test & Experiment
For one week, set an alarm or reminder every hour. When it goes off, choose one activity from your Movement Menu and do it for five minutes.
After each break, make a quick note:
What movement did you do?
How did you feel before and after?
Did you enjoy it? Would you do it again?
You can keep your notes in a notebook, a phone app, or a printable tracker (coming soon for Subscribers).
At the end of the week, review:
Which movements felt natural and easy to do?
Which ones didn’t quite fit the moment or your energy level?
Were there any you avoided, and why?
Did anything surprise you? (Like doing a quick stretch even when you didn’t feel like it, and realising it helped.)
This is your personal feedback loop, and it’s key to building a habit that sticks.
Use what you learn to refine your menu:
Keep the ones that felt good or helped you reset.
Remove anything that didn’t work for your space, time, or mood.
Add new ideas that popped into your head during the week.
Your Movement Menu isn’t a static list, it’s a flexible, living tool. The goal isn’t to follow it perfectly, but to keep movement easy, doable, and part of your day, even when it’s busy.
Step 4: Refine & Make It Visible
Now that you’ve tested your ideas, it’s time to streamline your menu into a go-to shortlist.
Pick your top five to seven movement options, the ones that felt easiest, most effective, or most energising and put it somewhere you will see it every day.
If your menu’s buried in a notebook or forgotten folder, you won’t use it. Visibility is everything.
Here’s how to keep it front and centre:
Print it and pin it where you work, on the wall, by your monitor.
Stick it on your laptop with Post-it Notes.
Save it as a phone lock screen or wallpaper.
Use a digital sticky note app or calendar reminder.
Set a timer every 60 minutes to remind you to take a break.
Your Movement Menu isn’t a static list, it’s a living tool. Keep it visible, tweak it regularly, and treat it like a resource you actually use, not a poster to admire.
Movement & Wellbeing Isn’t An Optional Extra
The average workday won’t hand you more time, more space, or more motivation. That’s why a Movement Menu matters. It removes friction, builds confidence, and gives your brain fewer excuses to stay stuck in the chair.
You don’t need to overhaul your routine or squeeze in a full workout. You just need a few five-minute moves that meet you where you are, and a simple system to make them visible, doable, and repeatable.
Start small. Stay consistent. And remember: every time you choose movement, you’re not just ticking a wellbeing box, you’re rewiring how you work.