about taking time to do something positive
for yourself, and how good begets good, or
even great. For me, deciding to take control
of my health and fitness caused me to set
other personal goals, helped me focus on the
important stuff (like family), and ultimately
led to a change in career direction.
So, in a nutshell, after days and weeks
of walking, and thinking, and planning,
and weighing up, and playing devil’s
advocate, I decided (and hoped and prayed)
that leaving employed work and becoming
my own boss would be a step in the right
direction (pun absolutely intended). A
month later, I quit my job and embarked on
my entrepreneur’s journey.
Because I have been an accomplished
Executive Assistant with a penchant
for committee support, I established
My Secret EA to provide dedicated and
targeted secretarial support to raise the
effectiveness of committee performance.
That was one year ago, almost to the
day. I’m pleased to say that I am still power
walking, and I am indeed fitter, lighter, less
stressed, and happier in my new career. I’m
still not a runner, nor a morning person,
but I have my trusty dogs and the beautiful
Queensland climate to help put me in a
good place every morning.
Anne’s power walking tips
Just as an epilogue, I thought I would share
with you the keys to my power walking
success, in case you think it might help you
as it has helped me.
1. GET GOOD GEAR. Fortunately,
walking is not an expensive exercise.
A pair of good quality straight-last
running shoes, comfortable and
good looking active wear, and a hat
is all that you need. Don’t forget your
sunscreen and sunnies.
2. SET A PRELIMINARY GOAL. Set just
one goal, and you will find yourself
setting and achieving new goals
regularly. My initial goal was just
to start exercising again, lose a few
kilos and get the blood circulating.
Soon, I was setting distance goals
(5km) and then pace goals (to walk
each km in under 10 mins). I use the
phone app Map My Fitness to map
my route and tell me how fast I walk
each km. I have a step tracker to
tell me how many steps I’ve taken
towards my 12,000 step daily goal.
3. MUSIC. Great tunes and lyrics
can be awesome motivators. Once
I found a track that matched my
power walking pace perfectly, I
searched for other tracks with the
same beats per minute (bpm). I
compiled a Spotify playlist, and
plugged myself in every morning.
Not only did the songs keep me
beholden to my desired pace, they
kept my spirits up: I only choose
songs that lift my mood; nothing
depressing! Within a few months, I
had to create a new playlist, because
I was getting fitter, faster, and
outpacing my original set of beats.
Anne Pike is a Brisbane-based committee secretary providing independent meeting
support and committee governance, specialising in the healthcare and education
industries. She loves dogs, and is somewhat suspicious of morning people. Contact
Anne now at www.committeesupport.com.au.
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