Let’s be honest, most of us spend more time sitting than we’d like to admit. Designers included. It’s easy to clock 8, 10, even 12 hours a day in front of screens, hunched over Figma, refining pixels. And while we might be working on a campaign for a boutique running brand, that alone isn’t going to turn us into the lean, agile creatives we aspire to be.

But here’s the thing, movement matters. And not just for our physical health. There’s growing evidence that exercise can genuinely improve the way we think, problem solve and create.

A Stanford study found that walking can boost creative output by an average of 60% compared to sitting. It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s hard to ignore the link between movement and mental clarity.

We’ve experienced this ourselves. The times we’ve stepped away from our desks, pulled on some well-worn trainers, and gone out into the fresh air and those are often the moments when ideas have clicked into place. It’s not that exercise gives you all the answers, but it does help you find a new perspective. And in our world, a shift in perspective can change everything.

Of course, this doesn’t have to mean running. If movement isn’t your thing, try swapping out the word running for something that feels more natural to you, like singing, dancing, walking the dog. The point is stepping away from the tools and giving your mind the space to breathe.

For us, getting outside, without notifications, and sometime without music, helps cut through the noise. Music plays a huge role in the work we do at Synth, but when running, sometimes silence brings the focus we need to unlock ideas. It’s a different kind of flow, and one that’s become essential for creative problem solving.

We’re not running 5Ks every lunch break, or scaling the studio walls as a warm-up, but we are building small habits that keep us thinking clearly and feeling energised.

Ultimately, great design requires fresh thinking. And if we want to help clients solve challenges they’ve been wrestling with for months, we need to be doing things a little differently ourselves.

So no, we’re not about to start a fitness Substack (yet). But we are becoming more aware of the link between moving our bodies and sharpening our creative minds.

And for us, that connection is worth making time for.