Being the First gives a nice feeling of achievement, especially so when starting a new year.
It is also satisfying to get a good balance of delivering a netwalk for regular customers and to try new venues and locations.

The FIRST netwalk is at Moira which has become a popular  location with a great friendly group of regular customers. 
Date : Tuesday 29 January 2013
Time : 8.30 am 

It is encouraging to be able to collaborate with a large organisation like the National Trust to hold the FIRST netwalk on one of their property at Hardwick Hall 
Date : Monday 11 February 2013
Start Time : 8.30 a.m. 

Trying new locations produce an element of excitement and the FIRST for Leicester will be at Bradgate Park 
Date : Wednesday 27 February 
Time : 8.30 a.m.

All designed to provide an opportunity to network whilst walking in fantastic surroundings and at fine venues.

One of our aims is to introduce more people to Walking.We've created a programme of Netwalks for business people and now we are developing a series of leisure walks.At the weekend I did a recce of Dovedale in Derbyshire which is a superb example of a great place for anyone wanting to take up walking. Fantastic scenery and lots of interest, and all from good paths as can be seen in the picture in my photo albums on Facebook and Google+
The show the variety that can be experienced and that there are places out there if you want to take your first steps.

Do you need places like this to walk through or any help at all to start walking ? 

My aim when starting to lead netwalks was to get people to mingle whilst enjoying fresh air and green scenery. So far its turned out pretty well as most people are oblivious to the scenery and I don't get many requests to provide information like a Tour Guide ! Thankfully taking in the fresh air is a natural body function and luckily it seems as though the talking starts when the walking starts. However I have a challenge coming up to lead netwalks for two organisations in Nottingham for people who may not have done any networking before or who don't relish the thought of striking up conversations with strangers.
I've previously posted a blog giving a tip to have some questions prepared for networking and listing 10 generic questions. One of the netwalks is on behalf of TheBIgWheel.org  and is aimed at retailers so I thought it might be worth reiterating the tip to have some "stock in trade" questions ready to take with you.See this Blog post
I've also tried to put a retial slant on these questiosn by spoken with our good friend and retail consultant  Anna Brown of  Anna Brown Consulting  . These are what I've come up with

1. How long have you worked for your company ?
2. How did you get involved with that job ?
3. What do you love most about it ?
4. What separates your company from the competition ?
5.  "Many of our famous name retailers are struggling at the moment, or indeed leaving the High Streets/Shopping Centres altogether. How does this make you feel?" "How do you rally together to keep your morale, and that of your teams, high?"
6.  "What are the challenges facing you at the moment, and how can you work together more collaboratively to keep your own, and your business, performance strong in these harsh economic times?" "What is it you can do to delight your customers and retain their loyalty and spend?"

Top 5 Tips from Netwalking for YOU

5 Top Tips for Walking : Paul Hunt

Stress Proof Your Life: top tips : Frances Taylor

5 Top Tips for Weight Loss and Weight Gain Prevention : Christine Tilbury


5 Top Tips for Walking

These top tips for walking are broad points intended to help you achieve the most from  walking and to give you some ideas to reflect on. Walking is affected by many, often inter-related, factors and very dependant on your own preferences and experience.
 
1.  Wear good footwear that is well fitting and comfortable for your route ... will help you to avoid tired,sore feet and blisters and can assist your progress.

2.  Respect others and the environment you're walking in; you'll contribute to a better society.

3.  Be comfortable with the route, distance and with the clothes you wear. Resist being too ambitious with your walk but if you want to make a fashion statement thats OK.

4.  Have a reason to walk. If you have a purpose like seeing scenery, catching a moment of peace, absorbing local customs or getting fit, you will enjoy it more.

5.  Treat yourself. Whether its a picnic stop, pub visit or buying a souvenir to complete the feel good factor.

I hope you find these useful if you're just getting in to walking or flirting with the idea. Even if you're an experienced walker they might refresh your aims and goals. The secret is to be comfortable, have enjoyment and be individual. Paul hunt

Stress Proof Your Life: top tips.

1. Smile Smiling is the first line of defence against stress. It’s quick, easy, and free! When you smile your body releases feel-good hormones, while the stress hormone, cortisol, is reduced. Smiling helps you feel calm and in control. It lowers your blood pressure and makes you feel good about yourself.


2. Get enough rest and sleep Taking a rest isn’t only about not doing anything. A rest from work can mean putting the emphasis on what you do in your leisure time – hobbies, holidays, sport – to counterbalance work or everyday stress. In addition, we all need sleep for energy, good concentration, general health and body repair. Chronic sleep-deprivation can affect your performance at work, which can then be a key factor in raising stress levels.

3. Positive thinking Changing your thoughts is not as difficult as you think. Try to adopt an outlook on life that stops you seeing external events as determining your happiness. Instead, see your thoughts as the determiner of your happiness. It takes practice, but if you can do this, you will reduce the negative tension that leads to much of the stress in your life. For those of you that are ‘worriers’, try to change the worry word to concern, issue, problem, dilemma or challenge instead.

4. Achieve a good work-life balance Don’t let work dominate your life. No matter how ambitious you are, it’s important to make time for relaxation and fun. That might mean reducing the number of hours you work, or ensuring that you have several evenings a week where you don’t work. Learn to use time-management techniques to ensure you are more productive during normal working hours, rather than continually staying late at the office.


5. Actively monitor your health and wellbeing and take action to nip stress in the bud. Prevention is better that cure.  If you feel that despite all your efforts, stress is getting the better of you, consider getting specialist help.

Nutrition
5 Top Tips for Weight Loss and Weight Gain Prevention

1.  WATER:  Drink 2 litres of water a day.  Drink small sips frequently throughout the day. Big drinks will simply go straight through you and fill your bladder before the water has been utilised throughout the cells of your body.  Remember to always carry water with you.

2. PROTEIN: Protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer, so make sure the balance of your meals is more protein than carbohydrate.  Always include protein in your breakfast rather than just having cereal or toast.


3. CARBOHYDRATE:  Reduce the amount of carbohydrates you eat and ensure the ones you do eat are wholegrain.  Carbohydrates convert into energy (glucose) quickly.  If you do not use this energy up because you are sitting at a desk or driving for example, the glucose is stored as fat.  If you are hungry between meals eat low fat protein.


4. FRUIT: two to three pieces of fruit a day is recommended as part of your ‘five’ a day.  Remember though, that fructose is a natural sugar and if you do not use the energy it provides, the sugar will be stored as fat.

 
5. EXERCISE:  Walking is great exercise.  Try parking further away from the shops to get extra exercise.  An extra 10 minutes each way to and from the car 3 times a week adds up to an extra hour’s exercise a week.  Walk briskly to ensure you are a little out of breath.  Of course, include Netwalking in your networking life.