Blog
Meet the walkers: Team Bayes' Baes
Eilidh, Oli, David and Vanessa, also known as team Bayes' Baes from Research Data Scotland, share why they decided to take part in this year's spring Step Count Challenge, and the importance of celebrating every step.
What do you enjoy the most about being active outdoors?
Most of us live in cities, and it’s hard to disconnect from the busyness. We find that getting active outdoors has a huge mental health benefit for us and helps us to zone out for a while.
Why did you decide to take part in the Step Count Challenge?
The majority of us at RDS (Research Data Scotland) work from home most of the time and it’s easy to get to the end of the day having only taken a handful of steps. We decided to sign up for the Step Count Challenge as a way of encouraging ourselves to get moving, keep motivated, and remind ourselves that spending some time away from our desks is a really helpful way of refreshing our brains.
Tell us about your Step Count team. What kept your team motivated during the challenge?
We’re a competitive bunch! Regular leaderboard updates at our weekly team meetings helped to keep everyone motivated. We split RDS staff into five groups so it was easy to track which team was top of the rankings each week, but we also made sure to celebrate everyone’s steps regardless of their place on the leaderboard. We all lead different lives and have different abilities, so it’s important to us that we celebrate everyone’s success.
Tell us about your favourite place to connect with nature. What makes it special?
Our team come from a mix of places so we each have our own favourite outdoor spaces. Vanessa from our team is originally from South Africa and has some amazing stories about exploring coastal forests, and the meditative effect of disconnecting from society, turning off her phone, and focusing on her senses while absorbing the sounds and smells around her. Nature can provide a healing unlike anything else, and we’re lucky to have such an incredible variety of outdoor spaces in Scotland.
What's your top tip for keeping active during the working day?
Taking a walk before starting the work day helps us to separate work from our home lives, particularly when working from home. We find that bookmarking the work day with a walking ‘commute’ – even if we don’t need to – is a good way to keep ourselves active.
