Feeling blah? Head outside. Mother Nature may be the ultimate mood booster.

Science has long backed the health benefits of the great outdoors.

In this re-release, we're looking at how spending time outdoors impacts your physical and emotional health. Going outside can fight depression and lower blood pressure.

Feel cranky after a long day indoors at school or work? A 10 minutes walk outside soaking in some sun can radically change how you feel and ultimately perform.

Can't think?

Go outside.

Feeling down?

Go outside.

Can't sleep?

Go outside.

You get the idea.

Can you fidget your way to fitness? You can if you're a NEAT person.

We're not talking about the organized type of neat. 

NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis.

It's the energy you burn when you're moving about the day and *not when you're in a purposeful workout at the gym.

It's things like walking to your car, folding the laundry, pacing on a phone call, taking the garbage cans out, and yes even fidgeting.

Those are the calories a lot of us aren't burning enough and they are crucial to weight management and longevity.

A Mayo Clinic study found people who sit at a job for six or more hours a day have a 35-40% increased risk of shorter lifespan.

You can offset that by moving more.

The key is being active in small spurts all day longer and not just an hour in a workout class.

Move over, hustle culture. An Ivy League school says we're not lazy enough.

Yale University researchers studied stressed-out students. They discovered that a scheduled day of doing nothing had powerful health benefits. Read more about the study here.

Students reported improvements in mood, sleep, and anxiety almost immediately.

Love being productive? That's great.

But scheduling some downtime might make you happier, healthier and ultimately more motivated to get things done.

Say this, not that. Knowing what to say in the heat of the moment is key to defusing workplace drama.

Karin Hurt and David Dye should know. They wrote the book on it.

Karin and David are leadership experts and the founders of Let's Grow Leaders. They surveyed 5,000 people in 45 countries to gauge the most common forms of workplace conflict.

The results aren't good. Workplace conflict is more complicated than ever before, thanks to an uncertain economy, remote work and a changing workforce.

"And so that is all of that really combines to make complex conflict cocktails," says David.

Karin Hurt and David Dye are the authors of "Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict."

It offers 300 phrases to diffuse everything from micromanagers to bullies to passive-aggressive types.

"Well, the first thing you do is don't call them passive-aggressive," says Karin. "One of the most important things that you can do there is to start with a connection, you know. So start, you know, making the human connection. 'You know, hey? I know we both want the same thing here.' And then you give the thing."

It's like having a script for difficult people. The advice works for a workplace and your personal life, too.

David says, "sometimes people will say, well, you can't script a whole conversation, can you? And no, you can't, because we're human beings and we're messy. But if we can open the door with connection by introducing clarity and getting curious about the other person's perspective, then we can land on a firm commitment that opens the door to a meaningful conversation."

Say this, not that. Knowing what to say in the heat of the moment is key to defusing workplace drama.

Karin Hurt and David Dye should know. They wrote the book on it.

Karin and David are leadership experts and the founders of Let's Grow Leaders. They surveyed 5,000 people in 45 countries to gauge the most common forms of workplace conflict.

The results aren't good. Workplace conflict is more complicated than ever before, thanks to an uncertain economy, remote work and a changing workforce.

"And so that is all of that really combines to make complex conflict cocktails," says David.

Karin Hurt and David Dye are the authors of "Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict."

It offers 300 phrases to diffuse everything from micromanagers to bullies to passive-aggressive types.

"Well, the first thing you do is don't call them passive-aggressive," says Karin. "One of the most important things that you can do there is to start with a connection, you know. So start, you know, making the human connection. 'You know, hey? I know we both want the same thing here.' And then you give the thing."

It's like having a script for difficult people. The advice works for a workplace and your personal life, too.

David says, "sometimes people will say, well, you can't script a whole conversation, can you? And no, you can't, because we're human beings and we're messy. But if we can open the door with connection by introducing clarity and getting curious about the other person's perspective, then we can land on a firm commitment that opens the door to a meaningful conversation."

Have you ever kept up a streak? A mini streak is a great way to start a new habit.

A mini streak is a short period of time of intense focus on a behavior you hope to make a long-term habit. It's a bite sized commitment that can be easily attainable and perhaps inspire bigger, more meaningful change at a later date.

In this re-release of a "5 with Fitz," episode, we're looking at three ways to try out a habit mini streak.

Grab a timer and get ready to say goodbye to procrastination.

The Pomodoro Method is a data-backed way of getting stuff done.

The time management technique is named after Francesco Cirillo. He was an Italian student in the 1980s who struggled with procrastination.

Francisco had a tomato-shaped kitchen timer on his desk. Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato.

He set it for 25 minutes and committed to focusing on his work until the timer went off. Then he took a five-minute break.

Timing work and break intervals had a remarkable effect on his productivity and mood.

And the Pomodoro Technique was born.

It's easy to try and very effective with getting work, homework and even household chores done.

It's easy to try and very effective with getting work, homework and even household chores done.

CLICK HERE to listen on iTunes

All I need is three more hours in the day and life would be great.  I've told myself that a million times.  

But Laura Vanderkam says it's not the number of hours in a day that's the problem. It's how you use them.  

This episode is a re-release of one of my favorite author experts to follow on social media. Vanderkam is a time and productivity expert. 

Vanderkam is the New York Times best-selling author of eight books on time management and host of the daily productivity podcast Before Breakfast.

Her books include "What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast" and "168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think."

"We all have 24 hours in a day," she said. "And many of the things we think are happening in our lives are based mostly on impressions."

Vanderkam says the easiest way to unlock free time is to keep a time log of what you actually do in a day. Often, we think we're busier than we are and can change our relationship with the clock.  Vanderkam has tracked every minute of her day for years.  

"People track their time, and they tend to realize well, maybe I do have some free time. It's probably not as much as I want, but it's some. And then once you realize that you're like well, let's figure out ways to work with this," says Vanderkam.

Mentioned in the episode:

Want to see our documentary 'Always Remember Your Name?'

Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley's workout secret? ChatGPT.

"You can be like hey, give me a give me a six week routine for getting ready for skiing that Olympic champion Hannah Kearney would do. And it just like spits out stuff that they used to have whole departments for at the U.S. Ski Team," says Moseley.

Moseley is a two-time Olympic freestyle skier who won gold in moguls at the 1998 Nagano Games.

He transitioned easily into a TV career. Decades later, he's still active in his sport and mentors the current team of mogulists hoping to podium at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Decades after winning gold, Jonny approaches health and fitness in a totally different way than he did as a pro athlete.

"I do like high-intensity stuff. But now I have to prioritize a lot of stuff. Like the yoga comes first. Otherwise, I pay for it!" Moseley said.

From burned out to fired up. Maryam Sharifzadeh takes the woo out of corporate wellness.

Maryam is a corporate wellness consultant.

Companies hire her to create and implement wellness strategies to improve employee mental and physical health. Healthy employees tend to be happier employees. Happier employees tend to clock in and be productive.

"There's a lot of good research coming out that when we feel good we do better. Our work is better. We're more productive. The research is out there," says Maryam.

Maryam founded a company called Office Yoga 10 years ago. That program went global and was used in more than 475 companies around the world including Amazon, Oracle and Twitter.

The pandemic changed everything. Employers are turning to wellness programs to reinvigorate staffers and build engagement.

But, it goes both ways. Taking advantage of wellness programs can energize an employee to better manage and enjoy their personal life too.

Maryam's latest company is ZaaS. It stands for Zen-as-a-Service.

And she's sharing some simple work wellness hacks that can make a day at the office feel like a day at the spa. Kidding. But, you will feel a mood and energy boost with just a few minutes of conscious stretching or focusing.

85% of American companies offer some kind of a wellness program. If you're not taking part, you're missing out.

Maryam is an entrepreneur and endurance athlete. She's the first woman and only the second person to swim around San Francisco. And she even swam across the English Channel.

She's done big things by focusing on little things that matter. And you can too.