OUR everyday lives need more adventure, the author and speaker Alastair Humphreys will tell businesses today.

The opening speaker at the free BCP Business Festival has undertaken some big adventures, such as cycling round the world, walking across India and rowing the Atlantic.

But it was his idea of “microadventures” that earned him the title of National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and will form part of his talk at Pavilion Dance South West in Bournemouth.

“It’s partly about big adventures like crossing oceans and cycling across continents which hopefully is giving vicarious, escapist adventure,” he told the Daily Echo.

But he added: “I wanted it to be a bit more useful than that and try and cross over into all of us living real lives.

“I tried to take the things I’d learned on big adventures and apply them to a smaller level, everyday adventures which hopefully will be more compatible with our basic working lives and routines.”

Microadventures are intended to be close to home, cheap, simple and short. They could include climbing a hill, a river or sleeping under the stars.

“What started to interest me about the microadventues was that the lessons I was learning from them were helpful for me in my real working life as a writer and film maker – not being too overwhelmed by big problems, big insurmountable things, and starting to find a smaller way to get started on stuff,” he said.

“What I try to show is that by taking steps do to these little adventures in time way from work, you start to get into a more positive mindset and try something similar in some of your working life as well.”

His own microadventures during the Covid crisis have involved exploring the pockets of nature in a single walking map covering his local area, concentrating on an area 1km by 1km.

“Exploring the local area has become a really rewarding thing for me,” he said.

Everyone can challenge themselves, whatever their current level of fitness or their degree of comfort in the outdoors. “If it feels like an adventure to you then it’s an adventure,” he said.

Tonight’s talk is one of 12 free events making up the BCP Business Festival, organised by the accountancy practice Inspire and its entrepreneurial community Evolve, and funded by a grant from BCP Council.

“I make no pretence of being any form of business expert whatsoever,” Mr Humphreys said.

“I really push the message of the work-life balance I suppose and the working from home-life balance and then hopefully some of the stories of the big adventures inspire people to try and think a bit about what they’re trying to do and act to start on it,” he added.

He will visit Bournemouth ready to enjoy the local outdoors. “I’m staying the night after my talk and one of the things I love about going to do a talk is I pack my running gear and do a bit of running tourism,” he said.

“I’ll follow my nose and have a look around – and if I can find a bit of water to jump in, that’s brilliant start to the day.”