Wake them, help them get dressed, put out brekkie, skim-read the paper, clean up, brush teeth, rush out the door, into the car and off to childcare, then school, then arrive at work to take a deep breath.

As my wife and I shepherded our kids through this frantic daily routine, we knew this wasn't what anyone would call "quality time". But at least we had the weekends to slow down and make it up to them (and to us).

Then came an invitation to try something called Steptember. It's a fundraiser for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance that asks you to walk 10,000 steps every day for the month of September. It sounded easy enough, I said to myself.

If I just used the furthest printer or loo at work and made an effort to walk up to the reporters at the far end of the newsroom instead of emailing, I'd get there surely? Well, not quite.

That's good for 1000 or 2000 extra steps a day on the 3000 a typical office worker is estimated to take. To hit the 10k mark that's quoted as being the goal for a healthy life, I needed something else.

So, I started a small change to that frantic morning routine. After kissing my wife goodbye as she went to work, instead of doing door-to-door kid delivery with the car, I tried something different.

Rather than drive the full 15 minutes to the childcare centre to drop off the youngest at the door, we'd park 500 metres or so away from the centre and walk the rest of the way. After farewelling the little one, her older brother and I then started parking a 10-minute walk away from his school, right next to one of those beaut new wetlands. My son would get to start his day with a scooter ride to school, which he thought was amazing.

All in all, having got our routine stuff at home a bit better organised, I was at my desk just 10 minutes later than before. But I was feeling something different. Fresh air and exercise were as good for me as they are for everyone. But I'd probably underestimated how it would feel to build some relaxed time with my kids into a weekday that was previously functional, hurried and, too often, cranky.

Here was time to properly listen to the politics of the playground. To discuss superheroes or Shopkins. Or just to smile and watch a six-year-old scooting along in front of you, one of those scenes you know you'll feel a nostalgic longing for way too soon.

Steptember was fun, it was challenging to hit the goal every day and I felt like I was getting some much-needed exercise into those legs. But it has also had a lasting impact on my life.

Now both kids are at the same school, a short distance from home, and we still walk together almost every day in every season. That Monday-to-Friday family routine is still something of a whirl, but those thousands of steps I take in the mornings are some of the best of my week.

The Verdict: This is one of those worthy fundraisers that you can really take something from. It might kick you into an exercise habit that lasts and it's a great way to bond with workmates by teaming up as we're doing at The Canberra Times. All funds raised go to helping people living with cerebral palsy in Canberra.

Details: To register for Steptember, visit steptember.org.au and sign up as part of a team.