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How to Make Time to Walk More Each Day
Life has a way of filling your days with things that need doing 🙂 If being fit is on your list, and walking is your chosen or primary method, how can you find the time to walk every day?
It really isn’t as hard as you might think. For most people, it only requires committing a little time here and there each day. Many people think –and you may be one of them- that exercise routines must be completed in one chunk of time. That is not true. While we should each get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, it can be done in small chunks of time throughout the day. And you will still reap the same benefits.
There’s this plan that I first saw in a book, and which now has multiple books based on it –the 10,000 Steps plan. Have you heard of it? The idea is that getting 10,000 steps of walking each day results in many health benefits and general fitness.
But keeping track of small chunks of time, or steps walked each day can be difficult, and most people will soon give up trying–which, in turn, results in the likelihood that the desired amount of walking is not getting done.
Technology to the rescue 🙂
Wear a pedometer. Not surprisingly, there are a zillion choices 🙂 My iphone will also track steps–however, I often leave it lying around, so it’s not a great choice for me.
Before you dismiss 10,000 steps as a goal that is impossible, try it. You are most likely already completing more steps than you might realize. By creatively adding in some more steps to your day, you can certainly hit the 10K mark. Below are some ideas to get more steps in your day.
Hidden Walking Opportunities
There are many ways you can get in some extra steps at work or at home:
- Instead of finding a parking spot close to your workplace or when shopping, park at the far end of the lot and walk. It only takes a few extra minutes each way and the steps add to your daily goal.
- If you take public transportation, get off a stop or two before the closest stop to your work or destination and walk the rest of the way.
- Whenever there is a choice, take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator –or at least for a few floors (walking up 90 stories would be exhausting 😉 ).
- As a healthy alternative to emailing a coworker in your same building, get out of your chair and walk over to their desk. Same thing applies at home –walk to where your family member is to deliver a message 🙂
- Instead of eating a big lunch in the cafeteria, bring a healthy lunch to work. Strap on your walking shoes and go outside for a walk. Just allow yourself enough time to get back, cool down and eat. This same approach might be applied on days off or when at home if you live near a park or have someplace nearby that would work.
- When on the phone, pace around as you speak.
- When bringing in groceries, intentionally increase the trips needed by taking fewer bags each time.
By incorporating a few of these tips into your days (and coming up with your own ideas), you will most likely find that the goal of 10K steps per day is doable, and you will have added very little exercise-specific time to your day.
As a final note, you will likely come up a little short some days. Keeping track of the number of steps walked each day and the activities of the day will help you figure out what you can change so you can consistently reach your daily goal. You might need to take a short walk specifically to get the steps in if your days don’t present enough opportunities. There are journals for this purpose, or just a regular notebook will do 🙂
So–get moving!
