10,000 steps (or more like 7,500...)

Sooooo....

For the next 7 weeks I'm enrolled in a program at work that challenges participants to work their way up to taking 10,000 steps a day, 5 or more days per week. Last week I began by tracking steps for three days to get a baseline of where I stood (quite literally), and then set my beginning goal from there. This week my goal is to take 7,500 steps a day.

All of this conscious stepping has already taught me a lot, both about my own habits and about how challenging it can be to meet this goal!

Here's what I know so far:

• I do not move much at all on Sundays
• Even when I feel tired at the end of the day (as though I've been active) I have not done much moving (a normal, in the office at the computer day consists of about 4,000 - 6,000 steps for most people)
  
• It's about 80 steps from my office to the most convenient bathroom.

As one who takes challenges seriously (I have this thing with attaining even the most absurd goals), I've already figured out a few tips and tricks to add more steps into my day. Hopefully you'll find them useful too!

• One mile equates to about 2,000 steps and at a brisk pace, a mile takes about 15-20 minutes to walk, so walking for just 20 minutes can get you 2,000 or more steps!
• This one is obvious, but few of us probably do it: Park far away from your office door. I have no choice as the commuter lot is 1.25 miles from my office; however, I still have to choose to walk the 20 minutes rather than take the bus.
• Take hourly "nonsmoking breaks." Get up, move around, give your eyes a break and your legs a stretch. If 20 minutes of walking = 2,000 steps, 5 minutes of walking could be about 500!
• If it's an option, take your restroom breaks one of the less convenient bathrooms to your office location.
• Use 20 minutes of your lunch break to go for a walk...get some fresh air and move your legs at the same time for another potential 2,000 steps!
• If you need more steps at the end of the day, go shopping! I admit this strategy has the potential to hurt the wallet a bit, but it never hurt to "just look," right?
• Walk your dog if you have one. I'm definitely guilty of not walking my dogs, which hurts them and me at the same time.

I'm sure I'll develop more strategies as I need to push my way up to 10,000 steps. But if you add all of those things up, plus your normal daily activity, you'll probably get close! In my short time of doing this, I have found that my mind very much appreciates the breaks I'm giving it. In fact, I think it's more active as a result of the time available for reflection and/or simply clearing it out. Happy trails...

What If?

As I was driving to work this morning listening to the latest reports on gas prices ($3.79!!!!), my mind wandered off on the following path:

I wonder if one day, I will be able to say to my child, "Before you were born, we had to put this stuff called gas into our cars to make them go...."

I can only hope!