Everyday Systems

Hi peeps!

This may sound silly but where do you walk if you don't have a specific place to go? Do you say "I'll walk x blocks" or "I'll walk for 20 minutes"? or loop the same route once or twice?

I recently moved to a small town and have a supermarket 15 mins walk in one direction, town center 15 mins walk in the other direction and not much else, other than a small dog park and duck pond (5 mins walk). The new town is lovely and peaceful but hasn't given me much walking inspiration LOL

Hello!

I set a minimum time: 30 minutes every N day. If I do less, I don't count it as walking.

The city I reside in is very dangerous (high crime and stuff), so I have to go to my job by car (it's very close, I could get there walking in 25 minutes).

However, I'm lucky to live just in front of the national football stadium. So every morning, before eating, I just walk into the stadium and walk around it and the surrounding forest areas. It's safe, it's relaxing and it's the only chance I have to get some sun and semi-nature contact. I love it. It's kind of the same routine every but I don't get bored; the time goes so fast while I get lost in my thoughts, Its fun, kind of a mystical activity; I vary the circuit sometimes and I'll be getting a mp3 player soon.

A few days ago I started upping my walking to 1 hour. During my job hours I walk a little in the building (up and down 4 levels of stairs), and sometimes I get out with my coworkers to lunch or make errands around the zone so I have some more walking on those days.

I hope it helps.

I have this problem I would ask for further study.

This might not help you, but something I enjoy doing is taking the local map for my town which has all the roads listed alphabetically, then, starting with 'A' (of course!) I challenge myself to walk there - to find that road. The town I live in is only about 3 miles all the way around - so these are not long, long walks.

I also don't have a car, so walking is part of my everyday life anyway. But since coming across the Everyday Systems, I have been deciding to go out for a walk - just anywhere.

Leaving the house and walking for 20 mins, then turning round and coming back, isn't a bad idea - I think getting over the idea that walking has to be 'going somewhere' is part of the challenge. It's just walking for the pleasure of walking I think........

Good luck!

Oh, I like the alphabetical street map idea! That would be a great way to get to know a new town (I recently moved).

At the moment I walk down to the beach, out to where the water is (the tide makes a massive difference) and then walk the distance between two wave breakers and back again along the water edge in my wellies so I don't get too wet! All in all it takes about 30 minutes.

It was lovely in September when I moved as it was still sunny (or rainy and windy, but light), then it was even lovelier during sunset, now it's just dark.

I also like having a destination but have learned several comfortable safe routes of different lengths that I use repeatedly just for the exercise. I take my music and use the comfort of routine to settle into some thinking time.

In general, I decide how far or long I want to walk, turn on a gps tracking app and go.

Before my smartphone days, if I'd decided to walk for half an hour, it was not unheard of for me to walk fifteen minutes in a particular direction, then turn around and come back.

I love listening to audiobooks when I walk alone.

This issue will be newly relevant to me since I'm starting a new job that is only 2 blocks from my house (vs. my current urban ranger optimal 15-20 minutes and 5 flights of stairs).

I'll post what I discover here!

Reinhard

I don't know how many people this helps, but I live in a major city so there's always an excuse to walk during the day. I took the bus down to run an errand today and later decided that since I have been doing so little walking I would walk home. It was about 15 blocks so I think it was a good start. The one thing I don't like right now is that it's winter in the US and the days are so short, it looks dark at 5 PM. However I made it home before then so I think it was a start.

I sometimes have a "destination" but most of the time I just simply go for a walk. I have a few routes mapped out--a few 1 mile, 1.5 mile, and 2 mile varieties. I have issues with plantar fasciitis that I'm trying to work through, but hope to eventually get up to some 3 mile walks. I enjoy the time to pray and think. Sometimes when I have extra time, I go out to our local forest preserve--now that's a lovely walk!

We have a seven story parking deck that takes me 30 minutes to walk from the lowest level to the top level then back down. I listen to podcasts so the time really flies!

Hi, just a very late check back on this thread, nice to see some replies and suggestions

I have a baby now so taking her out usually gives me a reason to get out walking. There is a nice new large supermarket (Sainsburys) nearby so I sometimes take my little one there in the stroller, it's about a 10 minute walk, then we walk around the store just looking around for 20 minutes or so (it's one of those stores that has everything, clothes, household stuff, electronics as well as groceries), I maybe buy one item we happen to need like milk or cereal then go home

Now that I've been walking for a while, colleagues who have seen me in the parking deck on more than one occasion asked if I'm actually walking the parking deck. When I tell them I am, they remark that it's something they should do too. I don't mind if the entire building does this, as long as I can listen to my podcasts in peace!

I generally walk to the same shopping center every other day. I either do my errands or just turn around for home. I used to have a professor who was big on asking everybody why they drove to the gym to use the treadmill when they could just pick any gym and walk to it for free instead. That's not always an option, but it's something to think about. Although, at times I do drive to the mall in the morning to walk around before it opens. (That isn't my favorite because I don't like to drive much.)

Another weirdo thing I like to do is pace or jog around my tiny, one-car garage while listening to music or a downloaded hypnosis session. I can get about 2K steps in 20 minutes that way. It's one of my favorite things to do because it's so low-fuss. I also have some walking exercise DVD's by Jessica Smith and a couple other instructors that I sometimes do.

So this is actually interesting.

Thanks to my new, ridiculously short commute (2 blocks), I'm down ~2000 steps a day on average, from 9k+ to 7K+.

(Note that I'm just using the iphone, which I don't always have on me, so this is an undercount, though on average a pretty consistent one).

Minus 2000 steps is actually not as bad as I thought.

I think I could make that up with some more ambitious lunch walks.

I guess these things do actually have some value!

A more positive discovery: my new office is on the 3rd floor vs. the 5th floor, but my average flights of stairs climbed count has stayed the same, I guess because I go up and down more frequently (and there is no elevator to ever tempt my virtue).

Reinhard

I'm lucky enough to have a big, energetic dog who makes me get out and walk every day. Our favorite is to walk along a nearby river in some wooded trails.

Reinhard, do you have any idea how lucky you are to get more than one job that is close enough to your work to walk? Or maybe that's typical for jobs in the East.

I work 13 miles from home and have a big rollabout I need on a lot of days, or I've considered parking farther from work, though I sometimes have to be places a 30-minute drive within the hour after I can leave work.

I have a few routes of varying length near my house. Sometimes I go by time, others by route.

If anyone is still listening...

Yup! Still here! Walking is such an established habit for me that I wouldn't even think of letting a day go by without! This is what gives me hope for the 3 No S habits...which I've never succeeded in following consistently even though I've tried so many times over the last several years. BUT...I will keep trying because I can't see a viable alternative.

That's a good way to think of it. And No S doesn't need special weather or more time!

I do know... it's ridiculous.

But the truth is, it's not all chance. It was definitely something I looked out for.

I don't think I've even interviewed anywhere in the last decade+ that wouldn't have had a walkable commute.

It's luck I guess that I live in a city that is so walkable. But that's been a very conscious choice too (though an expensive one! I sometimes wonder if the financial strain of our big mortgage balances out some/all of Urban rangers benefits...)

Reinhard

Hope you bought at a good time to for a rise in equity to offset a high mortgage.

Out of curiosity, how far have your commutes been for the last few jobs? It's making me curious what kind of jobs would be available in the same distance vicinity I live in. (But not what I do now. The adjacent 'hoods are a little beyond my people skills.)

I sometimes just walk around the house for 30 minutes, especially on bad weather days, listening to some good 50's tunes like Fats Domino's "I'm Walking", this keeps me going. Also, if there is a mall nearby, you can always mall walk, especially if the mall has a second story, as you can walk up and down stairs. And really, you can always walk in place. Just keep moving!

SPAM alert. I'll report it.

medimus wrote:Oh, I like the alphabetical street map idea! That would be a great way to get to know a new town (I recently moved).

At the moment I walk down to the beach, out to where the water is (the tide makes a massive difference) and then walk the distance between two wave breakers and back again along the water edge in my wellies so I don't get too wet! All in all it takes about 30 minutes. https://phenq-reviews.com/uk/

It was lovely in September when I moved as it was still sunny (or rainy and windy, but light), then it was even lovelier during sunset, now it's just dark.

It can easily be clear those past without making the still sunny situation