One of my goals in 2021 was to walk 2000 miles. Why did I do this? What did I get out of this? Was I successful? Was it worth it? Stay tuned!
Why set this goal?
It’s good to have goals! I wanted to challenge myself.
How did I decide on 2000 miles?
It seemed like a nice round number. I did some number crunching and determined that 12,000 steps per day would equate to roughly 5.5 miles per day. Multiply that by 365 and you get a little more than 2000! I had set previous, shorter goals to walk 8000 or 10000 steps a day for a week so why bump those numbers up and do it every day for a year!
How did I go about doing this?
Well, I walked. I made a habit out of it. I ended up breaking it down like this: 1 half hour long walk at lunch, and 1 hour long walk in the evening. Part of this came from a discussion with a friend – I had just recently started working from home and I was curious how he broke up his day and prevented himself from going stir-crazy. He talked about how he would go on runs to break up the day and found it really helpful.
Now, I enjoy running, but not that much. I’d rather take a more casual, yet fast-paced walk. I could listen to podcasts and audiobooks, catch up with friends on the phone, or just unplug and enjoy being outside. It was great, and the timing worked out with my schedule. After doing these two walks, even if I barely walked the rest of the day, I was within 1000-2000 steps of my daily goal.
To track it, I used my Fitbit and a Google sheet. At the end of each week, I’d check Fitbit to see how many miles I walked and enter it into the Google sheet so I could see if I was on pace and forecast out the rest of the year.
Was I successful?
HELL YEAH I WAS!
That dip near in November? COVID.
Was it worth it?
Overall, I’d say yes. I definitely felt better after walks. It got the blood pumping, I got the fresh air, and it was a great break from work. Walking outside is a great reset. I find it relaxing, like a way to give your mind a break. On top of all of that, it keeps you in shape! Last year I was definitely in the best shape I’ve been in since college. On hikes and backpacking trips I never felt tired out – I always felt like I had more in the tank.
Closing Thoughts
The downside of all this walking is how much time it takes up. Unless you have a job that requires being on your feet, you’ll need to make a point of doing it. Working from home, especially in an apartment, can really make things difficult since you don’t have a big office building or even a house to walk around in. Don’t have a significant other or family to help out with dinner? It’s gonna be tough to fit this in. How could you be expected to work a full day, make and eat dinner, take care of chores, enjoy some leisure time, get enough sleep, and walk 5 miles a day on top of all of that? Hell I lived with someone during this whole period and it was difficult enough at times. The solution? In an ideal world, get a job where you can walk during breaks, or walk during work.
Looking at it more broadly, this whole goal showed me just how doable things are if you make habits out of them. The tough work comes in the first few weeks. Once you get those habits set, things become a lot easier. Not exactly a ground breaking discovery, but the act of seeing this process through helped to lay a groundwork to build upon. I’m already doing similar things to work towards this years’ goals.
2022
I’m not going to be upping my goal for this year, or even keeping my goal of 2000 miles. However I have noticed that with the habits I’ve built I still enjoy going on walks most days, for all the reasons I stated earlier. It’s less of an obligation now so it’s more enjoyable. If I don’t want to walk, I can use that time for other things. Instead, I’ll be working towards some other goals this year.
Bill Solecki 