One Step at a Time

Around a year ago, I started using a Fitbit watch. After having spent months giving amused looks to other friends and colleagues who would constantly track their steps, I finally gave in. I had been sinking deeper and deeper into a sedentary lifestyle, so when someone happened to give a Fitbit to me, I thought, ‘Why not?’

So it was that I joined that group of strange people that constantly looked at their watches to track, not time, but steps, and often began conversations with fellow Fitbit companions that started with, “How many are you at?” (Once, on a holiday, my uncle and I, the only two Fitbit-ers in the group, would wind up walking at night before re-entering the house, to ensure we got our 10,000 steps).

Needless to say, it worked. I began forcing myself to not skip the daily walks that had lately become so easy to let go of. I’d force myself to take that extra round if it meant I could hit my daily goal. I could proudly say that at least on most of the days for over a six-month period, I managed to reach the daily goal of 10,000 steps.

But there was a caveat. While I was putting all my focus on this one goal of walking 10,000 steps a day, there was another that I was conveniently ignoring. It was the goal of ‘walking 250 steps every hour’ (which, in my case, I had set as 6am to 8pm). In fairness, though it might sound like a lot, it actually isn’t. It basically means ensuring that you walk for about 3-4 minutes every hour, which also aligns with the productivity and health advice given to most of us who spend our days sitting in front of a computer. 

But like I said, I didn’t really pay much attention to this.

As my morning walks became morning runs, and the distance increased, I realized I was covering 60-70% of my daily steps within the first hour that I woke up. Anything that remained, could usually be covered with an evening walk. This meant that in order to hit the 10,000 step goal, I didn’t really need to do anything else apart from the morning and evening workouts. 

Why was this a problem? Because while I was definitely building some good fitness habits of morning and evening workouts, I was spending the rest of my day doing the complete opposite. As my mom often pointed out, I’d spend the rest of the day sitting on my butt like a lazy lump. ‘Get up and move!’ was her constant advice, to which I would solemnly nod and then conveniently ignore. 

After all, I was hitting my daily step goal. That ought to be enough.

So imagine my shock when I heard a fitness trainer mention in passing that we should all try to get 10,000 steps daily - excluding the time spent in workouts. Say what?! Excluding that time?! Those workouts were the things entirely responsible for my 10,000 steps! What was I supposed to do, just put my life on hold and keep walking all day? 

I didn’t imagine that a few months later I’d be looking back at the old me and saying, ‘Hell yea!’

It so happened, that a few months back, I had some health issues that resulted in me not being able to exercise at all. After a few weeks of mostly bed rest, my condition slowly improved. However, running and workouts were still out of the question. So the only option I had was walking. But even that was limited. I couldn’t go and do 30-40 minute walks like I used to. A few minutes of slow walking was all I could manage at a stretch.

So that’s what I did. 

I started to walk. For one minute, two minutes, five minutes. Then stop, and some time later, repeat. Every chance I got, I tried to get a few steps in. In the morning, during the day, late in the evening, during work meetings (thanks to wireless earphones). When my parents sat down for their evening tea, I’d walk up and down the hall as we chatted. I knew I couldn’t do the long walks, so I made it a point to do as many short walks as I could. I figured this was the only way I could try to build up my stamina and stay a little active until I was able to return to my former ‘active self’.

And that’s when I remembered this little feature in the Fitbit app that I had earlier conveniently ignored - the goal of walking 250 steps every hour. I decided to try that out, and make that my focus. Every day, I'd check how many hours I had managed to stay active. Soon, I consciously began to try and walk every hour. Before long, my parents, who were initially thrown off, got used to seeing me randomly get up and begin to walk. I knew I couldn’t hit the daily 10,000 step goal, but I could definitely aim to hit the daily 14 active hours goal! And before I knew it, I did! Several times! And the high from that was just as exciting as the 10,000 step goal used to be.

But in a way, it was even better. You see, while trying to hit this goal, I was inadvertently also starting to hit the daily 10,000 steps goal: without walking for more than 10 minutes at a time, and without a step of running. Because now that I was starting to ensure I’d walk every hour, I wasn’t stopping at the 250 steps. I’d just continue to walk, in those short bursts, however much I could and felt like in that moment. And I wasn’t just walking in the morning or evening - it was throughout the day! I’d keep an eye out for the time, and ensure I paused my work every hour (as much as possible) to do a quick 5-10 minute walk. 

Why was I able to do this? 

I recently read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, in which he mentions a few ways that help develop habits, and I can see a few of them playing out here.

First, building this habit of regularly walking throughout the day was much easier than the previous habits. Walking was...easy. At least, walking for 10 minutes was. It was easier than walking for 30 minutes. It was definitely easier than running. And I could do it at any time - I didn’t need to change my clothes or put on sneakers and go down. I could begin as and where I was, right here at home. 

Second, more than a goal, this was a habit about process. Clear mentions that building good habits is not so much about the goals you set, but rather, the systems that you develop. When I was focusing on the 10,000 step goal, I’d ensure I walked enough to hit that goal, but I didn’t necessarily try to go beyond it. The moment I reached the goal, I subconsciously gave myself permission to laze away for the rest of the day. But with this new goal of walking 250 steps a day, I had to keep myself moving. It became a system more than a goal. Once I began to walk regularly, that just became part of the habit. Sure, some days I met that goal, and some days I didn’t, but it’s put in place a system in my life that ensures I keep myself moving regardless.

And finally, Clear mentions that developing a habit is more about developing an identity - about seeing yourself as a certain kind of person. I don’t know if ‘walker’ is actually an identity, but I find myself associating with it more and more, and constantly fulfilling and building the urge to be a more active person. It feels less about the habit, and more about the kind of person I want to be.

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Over the last few weeks, my stamina has built up. I’m able to do my morning walk (though running is still not an option). My pace is also increasing, and so are my steps. And I’m actually going way past my daily step goal almost every day, far more than when I did my fixed morning and evening workouts. In fact, yesterday, I managed to hit 20,000 steps, an absolute first! 

And the best part? 

That I know this isn’t the best. Hopefully, at some point down the line, I’ll be able to restart running and exercising. And I can’t wait to see the number of steps I can manage then! Hopefully, the next time around, the 7000 steps that I clock in by 7am will not signal the end of my 'active time', but rather the beginning of it.