3 Daily Walks for self-care and productivity

Going for a daily walk in the morning is a game changing life hack.

My life is a web of many routines. I take self-care, calendaring, and productivity very seriously.

Since the start of the pandemic, I’ve added a new routine - almost daily, weather permitting, I go on a 25 mins walk.

I go on the same exact walk around my neighborhood which is an easy loop with a few hills. I track the walk as one of my daily exercises , I do more vigorous exercise after. These Daily Walks also help keep the weight off.

Getting in the exercise is great, but that’s not the only reason I do the walks.

The first big benefit is breathing fresh air, and getting some sun to get my Vitamin D. Fresh air in the morning is awesome and I feel great after the walk. The Vitamin D is important. Like many modern desk workers I am deficient. So getting Vitamin D from the walks is a great thing, and, in addition I also take a daily supplement.

Most importantly, I go on the walks without AirPods. I don’t listen to music or audio books. I have my phone with me, but I typically am not a the call, and not checking it. I use the time on the walk to prepare for the day and to think.

The system is pretty simple. I mentally scan my day and think about anything important that I want to accomplish. Typically I think about my big todos, and important meetings that day .

Some days I think about strategic projects and long term decisions I need to make. On other days I think about an investment deal - what can it become, or what are my biggest hesitation.

I find walking outside, thinking about my day, and the decisions I need to make very helpful. Almost always I get to clarity on these walks that I wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise.

I also have another life hack related to walking.

If I know that I need to do a long phone call, I would plan to do it while walking outside or on my treadmill, if it is too cold. Most of these calls happen on weekends, when I do longer catch ups with the founders I back, or in the evenings when I need to chat with the West Coast investors.

Another life hack related to walking is that my wife and I try to go on exact same walk I do in the morning, but after dinner. We try to do it every single day, again, weather permitting.

We started doing this routine since the beginning of the pandemic, and it has been an amazing way to sync up on our days, kids, family, politics, tv, investments and anything else.

The other benefit of a an evening, after dinner walk, is that it helps you better digest dinner, keep the weight off, and get better sleep. I got so used to walking after dinner that if it is too cold to go outside, I just hop on my treadmill and walk for 20 minutes.

Like my morning walk, I don’t wear AirPods. I try to relax and mentally scan the day, but mostly I led my mind wonder, since I don’t want to create stress in the evening.

It is pretty amazing how you can take something as simple as walking, and turn it into a ton of benefit and productivity every single day.