Daily walking
A long walk most days, often without headphones
30 minutes or more, deliberately, used variously for zone 2 volume, for thinking through a hard problem, or for getting light and movement after meals. Several people here specifically walk without input, as a form of thinking time. It is the lowest-barrier habit in the directory and the easiest to keep for decades.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Ali AbdaalDoes it
Doctor turned YouTuber · author of Feel-Good Productivity
From his flat to the studio on foot every day as an intentional default, plus evening walks with friends.
Source: aliabdaal.com: 28 best pieces of life advice - Cal NewportDoes it
Computer science professor · author of Deep Work
Dedicated thinking time comes from regular walks, often spent working through a specific problem away from any screen.
Source: Deep Questions podcast - Chris BumsteadDoes it
Bodybuilder · Six-time Classic Physique Mr. Olympia
Walking instead of taking an Uber whenever possible is one of the six habits he says keep him on track on the road. It sits at the end of a list that is otherwise about food and an early workout, and he offers it without any step target attached.
Source: The Standard newsletter: How to Master Your Mindset - Chris WilliamsonDoes it
Host · Modern Wisdom
Walks fifteen minutes every morning, for the daylight and for thinking time.
Source: chriswillx.com: 3 Minute Monday, 2024 Candidates & Butterflies - Daniel AmenDoes it
Psychiatrist · Change Your Brain, Change Your Life
Running a chain of clinics means a day full of conference calls. CNBC reported that he makes a point of never sitting down for one, and walks and talks instead.
Source: CNBC Make It: Ping pong, walks and mind exercises: Brain-boosting habits of a renowned brain doctor during self-quarantine - Mel RobbinsDoes it
Author and podcaster · The Let Them Theory
She and her husband Chris walk almost every morning, and she puts it right after getting up, before the phone, as the way to get daylight and be present for a few minutes. Even a lap of the block counts, in her telling.
Source: The Mel Robbins Podcast: 3 Morning Habits to Feel Incredible - Oprah WinfreyDoes it
Talk show host and producer · The Oprah Winfrey Show
Walking was the piece she repeated three times over when she summed up her exercise for O in 2017, sitting alongside stretching and yoga. Sky, trees and movement add up to happiness for her body, she wrote, and every day goes better with a hike in it.
Source: Oprah.com: How Oprah Lives Healthier Than Ever Before - Valter LongoDoes it
Biogerontologist · The Longevity Diet
An hour a day, kept up for decades to copy what the centenarians he interviewed described. Milan makes it easy because he walks to work; Los Angeles does not, so he walks to coffee shops and restaurants instead.
Source: TODAY: Diet and exercise habits of a longevity expert who wants to live to 120 - Arnold SchwarzeneggerRecommends
Bodybuilding champion, actor, former governor · Arnold's Pump Club
Rest days are not for adding lifting, he tells app members. Walk, ruck or do yoga instead, and a brisk walk outside is one of the movement options he lists for the 20-minute floor.
Source: Arnold's Pump Club newsletter: The 20-Minute Insurance Policy - James ClearRecommends
Author · Atomic Habits
Lists a daily walk among the habits he says have the highest rate of return in life.
Source: jamesclear.com: 2018 annual review - Layne NortonRecommends
Nutrition scientist and powerlifter · Biolayne
He trains two to three hours a day. Nobody needs that, he tells people: a vigorous 30-minute walk each day already puts them well ahead, though he would still add resistance training to it.
Source: FoundMyFitness: Dr. Layne Norton on Building Muscle - Rhonda PatrickRecommends
Biomedical scientist · FoundMyFitness
Brisk walking for two to three minutes every thirty to forty-five minutes, especially near meals, is her simple way to blunt the glucose response.
Source: FoundMyFitness: exercise snacks topic page
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under energy, stress or fitness.
- Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Swimming
Lap swimming as low-impact cardio and a reset for the head
Backed by 4 of 44 stacks: 4 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Running
Regular running, from a short daily loop up to ultramarathon distance
Backed by 3 of 44 stacks: 2 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Daily step target
Hold a fixed daily step count so everyday movement does not quietly shrink on a diet
Backed by 3 of 44 stacks: 2 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
High five in the mirror
A silent high five to your own reflection after brushing your teeth
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Menstrual cycle tracking
Logging cycle days and symptoms, then reading training and fueling against them
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 0 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - HabitFREE, no cost
Morning puttering
A slow, unscheduled first hour or two: coffee, the paper, breakfast, no meetings
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.