05/11/2025
I recently set a goal to get visible abs and in order to do that, I needed to average at least 10,000 steps a day which was a challenge! In general, I enjoy walking. But ideally when there’s nice scenery and at my own pace. Hitting 10,000 steps a day, as a busy Dad with lots of responsibilities, was at times an obstacle and often meant doing monotonous laps of my neighborhood or spending time walking on the treadmill at home when the kids were with me.
So to change my mindset around those some what monotonous walks I employed a process called Habit Stacking. It’s where you take something you don’t enjoy doing and pair it with something you do. This triggers your brain to associate that not so exciting task differently.
I really enjoy listening to audio books and podcasts so I made a rule that I can only listen to them when I’m walking. This meant no more listening to The Diary Of a CEO on long car rides and Steven only got to hang out with me when I’m walking and the same rule went for each new chapter of Dapper Dan’s autobiography which was really interesting by the way.
By limiting the time where I could partake in something I enjoyed, it made me look forward to getting those steps in. When the books or podcasts were at crucial points and I didn’t want to stop listening, it made me want to keep walking despite how tired I was. I’ve also heard of people doing the same thing with their favorite TV series or Youtube channel. They set rules where they can only watch them while on the treadmill at the gym.
So if you’re trying to hit your 10,000 steps a day and struggling with the monotony of it all, give Habit Stacking a try and thank me later.
