Boost your creativity by walking, plus 10 more reasons to take a daily walk
Photo by Amy RoseveareMany things that seem unrelated to your personal finances can have a significant impact on them. You can improve your finances by looking beyond the direct effects of money and considering all the indirect ones. This can be demonstrated by a daily stroll. It depends where I am, but it is usually between 2 and five miles. Although I do not have a set time for each morning, I always try to get out of bed before 10:00. I began this habit because I was aware that sitting in front of a computer for hours on end, writing articles, wasn’t good for my health. I thought it would be beneficial to get out every day. It was only later that I realized the many benefits it provided, including the financial benefit. My daily walk has many benefits for me, but I’m sure that some of them will apply to you. You can only make progress with your finances when you understand how your daily habits affect them. Here are some of the benefits I derive from taking a daily walk:
Creativity
My walks give me a chance to be more creative than I would be without them. Not just me. The Journal of Experimental Psychology published a study that found students who took an eight-minute walk were able significantly increase their creativity. Walking allows me to be more creative because I don’t feel the pressure of having to do something else. I can let my mind wander and find new ways to present articles. I would never have thought of them before. The walks give me uninterrupted time to ask the question, “What if I tried this?” which I probably wouldn’t ask myself nearly as often if I were always in front of the computer writing.
Relaxation
One of the greatest benefits of my daily walk is that it helps me relax. Walking a few minutes each day can help me relax, no matter how busy I am or what deadlines are on my calendar. When I am less stressed, I can do things more efficiently. I do not rush projects but instead focus on the tasks that I need to complete. Anyone who stresses about things knows that the stress can greatly reduce your effectiveness, and taking my walk is one weapon against the stress of my job.
Preparation
Getting out into the fresh air allows me to clear my mind and mentally prepare for all the things I need to do that day. This allows me to prioritize my tasks and spend time on the most important ones. This gives me the time to think about what preparations I need to make to complete my tasks that day. It allows me to be more productive, as I have already planned out all the steps. It also allows me to avoid making mistakes that would have cost money and time if I had not thought through the process. Walking helps me solve problems. Since I am walking alone, without distractions like I have when I work, I can process information better. Most often, I’ll return from a walk having found a solution to a difficult problem I was trying to solve but couldn’t figure out how to go about it at the computer. Again, being able to solve these issues in a timely manner makes me personally more efficient, and it makes things run much more smoothly than if they lingered unsolved for an extended period of time.
Focus
One of the reasons that I get so much more done on days that I walk is that I have a much better focus. It helps me to determine what I have to do on that particular day, so I don’t stop to think about what to do next. I can concentrate on what I have to do. After I finish my tasks, I can concentrate on the next item on my list. The day’s plan is settled and that focus helps me get so much more accomplished than I otherwise would.
Increased Productivity
Since my walks help me relax, prepare, solve problems and focus, I’m far more productive when I get back from them than I would be if I didn’t take them at all. The increased productivity is more than enough to compensate for my time spent walking, even if I am gone for two hours. When I go for a walk, I find that I spend less time procrastinating and less time in front of my computer trying to figure out what to do. In the end, this helps me get more done and earn more, while also being better organized in the work that I do.
Motivation
Walks are also a great way for me to get motivated for the day. I get motivated by thinking about all the things I have to do and how I’ll accomplish them. When I don’t go for a walk, I focus more on the amount of work I have to do. It can seem like an impossible mountain. I find that when I take a walk I have more time to prepare and am in a better state of mind to tackle my daily list. I know from experience that I simply have a lot more motivation to tackle the challenges of the day after I have taken a walk.
Inspiration
One of the most difficult parts of my job is coming up with new and interesting ways to present information about personal finance. It’s always a challenge to come up with new ideas for articles, but walking is where I usually get them. This is a time for me to let my mind wander, and I can focus on other things if that’s what I want. It often leads to inspiration for new ideas about personal finance. It was from a recent morning walk that this particular article developed.
Exercise
One of the problems that I’ve always had working in front of the computer was getting in some daily exercise, and a daily morning walk has solved the minimum part of this issue. This helps me to get some exercise each day, regardless of how busy my schedule is. It’s not enough to be my only exercise, but it’s an excellent minimum. The daily walk allowed me to stop paying for a gym membership and get the minimum amount of exercise I needed. Walking quickly taught me that I much prefer to be outside to get my exercise rather than indoors, and so I have changed my workout habits to accommodate this.
Rejuvenation
I personally find my daily walk to be one of the most rejuvenating things that I can do. After a walk, my attitude towards what I need to do is usually a complete 180 from before. It has almost become like a trigger that tells me, “Okay, it’s time to work and get things done.” I know on those few days when I’m not able to take a walk, I am so much more exhausted by the end of the day and never seem to be able to get on a roll like I do when I do get out.
Health
Overall, my daily walks make me a lot healthier than I would otherwise be. I can tell that I feel worse when I don’t take my daily walk. I gain weight if I don’t walk regularly. Not only do I feel physically better, my anecdotal evidence seems to show that I don’t get as sick or have other health problems nearly as much when I make sure to get outdoors.
Finding Money
As an added bonus to all the above, I usually find about $100 in coins on the ground each year while walking. This isn’t a lot of money but it’s not nothing to be proud of. It’s even better when I find random coins on my walks. There is something about finding a coin that makes me feel happy. You may find that some of these benefits apply to you as well. It’s important to keep in mind that the activities you perform on a daily basis will have a significant impact on how your day runs, which will have a direct effect on your finances. Walking doesn’t directly affect my finances, but it does impact many other things.
