Spring Walking Tune-Up Week 6: Tune Up Your Motivation
This is part 6in our Spring Walking Tune-Up series. For a look at the topics (and to catch up on past posts), be sure to bookmark the series introduction page.
Throughout the last five weeks, we’ve covered a whole lot of ground when it comes to tuning up your walking routine for spring. Still, you can have new shoes, the perfect gear, and a great plan, but none of that will do you any good if you don’t have one very important thing: motivation. If you can’t force yourself to get up and lace up those new shoes and hit the perfect trail each day, there’s just no point. So to close out our Spring Walking Tune-Up Series, we’re going to tackle this all-important aspect of your regular walking routine.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of walking, it’s that every walker is different. We each have our own preferences and perfect fits—from our ideal walking terrain to our favorite brand of walking shoes. And motivation is no different; we’re all motivated by different things. As you’re stepping into this new season, now is also a good time to reflect on what’s worked (or hasn’t worked) before. Ask yourself how you stayed motivated last year—and what drained your motivation—and use those reflections to build a plan for the coming year.
If you need some ideas, here are some different forms of motivation that might just work for you:
Spring Goals
Some of us are motivated by goals; you set a goal for the week, the month, or the year, and that’s enough to keep you going, day after day.
Mileage: Each year for the past few years, I’ve set a mileage goal for the year. I’ve done the math, and I know roughly how far I need to go each day/week/month to make that goal happen. In connection with some other forms of motivation (which we’ll discuss later), it keeps me going.
Steps: If you’ve got a fitness tracker—or a fitness-tracking app on any of your devices—you’re probably acutely aware of your daily step count. I’m actually acutely aware of two different step counts: the one on my watch and the one on my phone. If you want to make this work for you instead of just causing you daily anxiety, you can set daily step goals to help you stay motivated to move every day.
Event: If you’ve been thinking about doing some kind of walking event or race—like your very first 5k—make it your goal! Training for your big race—and earning that bling at the finish line—will help you get up and get moving!
Consistency: Sometimes, it’s not about going far or going fast; it’s just about going. Instead of setting a goal for a specific distance or step count, make it your goal to keep showing up every day. It doesn’t matter if you walk a mile or 10 miles—just walk every day.
Visual Motivation
I may have my annual goal set for the year, but I also need a visual representation to keep me moving.
Printable Tracker: At the start of each year, I print out my annual tracker. It’s actually a 1000-mile tracker that I found somewhere—with 1000 squares to color in—and I draw more squares to show my actual goal. Each day, after my walk, I get out my package of colorful fine-point markers and color in the day’s walk, so I can see how far I’ve come (and how far I still have to go). And I pin it to the bulletin board behind my laptop, so anytime I zone out for a minute, I find myself staring at my goals.
Checklist: This one is helpful especially if you have multiple goals for your day/week. You can print out your checklist and check the items off as you complete them. And, man, does it feel good to check those items off the list!
Calendar: This one can be simple but effective. Simply write down your daily steps/miles/minutes/etc. on your desk or wall calendar. Or, if you’re simply tracking consistency, make a check—or maybe even find a fun stamp—to mark each day’s activity. Then you’ll see your progress each time you check the calendar.
Step App: There’s nothing quite like the rush you get when your watch buzzes to congratulate you for reaching your step goal. You can also keep track on an app. While you’re at it, I highly recommend trying a step-counting app that occasionally pays you for your progress. If you need suggestions, check out my app reviews.
Celebration
When it comes to any fitness routine, people tend to focus on the scale: how much did I lose? But there are so many other victories to celebrate—so many non-scale benefits. After all, a little bit of sunshine and fresh air—and even just a little extra movement—can make a big change in your physical and mental health. Maybe it makes you feel more energetic during the day. Maybe the extra exercise helps you sleep better at night. Maybe it helps to lower your blood pressure. Or maybe it’s just a good way to step away and process the chaos of the day—and you find that it boosts your mood. All of those non-scale victories are worth noting—and celebrating!
Fun!
Sometimes you just need to shake up your regular routine a bit to remind yourself of all the things you love about walking. You’ll find a whole lot of posts here that offer some suggestions for adding a little extra fun to your daily walk (like this one). It could be as simple as changing up your playlist (guess what: you can find a whole bunch of options right here) or listening to an interesting audiobook. You could try a challenge, or you could recruit a new walking buddy to join you on the trail. And if you need a little extra motivation, you can bribe yourself with a treat (like your favorite iced coffee) when you finish.
Again, not everything here will be the right fit for you, so you’ll want to take some time to consider your own preferences to create a plan that will keep you walking through the spring—and into the seasons ahead, too.
Which types of motivation are more effective for you? How do you keep yourself motivated—even on the tough days?
