The best life hack is to own a dog. Owning a dog forces you to get outside every day and go for at least one walk.

Rain. Snow. Heat. Cold. Day. Night.
Your dog doesn’t care. They just want to get outside and walk.

Some people have figured this life hack out without owning a dog. They just get up and take themselves for a walk a couple of times per day. Writer Morgan Housel says his neighbors must think he’s crazy for the amount of laps he does around his block in a day.

The list of psychological and physical benefits of a daily walk is long. Humans have evolved to walk long distances, not to sit at a desk.

My brain needs a walk

I’m fortunate to live in a place where I can be on a trail in the forest within a couple minutes walk from my house. A couple of times every day I walk or run my dog through the forest. This time outside is the most important part of my day.

As I walk my mind begins to wander through the ideas or projects that I’ve been working on. Because there are no interruptions or distractions for my mind to latch onto, I typically gain a new perspective or insight by simply letting my mind outside of the house.

Kinda like my dog, my brain needs a couple of walks every day so that it’s better behaved when back inside the house.

[Sidenote: I also listen to podcasts and audiobooks on walks. I love them. But I recognize that I’m giving my brain a distraction by doing this. A good compromise is to listen for the first half of the walk and pull the ear buds out for the second half to give my brain the chance to have a walk too.]

It is solved by walking

A friend made a wood block print that hangs on my office wall with the Latin phrase ‘solvitur ambulando’ on it. This translates to ‘it is solved by walking’.

Words to live by.