I agree with you, but I think there is enjoyment in getting a deep understanding of one area and having a plan can help you do this. Instead of walking around it can be fun to climb a mountain or go for an over night hike.
For example if you want to get stronger having a workout plan can help you get that goal. Going to the gym and do whatever will keep you in shape and if that keeps you motivated that's great, but some are motivated by doing something they can't do right now.
What would it take for you to find walking interesting?
I didn't used to love walking, until I found a reason to.
In urban areas I looked up and started noticing things. I researched buildings, and local geography.
In rural areas, I started figuring out bird calls and breeds, started understanding the trees and flora around me.
I decided to use that time to get curious. And now, I love walking.
If you think "sure, I have this rough goal of exercising more, but it sure as heck bores me", deciding to focus on the goal just means every time you fail at doing more exercise you a) are just as far away as you were before and b) are now blaming yourself for not being disciplined enough.
How about you choose some inputs that you know roughly align to that goal, but you choose inputs that you can get motivated by?
Perhaps going to the gym bores you, so fine, don't go. Perhaps your exercise is playing sport, or swimming, or walking and exploring the World around you, or perhaps it's just getting a standing desk. Just pick something and try and it, and then if it doesn't work, think about why and what to change and try something else.
I can only speak for myself but it's far easier, psychologically, for me to go out and walk somewhere when I have a goal besides just walking. While a destination is not necessary in the strictest sense, not having a reason besides exercise is a substantial barrier.
I don't walk only because of enjoyment. I want to do serious long term travel, and I know being able to walk long periods of time is going to be part of that life style.
If I REALLY want to spend years traveling the world (which I do), then I need to do things that help move the meter towards that goal. It should be exciting to do these things every day because it's one step closer to where you want to be. It's measurable progress and at the end of the day, that's a big win.
I'm a big fan of walking (or hiking). So much that I moved to a mountain town.
For one, creative inspiration often comes to me while walking. Second, it beats sitting on a couch. If you need added stimulation, go with a walking partner or listen to a podcast. Plus health benefits (not going to say it's an amazing workout depending on intensity but it's better than being sedentary) and it's fun.
Yes, it takes time. Sometimes you don't have time. That's ok. It doesn't have to be every day. But it's something you can do with kids, parents, colleagues, by yourself, etc...
Agreed, it is much more pleasant when exploring. These days I also end up often seeing mostly the same things in my few staple routes, but also usually something new as well.
I usually listen to audiobooks or bring a book to read when taking a path I've taken before, which usually alleviates the boredom problem. But it's not always necessary, sometimes if I'm in an energy surplus from delicious bread and sweets walking just feels so good on its own.
Going on a walk works for my mind, I can think really well walking or hiking.
But more intense exercise without a novel mental aspect (i.e. a game) interferes with my ability to think hard and I find myself constantly frustrated and/or bored.
Now if I could go on physical exhausting, mentally entertaining, medieval quests in the real countryside that would be great. Maybe sunshine, Vitamin D and augmented reality are waiting in my future.
Helps me think. Seriously, taking a walk is the best way to form a strategy over how to tackle a specific problem, what to chose in this or that circumstance and so forth.
Long, leisurely walks helps me break monotony. I literally wander aimlessly, both physically and mentally, observing nature, things, people, vehicles, whatever as I walk. No cell phone and no other artificial sensory inputs (e.g., ear pods/songs) except for those I encounter.
It is absolutely fine to be not motivated for long periods of time. IMO it is brain's way of telling you take it easy for a few weeks/months.
As you slow down you may get some sparks here and there that you may want to explore. It's OK if they are totally unrelated to your work. Explore those random alleyways, you never know where'll they take you.
Also, doing boring necessary things are a bit like walking. It gives your mind space to think while keeping your body busy.
Unless of course, you can't live with your thoughts.
That's true. But primarily I'd like to lose weight. I once had a commute that included a couple miles of walking. I lost significant weight because I was forced to do this (well, too cheap to take a cab or a bus).
I've never been able to motivate myself to do that when I'm not forced to.
Another nice thing about walking is that you can multitask to make it more stimulating, for longer. Imagine if you only went on HN and social media and Youtube while you were walking the local park.
Walking or running definitely helps to take your mind off of things long enough for it to realign itself on track. Semi related, but it also peaked my curiosity for nature and I started taking more note of different species I would see while walking or running, such as birds, insects and mammals.
Now, I end up walking partially because I'm always looking forward to what surprise I might see while doing it. Granted, not everyone has access to parks or land farther outside of a city, but when you do, there's lots of small details one misses out on if not looking for them (either up in the trees or near the ground). I still walk and run to refresh my brain, but it also spurred my interest in learning something new at the same time. As a side effect, I end up googling all those random things I run across, so beware of that if one wants to avoid time killers.
Well walking gives you time to think, reflect and it's excercise all in one. The problem I have is that it takes a lot of time if you want to walk to somewhere useful to combine things..
Long walls are great for thinking ... visual stimulation coupled with the fresh air makes for a very rewarding investment of time ... even a short walk every few hours is a game changer when thinking about some mental challenge ... it helps but there is no need to go out of your way to do this walking in any location ... vary your path ... there is no excuse to not walk often ... breaking a sweat several times a week is as easy as a good long hard walk
When I'm working on a hard problem and I identify that I actually do need to stop and just think about it more indirectly I find going for a walk to be pretty useful.
I love walking, and having lived in cities that make it difficult and frustrating I noticed some ways that make it engaging and motivate me to do it anyway.
Frustrating points about walking for me include poor road layout (e.g., to get anywhere from your neighbourhood you must first walk to basically-a-highway then walk alongside it for a time), poor air quality, noise from traffic, reckless rule-breaking drivers, missing sidewalks, stray dogs, etc.
— I find places to go. Find places you want to visit for whatever reason, maybe to grab some food or coffee, to sit and read or people-watch, and alternate between them. I don’t like repetitive exercise without any other purpose than exercise itself so I don’t just walk—I am getting somewhere. (Sometimes I don’t have a specific place in mind but I know there’ll be something I need in the general direction, like coffee. This method generally requires a denser urban area to work.)
— Shoes without heel support made a significant difference to my walking routine. They force me to land every step similarly to how I would do it if I were barefoot, not right on the heel like cushioned sneakers teach us. That combined with keeping neck and extremities relaxed at the same time really makes my body remember that there’s such a thing as abs, because suddenly every step engages abs. Maintaining this form is also a bit challenging, mentally more so than otherwise. As a result, even though I may be going somewhere, I walk more slowly and I feel better about the process.
— I monitor air quality with AirVisual; when it’s green it’s a motivating factor to get fresh air (what if tomorrow it changes to orange/red for a week, and I will want to enjoy a walk… better do it while I can).
— Carrying a camera and taking photos when I feel like it makes me more attentive to my surroundings. Some say always having a camera means I don’t live in the moment, but I suspect this hobby instead helps with that. It also requires walking to see new scenes worth photographing, even bicycling doesn’t work so well.
— Noise-canceling headphones address noise pollution, plus walking is probably the best time to listen to an audiobook or a podcast if not music.
These all help me get into the right state of mind and cope with frustrations.
Mostly unsolved problems:
— Reckless drivers. I find the only way to deal with this is to either submit or to put yourself in danger. The former can ruin your day and the latter obviously can’t be recommended. In some cities making yourself more noticeable (if you don’t naturally stand out then through high visibility clothing) may actually reduce the danger enough, but it wouldn’t help say in Seoul where they speed through red lights barely noticing anything (thankfully however in Seoul you can route your walk mostly away from wider roads or bridges where this happens).
— Heat is a problem depending on the latitude, if I don’t wake up early enough I may be demotivated to go out that day.
— Combined with all other frustrations, suburban-like sparsely populated environment tips the scales for me. I never could really enjoy walking in Chiang Mai for example, it’s boring and the probability of encountering a pack of stray dogs is bothersome.
For example if you want to get stronger having a workout plan can help you get that goal. Going to the gym and do whatever will keep you in shape and if that keeps you motivated that's great, but some are motivated by doing something they can't do right now.
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