Walk Out Your Problems — Take a Think Walk

Our daily life is full of problems to be solved, decisions that must be made, and tricky situations that must be overcome. Often our brains are swirling with too much information and too many decisions crying for our attention.

Here is one tried-and-true method to help you conquer the problems and decisions in your life: Take a walk. Preferably outside.

Why walking works

• Moderate exercise gets more oxygen to the brain, which helps the brain to function better. Walking is a simple way to get the blood flowing, and it can be done virtually anywhere without fancy equipment or club memberships.
• Studies have shown that walking boosts our mood, improves memory, and enhances creative thinking.
• The easy rhythm of walking seems to help stimulate thoughts. More strenuous types of exercise require more concentration and a pace that intrudes on our thoughts. When we stroll our pace can complement our thoughts, speeding or slowing to suit our mood.
• Spending time in nature has been shown to be beneficial on many levels, including boosting our mood, lowering stress, and sparking creative thinking.

How to make it work even better

Turn a walk into a Think Walk by following these suggestions, and you will have a powerful problem-solving technique.

• Leave your electronics behind. A distracted brain will not come up with the deep thinking necessary for truly creative solutions. Music, podcasts, and chatty friends are fine when the goal is to complete a good exercise session. If your goal is solving a thorny problem, however, all those things are distractions to be avoided.
• Remember the goal. A Think Walk is for thinking. Not getting in shape. Not catching up with friends. Not running errands. Not checking out what the new neighbor is up to.
• Focus on one single well-defined problem. Choose the problem before you start, and make sure it is small and specific enough to conquer. It might be choosing among options or coming up with the next step in a strategy. For example: “How do I break the news to my son?”, or “Which of these three choices is most in line with my values?” or “What is my best idea for the What game can I invent that will make the shower I’m hosting really special for the bride?”
• Resist the temptation to think about something else. You probably have a million other things on your mind, and they may pop into consciousness. Resist solving them. Instead push them firmly out of your head and remind yourself of the problem you have chosen to ponder right now.
• Avoid the repeat loop. Don’t waste time rehashing what you already know or fretting over the issue. A Think Walk is for coming up with fresh solutions or making decisions on a very specific problem. When your brain starts to loop through old ideas or old worries, drag it away and remind yourself of the topic under consideration for the duration of the walk.
• Be ready to capture the ideas before you lose them. A Think Walk should be long enough to think through a problem, but not too long to forget what you thought. Plan to capture your ideas in writing as soon as you finish. The benefits of walking last for a while after you stop, so use the moments right after your Think Walk to record and structure your thoughts. (If necessary, you may want to bring a notepad or phone to record your thoughts during your walk, but don’t allow that to become a distraction. You may find that your short memory is due more to allowing yourself to drift from one issue to the next, so with a focused Think Walk you should be able to keep the ideas in your head until you finish.)

That’s all there is to it. I hope you enjoy this simple but powerful technique. Happy walking!