Comment by stego-tech
14 hours ago
I was a doubter until COVID. Then I built a habit of 30 to 60+ minutes of walking a day, ~1.5 to 5mi depending on length and pace.
Geez, the amount of stuff I got done, problems I solved, and general boost to well-being I achieved was lost on me until a job pushed those walks out of the workday. My productivity wasn’t the same.
Definitely going to block off a walk around the harbor during most workdays going forward so I can refresh the slate so to speak.
It reminds me about this video where John Cleese talks about creativity. One of his points is that his work was better than some of his more talented peers simply because he set aside more time to let ideas mature:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb5oIIPO62g
Jumping spiders are extremely intelligent for their size. Something they do when they encounter a complex problem is sit and apparently simulate potential solutions until they settle on a plan.
Their solutions can involve indirect routes, paths that initially increase the distance to their targets, etc.
Walking, or jumping, is inherent to their existence. But the ability to wait and iterate on possibilities is uncommon strategy for tiny things.
> Something they do when they encounter a complex problem is sit and apparently simulate potential solutions until they settle on a plan.
Now imagine what ingenious plans they could come up with if only they took a walk instead of sitting while thinking!
How did we find that out? Are they physically acting out the stuff they’re simulating or is there an EEG for insects?
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It's our evolutionary background.
Land animals first evolved intelligence when we emerged from the cloudy, murky sea and developed the ability to see shapes (predators, prey) really far into the distance. This required the ability to understand the future and perform spatial reasoning. Not all aquatic species were exposed to such pressures (opportunities), since line of sight vision (especially traveling at speed) is limited.
We got really smart when we became endurance hunters and out-walked and out-ran our prey. Bipedal locomotion and sweating were clutch advantages for sure, but our brains became especially attuned to multi-tasking when walking and running. We could see our prey far into the distance and could plan hours in advance for how to exhaust and corner it. Especially as a group activity. This engaged spatial, temporal, collaborative, and complex reasoning.
We didn't evolve to think at a desk. We evolved to think because it greatly enhanced our hunting skills and survival fitness.
When you walk or run, you're directly engaging machinery that was fine tuned over hundreds of thousands of years.
I’m always very cautious of “evolution” as a justification for any health/wellness advice. I’d like to preface this point by saying I am a fan of daily walk, and do about 30mins of very hilly terrain daily. I just don’t like your argument for it.
1. It’s really easy to create a fictional narrative of what our ancestor’s activity was 50k years ago because of the lack of empirical evidence. The truth is we know only a little and guess at a lot.
2. It’s been associated with many false claims. So many fad diets, fad supplements, and fad exercise routines have made use of evolution to build a narrative of why it’s healthy. I’ve seen both carnivore and vegans use evolution to explain why their diet is correct.
3. The modern environment is just different than the pre-historical environment. We have clean drinking water, unlimited sodium, modern medicine, air conditioned and heated shelter. To me the real question is what is the healthiest decision for me, not what is the healthiest decision for someone 50k years ago.
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There are highly intelligent species such as whales and dolphins, which cannot walk nor run. There are also highly intelligent species that generally do not walk, such a octopuses and birds. Also you skipped other ways of locomotion, such as crawling and climbing. Sure locomotion is crucial, but it's not a simple just a switch to walking. You made it seem like intelligence is only about walking and running, but in reality intelligence was acquired as a long process of various adaptations. Other examples for crucial adaptations that are completely missing from your narrative would be communication, prosociality, or tool-using
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Same here. I have a personal mind frame of:
This golden rule has given me more benefits - including finishing the task way faster I would have taken longer if I just sat in front of the computer.
I always found walking around throwing a stress ball as I think out a new feature far more effective then heading straight to the computer. Much easier to think out the abstraction then getting stuck in the details of my first solution, and only realising a the flaws/a better way hours later.
Convincing people it's an important part of working though, that was the tough one. And now if you spend any time thinking people want you to use Ai for the thinking bit...
Take advantage of canceled meetings.
I step outside and enjoy nature for those few minutes, even if it is just to watch nature.
A few years back I was freelancing by the sea. Every few hours, I'd walk down to the shore and look at the ripples and the waves. I'd go maybe three times a day. I remember this being — aside from profoundly meaningful in itself — very refreshing and beneficial for my work.
Same here. I'll add that this also happens to me with stuff other than walks. For example when taking a shower, or while I'm falling asleep. All activities that allow me to break free from the work I was doing while at the same time not being too demanding to the point where I can think of something else
You were a doubter… as in you thought it was normal to sit inside your house the entire day (or for over 12 hours) without going outside at all? Or what?
Yes, some people, particularly coders, are exactly like that, especially when they're young and everything feels like it comes easily. Young coders can sit for hours on a single task if they're really into it and make good progress. As you get older, and the cognitive load increases, you're forced to find out what you did before doesn't work anymore.
Did you do it in the middle of the work day, or at the begining?
Do you listen to anything while walking, or just listen to nothing while letting your mind clear itself?
Not OP, but it has to be a walk with no headphones for me. As I walk, thoughts seem to bubble up from my subconscious and present themselves for consideration. This doesn’t happen as often if I’m listening to music.
I decided to go offline for this summer. I got a dumb phone and a card for public transportation, instead of the app I'm using now.
Downtime from the algorithmic manipulation has been the breeding ground for my creativity and this is one more step to this direction.
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I don’t walk but I run 60-120 min 4-5x a week and could not imagine doing so with headphones. Firmly believe we need time away from the constant stimulation of modern life.
I wish I could do the same, but the running(even at low pace like 6mph) is too taxing without something fun to listen to
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For several years I walked to and from the office, about 1.5 miles each way. Typically in the morning I would listen to a podcast or audiobook, and on the way home I would often continue thinking about whatever I had been trying to figure out at work. I found it useful.
Exactly this
Yeah I started walking a lot since 2021 (before I walked but just a few km to/from work, and sometimes I'd take a bus), since 2020 I worked remotely and I realized how much I need these walks, started walking around 7km daily on average, with 20-30km walks on weekends.
It fixed my back pains. It made me lose weight. It gave me time to reflect on my long-avoided problems. Productivity is like the least important benefit.
Exactly the opposite for me, I tried to add 10 minutes of walking to my workday (midday) and I only lasted a month. I found it so distracting; I lose so much productivity, would be unable to concentrate for at least an hour afterwards, and sometimes for practically the rest of the workday.
I absolutely do think exercise can help with work, in general, just not immediately after for me. A walk after work is much better, to prepare for the next day.
Try pomodoro instead. It's 25/5 work/break. I started out with 60/15, then 45/15, then 25/5 and found out they were right. These breaks, for me, are just walking elsewhere to do a household task and then coming back. For most, it's likely all you need.
Are you carrying a lot of stress when you were walking 10 min mid-day? I think the wandering, creative mind is the goal and walking often facilitates that, but if some stronger force is keeping you away then it may not work.
Meanwhile, another commenter who walks around Manhattan says that "distraction is the catalyst", and in the article they have participants walking on a treadmill in front of a blank wall, and others walking "outdoors along a predetermined path" (but where?) with the same results. Furthermore, what they measure and call creativity is thinking of uses for a button or thinking of the word "cheese".
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