26 Easy Ways To Sneak Extra Steps Into Your Day

26 Easy Ways To Sneak Extra Steps Into Your Day You’ve seen all the exercise trends on TV and social media, whether they’re actually great for your exercise routine or not. Most seem too good to be true, promising you ripped abs in only seven minutes a day. But, over the last few years, one particular fad has managed to stick, and that’s the steps craze. The magic number: 10,000. For those with jobs where they walk around all day, it’s not a hard feat to accomplish. But if you’re stuck at a desk for eight â€" or more â€" hours per day, it’s easier said than done. Trying to get your daily steps in can be a challenge no matter what your goal is. Thankfully, there are some easy ways to get moving. You may even find yourself forgetting that you’re working towards a goal because it feels so easy! Here are 26 easy ways you can get more steps into your day, so you can feel great about yourself and get active without sacrificing any more time or worry. 1. Do Laps at Home While you’re waiting for that water to boil or coffee cup to fill, take a few laps around the house. Even if your home doesn’t have an easy walking path, walk around your table or couch, or take a few trips up and down the stairs. Any little distance will help! 2. Walk While You Brush Standing still while you brush your teeth? That’s old-school stuff. Multitask by walking around and getting your things ready while you brush. 3. Get the Mail and Take It Slow Walk out to the mailbox after work and walk each envelope back to the house one at a time. You may even get motivated enough to finally cancel that magazine you don’t read anymore. 4. Unload the Groceries Carefully Like with your mail, you can unload your grocery bags one at a time, too. For a bonus exercise, do reps with each bag so your biceps can get a workout. 5. Walk for Those Notifications It’s always good to have some time away from your phone, so take it literally and set it across the room while you eat dinner or watch a movie. When you hear your notification sound go off, walk over to get it. Or better yet, just let it sit and do something more mindful instead! 6. Do Some Laps During Commercials You’re not going to want to watch them anyway, so when commercials come on during your favorite shows, walk around the house. Bonus points for adding in some pushups and crunches! 7. Stream On-the-Go The great thing about being able to stream video content is downloading what you want to watch for later when you don’t have internet access. Download what you plan to watch each night and walk around your neighborhood while you catch up on your TV shows instead. 8. Always Take the Stairs Why ride the elevator when you’re focused on walking more? Taking the stairs is an easy way to get closer to your step goal. 9. Pace for Phone Calls You probably already do this, so make an effort to pace around your office while you’re on phone calls if you can. If you have a phone with a cord, maybe just pace for cell phone calls instead. 10. Skip the IMs Most offices use an IM system to let employees talk to each other throughout the day, so if you use one, try to get up and walk to the people you need to talk to whenever possible â€" just be sure you aren’t interrupting an important task. 11. Use a Different Bathroom Instead of walking around the corner to use the office bathroom, use the bathroom on a different floor. You’ll get extra steps in if you use the stairwell instead of the elevator. 12. Take Breaks in Different Locations Walk to the kitchen for your first break, the second floor coffee shop for your next and maybe even go outside for your last break of the day. You’ll be able to appreciate the change of scenery and the added steps. 13. Park Away From the Building Let your coworker have that parking spot closest to the building instead. Their day will be made and you’ll have some extra distance to walk. It’s a win-win. 14. Better Yet, Walk to Work! If you live close to where you work, you can easily add a few steps to your day by walking to work instead of driving. You’ll be more active and even save yourself gas money in the process. Don’t think you have enough energy to walk that much early in the morning? Try out some of the best secrets to having more energy so you can walk to work and stay awake once you get there.  15. Get Off the Bus Early Chances are good that if you ride a bus, you probably have a stop close to where you get off. So get off early and walk to your office! 16. Explore Every Aisle Running into the store for a jug of milk? Walk down every aisle while you’re in there, but stick to your budget! 17. Take Your Cart Back Walk that cart all the way back to the store when you’re done getting groceries. It’s really not as bad you might think it would be. 18. Forego the Drive-Thru Walk in, get your Starbucks, walk out. Boom. Extra steps. 19. Do Laps for Your Coffee Make a promise to yourself that for every coffee refill, you’ll do a certain number of laps around the office before you can get that next cup. 20. Fit in Some Steps During Practice If you drop off your kids at extracurricular practices, find a place close by to take a walk or two while they’re in there doing what they love. 21. Start Some After-Dinner Strolls Family time is always a great use of your evening, so have everyone take a walk after dinner every night to add more steps and make some memories. 22. Walk Your Dog Some More You may not think it’s possible, but your dog will love you even more if you take them for a second or third walk during the day. Or make their regular walk longer than usual. 23. Invite Coworkers for a Brainstorm Walk Have a mobile meeting by taking your coworkers out for a walk to brainstorm or collaborate on an upcoming project. 24. Set an Alarm for Yourself If all else fails, at least set frequent alarms for yourself so you get reminded to at least walk down the hall more often. 25. Go to the Mall With Some Friends Hang out with your friends at the mall! You’ll forget that you went just for the extra steps, because you’ll have so much fun. 26. Explore Local Parks or Trails People work hard every day to make local parks and trails enjoyable for people to use, so go walk at places you may have never even been before. You’ll at least get some nice pictures for social media! Getting in your steps doesn’t mean you have to become a marathon runner. It’s easy to fit in your daily steps if you just take the time to rethink your average routine. Soon, you’ll find that getting in your steps is easy â€" and you may even end up setting your goal a little bit higher! What do you plan on trying out to walk a little bit more? Comment with your ideas and don’t forget to share to get your friends in on your plan, too! And if you haven’t already, subscribe for more great content that’ll help you achieve the happier, healthier life of your dreams. Get everything you need to build a career you love by signing up for the newsletter.