So, you have your pedometer and you are working on getting more steps in every day. Maybe you are close to 10,000 a day already or perhaps you’re just starting. Either way, how can you add steps? Here are some ideas:

1—Park farther away from the door. At work, at the grocery store, at church, at the mall. Just park farther away and you’ll be surprised how many additional steps you make. And, you’ll find you get in and out of the stores much more quickly (and cheaply) than you do when you cruise around looking for a “good” parking spot.

2—Go to the bathroom that’s farther away. If you work in a building with several bathrooms, pick the one farthest from you to use. Do the same thing if you have multiple bathrooms at home. Drink lots of water so you have to go often!

3—Go visit a colleague at work instead of emailing. Make it a habit to do this several times a day.

4—Don’t be so efficient. Instead of working efficiently at household tasks, work inefficiently. Fold your laundry in the living room then put it up a few items or even just one at a time. At work, make several trips to the fax machine or copier instead of saving everything for one trip.

5—Pick up! You can get in a lot of steps picking up around the house. Toys, books, clothes, shoes—they all pile up in places they don’t belong. Don’t get mad, get steps!

5—Walk & Talk. Have walking discussions. It’s a great way to talk with your partner or kids. Plus, if you say, “Come with me. Let’s chat,” you can sneak some exercise into their day and – people (especially men) are more likely to open up and talk with you when they are doing something active. You can also do this at work. A five minute walk can be all you need to solve a problem or get feedback or generate some new ideas.

6—Walk around the store or mall before you shop. A quick trip around the store can add up to several hundred steps in just a few minutes. You can window shop while you are at it, but make it a rule that you keep moving for one full circumnavigation of the store or mall before you stop to shop.

7—If possible, walk to nearby shops or restaurants. You’ll save gas which is so important these days, and you’ll get in your steps both coming and going. Is there a nearby restaurant where you can have lunch or dinner? Walk there and back. How about a drugstore or a grocery store where you can pick up those essentials without burning gas? Perhaps you’ll pay a dollar more for your stuff, but you can barely start a car these days without burning that much in gasoline.

8—Walk a little more to reach your goal. If you get to the end of the day and you have less than 200 steps to your daily goal, walk around your house to reach it. It’ll only take a few minutes and you will be so proud to reach that milestone and know you did it. It will make getting tomorrow’s steps even easier, too. Make it fun and challenge yourself to keep increasing until you reach your daily goal.

And, the Bonus Step: Reward yourself when you reach your daily or weekly steps goal(s). For the daily goal, make your reward a simple treat like taking a long hot bath with candles and wine. And, when you meet your weekly goal, have a little splurge, such as a new lipstick or a pair of cute flipflops.

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