A simple challenge to get outside for 30 minutes a day for a week.
Many studies have proven that being outside is a mood lifter. I have felt it myself on numerous occasions. The feel of the wind or the sunshine, the sound of the birds or the raindrops hitting my rain jacket, seeing the sharp contrast of bright blue sky and green leaves or blue water against golden winter rushes, the taste of salt air or the smell of the paper mill (just kidding about that last part). But you understand what I’m saying, being outside triggers all of your senses and makes you feel alert, alive, and euphoric.
I came up with this idea while on a hike yesterday. You can use this as a personal and private challenge or you can share your experiences on these pages by clicking on the links below. There is no particular date set, you are free to do this on your own time. So if you stumble on this page a year from now, you can still share your experiences and the Traveling Trail Mix community will be checking in to see how you are doing and cheer you on. I hope that by sharing our experiences we can inspire one another. Whether you find this task extremely difficult but get some good ideas from another reader or you are surprised by how easy it is to accomplish and want to make an effort to continue after the week is up, let us know!
When you’re ready to begin, here are your complicated instructions:
- Say, “Okay, I’m ready to begin”
- Spend 30 minutes a day outside for a week
- Share your experiences day by day (click on Day 1 to begin and share away), share your Reflections on the Week, read others’ experiences (click on the links below), and/or just do it!
- When the week is up, spend a few minutes reflecting on your experiences
Click on additional links below
Intro
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Reflections on the Week
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I am in total agreement that being outside has so many benefits for your body, mind, and spirit. After a long career in the education field (librarian and special ed teacher) which is almost exclusively done inside a building, I found myself longing for the outside since I have retired. I have spent many hours in my special chair on my special patio. Sometimes I have a project (I find a way to do almost any task there), and sometimes I just sit and soak in the ambiance of nature. I look at the sky, the leaves and bark of the trees, and I look at and listen to the birds and squirrels. So I accept your GET OUTSIDE challenge. I spent yesterday having lunch with a friend at our local park by the sound enjoying the scenery along with our conservation. Then at home, I moved my projects outside and spent about 2 hours there. Today I will find another way to receive some more of the natural energy from my outside world.
Welcome to The Challenge Aunt Pat. What a nice visual of you setting up and working on your projects outside. Enjoy the energy!
I’m in. =)
Hey Rebecca… I stumbled upon your page today while doing a google search for an outdoor outside challenge. Pretty sad that I didn’t come up with many hits, and many of those that I did find, were regarding a Wii game (how is that for irony).
Anyway, over the weekend, my daughters and I spent a lot of time outdoors which was fantastic, but it also got me to thinking that while we are very active outdoors, there still is room for more (especially when they are at their mom’s house), so I challenged them/us to spend at least an hour a day outdoors over their entire summer vacation. (I would have stared the challenge sooner, but there are end of the year school event, dance recitals, gymnastics, etc that will keep us pretty busy until mid June). We bought journals yesterday so that they can keep an adventure log on those few days a week that they are not home. I’ll hopefully update our blog with the adventures (after I catch up with Easter posts, trails day posts, etc), but we also accept your GET OUTSIDE challenge!
Hi Mark, yes very ironic that your outdoor challenge search would come up with indoor video game results! I look forward to hearing about your experiences with your daughters. If you don’t want to post every day, you could just post on the summary page at the end of the challenge.
Also, you may be interested in my husbands blog, Wilderness Nirvana - he doesn’t post often but when he does its great! He is an avid outdoor exerciser and enthusiast.