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A Simple Plan to Sit Less

4/29/2015

24 Comments

 
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If your goal is to sit less and move more, I think it's important to avoid the New Year's resolution trap. We all know how the best intentions to diet and exercise pledged on January first tend to fizzle out a few weeks later. We spend those first few weeks determined that this time, we will succeed. We are focused and motivated, and we have a plan...if only we can stick with it this time. We change everything about our diet, exercise, and activity habits and we change them all at once. Go big or go home, right? Unfortunately, this all-or-nothing mentality leads to nothing in results. Come March, we're exhausted and have given up. There's always next year.

If you're determined to sit less, I urge you to side-step this time-honored failure loop. We need a different approach and a new game plan, one that is simple, easy to implement, sustainable, and yields success. Ironically, these simple traits are exactly the building blocks recommended by habit experts to make a new habit stick, even a habit as pervasive as sitting. You don't need to forgo all sitting: you just need to sit less. No perfection required.

With that in mind, here is my suggested path for moving away from the chair, spelled out in three simple steps:

STEP 1: PICK ONE THING. Don't try to go from sitting a lot to hardly ever sitting. Trust me, it won't work. Instead, ease into a more active lifestyle by picking just one way to sit less for now. Choose something that's pretty easy for you to do and doesn't take too much time. What's one way you can sit less that you can still see yourself doing a few years from now? Don't overcomplicate it or add unnecessary stress in your life. Pick something doable that fits in well with your life. Maybe it's parking further way from the grocery store and other shops. Maybe it's walking around during commercials as you watch your favorite shows. Or maybe a good choice for you is to walk during phone calls. Pick something you can do that's easy to implement.

To increase the likelihood that your chosen activity becomes a habit, it's helpful to attach this new activity to something you already do every day or something that happens to you every day. The “old” activity serves as a cue or reminder to do the new habit. For example, you might decide that, “Every time the phone rings, I will stand up and walk around” or “After I write an email, I will stand up and proofread it before I hit the 'send' button.” In these cases, the phone ringing and the written email serves as reminders to do the new activity. Habits can also be triggered by visual cues such as leaving your walking shoes out by the front door as a reminder to head out for your morning walk.


STEP 2: PRACTICE YOUR ONE THING.  Now that you've selected your one thing to focus on in your quest to sit less, it's time to practice it. If possible, it's best to practice every day. The goal is to make this new action a habit, something you do without consciously thinking about it, like brushing your teeth. Human beings are hardwired to use daily habits to make it easier for us to navigate through our days. Repeatedly doing something over and over again is the key to making a new behavior stick and transforming it into a habit.

As you practice your new habit, reward yourself for sticking with it. Change is hard, and changing ourselves is even harder. Rewards are recognized as a key component in building new habits. Who's going to pursue new habits and behaviors if there isn't some benefit and reward? The reward can be as simple as a mental high-five or visualizing yourself at your future grandchild's birthday party--whatever works for you. But please find some way to reward yourself for practicing your new habit. It will increase the odds of your habit sticking.

STEP 3: PERSIST WITH YOUR ONE THING. Once you reach the point where your chosen action is a habit, just keep doing it. This sounds obvious, I know, but habits can be slippery suckers if they aren't exercised regularly. Most of us are pretty good at flossing our teeth right before and right after a dental check-up. But three months later? Not so much.

If you've come to dislike the action you've selected and find it irritating, cumbersome, or really tough to stick with, it probably won't have much staying power. In that case, it may be better to select a new action. There's nothing wrong with that, as trial and error is a central tenet of the habit-forming process. If, on the other hand, your activity is fitting seamlessly into your life, is easy to do, you do it now without thinking, and you like the benefits you're getting from sitting less, maybe it's time for a new one thing!

PICK. PRACTICE. PERSIST.  

Sitting less made easier.



I'd love your feedback on this post! Comments are welcome but please review the blog rules.
24 Comments
Diana Davidson
4/29/2015 02:55:34 am

As someone who has spent the past 11 years transforming my health, one habit at a time, I can vouch for this! It would be overwhelming to expect a complete turn around of dozens of unhealthy habits all at once,and not sustainable. Investing in our health, one habit change at a time, works! Learning a specific way to move in place of sitting is a terrific place to start.

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Denise
4/29/2015 03:57:18 am

So true, Diana! Change is hard enough, why make it harder on ourselves by trying to change everything at once? You have done a stellar job at transforming your health!

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Fadra
5/4/2015 04:12:42 am

I started parking far at work a few weeks ago but I have since added parking far everywhere I go. My family gets a great time for conversation and I get to get up and move. My youngest even has me walking to neighboring stores if it is on our stop list!....👩🏿

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Denise
5/4/2015 05:02:46 am

Fadra, I just LOVE how you are making moving more a family effort! That's terrific!

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Karen
5/2/2016 05:43:17 pm

Denise -- you are GREAT!!! Thanks for all you do. I am going to commit to one thing and watch it change my life!!

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Denise
5/3/2016 04:09:31 pm

Thanks, Karen. Your comment made my day! I believe that committing to one sit less action and practicing it until it becomes a habit wiill indeed change your life!

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allmannerofthings
10/2/2016 06:12:18 am

I like the walking while the kettle boils for tea idea. It will work evenings and weekends which is when I need it most. I think I will join in with that one. I might even add in some tidying up as I walk round.

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Denise
10/2/2016 06:34:54 am

That sounds like a great "One Thing"!

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Karen
10/2/2016 07:00:14 am

My one thing is to get up EVERY TIME my watch tells me it's time to!!! My goal is to stand longer once I'm up!!

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Denise
10/2/2016 07:20:57 am

Excellent goal, Karen! You've found your One Thing!

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Marilyn
10/2/2016 02:56:17 pm

I am new to losing weight and really have to make it work, so my one thing is going to be to leave my trainers near my bedroom door so I have no choice but to put them on and walk. Walk on my treadmill or outside. I will also stand and walk when my iWatch indicates its time to get up and move. I really like your ideas and hope to be able to stick to it. Thanks

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Denise
10/2/2016 06:57:33 pm

Marilyn, thank you for your comment. I think your One Thing is a great idea! A visual cue is a great reminder to do a new habit. And so is a buzzing iWatch. :-)

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Teresa
5/2/2017 06:00:14 am

I've chosen to use my standing desk at work and to establish a routine of standing regularly, as well as stopping work to take a short walkabout.

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Denise
5/2/2017 04:01:55 pm

Teresa, this sounds like a great plan. Alternating between sitting, standing, and walking throughout the day is highly recommended!

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Patricia
5/2/2017 06:18:31 am

I choose two things ...
The first is to read the daily challenges empé, but as in 21 days end ...
The second thing is actually answer the calls while I'm walking :)
Thank you

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Denise
5/2/2017 04:21:30 pm

I like your plan, Patricia. And thanks to you, I now know that empé is standing up. I'm going to do even more things empé!

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Paula
5/2/2017 10:32:24 am

My one thing is walk during commercials. My day is pretty active with gym and gardening, so evenings i need to move more!

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Denise
5/2/2017 04:27:05 pm

Great idea, Paula. Walking during commercials is one of my ingrained sit less habits. Sometimes I'll leave the dishes and kitchen cleanup for the commercials as well. Still has me up and moving!

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April
5/2/2017 12:16:06 pm

I love this! Small changes are key! I've done the dieting thing and did great with it, but I changed a lot at once AND went from not calculating my calories to trying to stay under 1200. It worked great at first! Dropped 60ish lbs in like 4 months. Then reality hit and when I fell off the bandwagon, I fell hard. So started back up at the end of January with small changes. Moving more, exercising more, etc. This past week I decided to pre-cook my meals for the entire week on Mondays. I not only get to get a lot of "standing time" in while running around the kitchen all day, I don't have to "think" about how many calories I'm eating the entire week. I've lost 4.6lbs in the past 8 days. I saw this challenge and thought...why not?!?

My goals are to park further away from the store when I'm out, get out my exercise ball to bounce on while I'm at my computer (I do a lot of surveys) and to get up and walk a minute after each survey completion, or if I'm watching TV, I LOVE the idea of walking around during commercials!

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Denise
5/2/2017 04:44:35 pm

April, thanks for your comment. Congratulations on losing weight in such a healthy way! Small changes and healthy meal prep are a terrific way to lose weight. I like your sit less plan a lot. Parking further away is so easy to do, it pretty much guarantees you a spot, and for those of us whose parking skills are... still a work in progress... a spot further away can be a lot less stressful. I'm glad you like the idea of walking around during commercials! It's been a good option for me.

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Jennifer Periard
5/2/2017 09:33:21 pm

Oh yes, the all or nothing way of thinking. I am all too familiar with this state of mind and the ultimate failure, feeling disappointment, shame and self-hate this causes.
I am determined to change this way of faulty thinking.
I can see myself getting up while I'm working in my office, every 30 - 60 minutes and moving around for a minute or two.
I can also see my one thing likely being different for the weekdays and the weekends.

I'm going to check out the list of one things.

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Denise
5/14/2017 05:25:36 pm

Great approach, Jennifer. Small, sustainable changes are the way to go!

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Rachael
5/3/2017 08:40:03 am

I want to choose one thing at home and one thing at work. At home, I am going to get up and move during commercial breaks during shows I watch. At work, I am going to park in the garage that is a little father from my job and use a building entrance that makes me walk a little more!

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Denise
5/14/2017 05:31:09 pm

I think "one thing at work and one thing at home" has merits, Rachael. I just want to nudge people away from trying to change too many things at once. Change is hard and it's best to go slowly and deliberately and not to over complicate it.

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    Denise, Moderator of Quitting the Sitting.  Coffee and walking enthusiast. 

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