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Saturday, November 16. The day I decided to do something about the nagging feeling in my mind that had turned into a literal pain in my lower back. For two weeks, my body had been giving me a sign that something was wrong, and that it was not liking it. I was losing interest in basic things that make our lives go round: cooking, cleaning, exercising, etc.

I sought peace while living in the peaceful woods of the Midwest. The problem? Monotony of working from home in a town located an hour away from anything that may qualify as a change in scenery. Sitting in the same spot every day, with the same hair style for video conferences, rotating through comfortable clothes, and running the same errands every weekend.

I’ll understand if you’re thinking, “Oh, poor woman. Living in a nice house in a peaceful setting, getting bored. Boo Hoo!” If you’re not, thank you for not jumping to conclusions.

Over the last twenty years of living and breathing Consulting, I have become a problem solver. Feeling sorry for myself has become an internal signal that a problem exists and needs to be solved. Developing a strategy and a plan for execution have embedded in my DNA. So, I sat down and developed a strategy to regrasp my sanity before I lost it in the civilized woods.

First things first. I had to get off my butt. Literally. And out of the house. Not leaving the house for days was getting old. And it felt like so was I. Faster than I wanted to. Like a beanbag parked in the same spot, becoming more lumpy and uneven with the passing time. So, I added a 30-minute walk to my list of must-do things every day, the best way to hold myself accountable.

Over the years, my list has become the most helpful strategy to make a change. The last person I want to disappoint is…well, me, the only person whose disappointments I can control. And nothing is more disappointing than seeing more Xs than checks in front of the must-do items on my list. Hence, the walk was added, and the challenge was accepted.

The weekly goal is to walk for 60 minutes on Sunday and Saturday, with 30 minutes each day Monday to Friday. By Tuesday, I had regained my ability to comprehend what I was reading and hearing instead of zoning out and wondering what I missed. Even though I fell short by one day on this week’s goal, I feel more mentally present than I have in the last two weeks.

Wednesday was the culprit. I could pass it off as a mid-week break. But the fact that I needed a break from walking was a wake-up call to my crumbling physical endurance. But it wasn’t just the walks. I added a second challenge to the list of must-do things that I am confident contributed to the mid-week break than walking alone. More on that next week…

Disclaimer: This blog is neither advice nor instruction, medical or otherwise.