We are human beings living on a planet full of trees, clouds, wind, sunlight, rain, birds and approximately seventeen squirrels conducting suspicious business at all times.
And somehow, many of us spend nearly the entire day indoors.
Work. Car. Shop. House. Bed. Repeat.
Obviously, ten minutes outside isn't some magical number that fulfils our entire human need for fresh air and nature. Ideally, we'd spend far more time outside. But when life is busy, exhausting or simply very indoors, ten minutes is a rather lovely place to start.
Not a hike.
Not a workout.
Not an elaborate morning routine involving lemon water, linen trousers and enlightenment.
Just go outside.
The Ten-Minute Rule
Give yourself ten intentional minutes outside every day.
Leave your phone inside if you can. If you can't, at least resist the urge to spend the entire ten minutes staring at it.
Sit on the steps.
Stand barefoot in the grass.
Drink your coffee outside.
Walk around the block.
Look at the sky.
Water something.
Take your lunch outside.
Sit in your car with the windows down before going into work.
The point isn't what you're doing.
The point is that you are actually there.
Make It Ridiculously Easy
If something requires too much preparation, tired humans mysteriously stop doing it.
So don't turn "go outside" into an expedition.
Keep a chair by the door.
Leave a blanket somewhere easy to grab.
Put your morning drink in a travel mug.
Keep comfortable shoes nearby.
Make the barrier between inside you and outside you approximately three seconds long.
Attach It to Something You Already Do
Habit stacking sounds terribly sophisticated, but it's basically:
"I'm already doing this, so I'll do that too."
Morning coffee? Outside.
Lunch break? Ten-minute walk.
After dinner? Sit outside.
Phone call with a friend? Wander around the block.
Waiting for the washing machine? Congratulations. You've just been summoned to the garden.
Look Up
This one is ridiculously simple.
Actually look at the sky.
Notice the clouds. Find the moon. Watch birds doing bird administration. Notice how the light changes throughout the year.
We spend so much time looking down at screens, lists, bills, messages and responsibilities.
Sometimes your brain deserves a different view.
Use Your Senses
If your mind is running seventeen tabs at once, give it something physical to notice.
What can you hear?
What does the air feel like?
Is it warm, cold, damp or windy?
What can you smell?
What colours are around you?
You don't have to force yourself to "clear your mind."
Just give your attention somewhere else to land.
And If You Only Manage Ten Minutes?
Lovely.
Ten minutes is infinitely more outside than zero minutes.
And perhaps tomorrow it becomes fifteen.
Perhaps one weekend you accidentally spend an hour sitting somewhere beautiful.
Perhaps you start walking after dinner.
Perhaps you remember that the world isn't only emails, errands, fluorescent lighting and things requiring passwords.
There is an enormous living planet right outside the door.
You belong to it too.
So take ten minutes.
Go outside. Look around. Breathe. Exist somewhere that doesn't have a ceiling.
The rest can wait for a moment. 🌿
