Way back in 2013 I started 1000 Hours Outside as an overwhelmed mom of young children. This commitment to nature time was then, and continues to be, the answer to so many modern parenting problems.

In the last ten years, our personal family has changed from having three little kids to having five kids, some of whom are now teens.

The world has changed a lot in the last ten years too. The world in 2013 didn’t have TikTok or Alexa. Two billion people joined social media between 2010 and 2020. The internet in many ways has become more “sticky” and so much of our lives seems to revolve around screens and around sitting.

This last year made it apparent that I needed a few more guardrails in my own life. I wrote two books, recorded and edited 80 podcasts, and drove teens to an incredible amount of social events :). text goes here

Here’s what I’m hoping my 2023 includes:

1000 Hours Outside - obviously

1000 Miles Moved - I’m aiming for overground walking outdoors with a rucksack but there are lots of variations here. I was too sedentary this last year and I need to move more. Katy Bowman writes in Move Your DNA, “Anthropologists estimate that the daily tasks of gathering wood, food, and water, as well as migrating longer distances when necessary, meant that historical hunter-gatherer people were walking about one thousand miles a year.”

1000 Chapters Read - People ask often how I’m able to get through so many books for our podcast. This is my method. There is a variation for 1000 Books Read if you have young kids. Three pictures books a day would be tremendous for them!!

1000 Analog Hours - Mike Rucker, Ph.D. (The Fun Habit) says the sweet spot for leisure is two to five hours a day. I’m going for it. I think we have to be intentional about it or it doesn’t happen.

Descripthat’s the end of the story. There will clearly be some crossover here. Some (or even most) of your outdoor time may be leisure time. If you’re chasing small children in the snow or trying to keep them from putting rocks in their mouths, it might not be. Some of your reading may be leisure and some may be practical.

It’s been ten years. If you want to try this along with me, fill out the form above and your tracker charts will pop up. Our entire family is doing some version of this in 2023. All our kids are aiming for the outside time, the reading the log, and the 1000 miles of movement.

I have no idea how it will go but I do know that it will push out the low-quality leisure that so often fills our lives.

Happy ten year anniversary to 1000 Hours Outside! Thank you all for being here.

-Ginny