As I reflect on what I want to take with me from 2025, the single biggest change I’ve made this year has been around movement.
I’ve been writing about wanting to be fitter and move more for probably 15 of the 17 years I’ve been writing this blog – ever since I graduated from college. And it’s been so bloody hard to make meaningful progress.
But a combination of 3 books – Outlive, Good Energy, and Built to Move – have inspired real progress over the past two years.
Two stats from my Health app bring this to life:
(a) Exercise: In 2023, I averaged 39 minutes of exercise per day. This year, that number doubled to 78 minutes.
(b) Movement: Last year, I hit 8,266 steps per day. This year, that number moved up about ~60% to ~13,200.
The first bit of progress came from regular weekday workouts and soccer on the weekend. The step change in movement came from a lot of intentional walking – especially post meals.
I’ve definitely made significant changes to my diet. However, I think the biggest changes have been around movement and I’d love to take this with me to build on in 2026.
This is also a change that has brought me a lot of joy and day-to-day happiness. It reinforces the idea that we are, indeed, built to move.
It is also a reminder of just how hard it is to make this sort of change. It’s one thing to write about it for so many years. It’s quite another thing to actually do it.
And we can increase the odds of making that happen by stacking one small habit at a time.
A Learning a Day 