The Benefits of a No-Phone Walk

This Lent, I gave up TikTok, which I knew would be a challenge. But I also wanted to add in something that would benefit my life. Ironically, I saw a TikTok comment from a woman that said no matter what, she took 10 minutes of her day to walk. I really liked the idea that, even during the busiest of days, she would always carve out time for herself. 

I figured this addition would be perfect because I love to walk. However, I find that sometimes, in the midst of my school stress, my walks consist of me checking a grade or an email. Even if I don’t have work for my classes, if I have my phone I always find myself going to check the weather (or something) and ending up on Instagram unconsciously.

To counteract this bad habit and make my walks truly restorative, I decided to leave my phone behind. Even though it has been somewhat inconvenient on occasion, I have found the practice has helped me reground myself especially on the busy days. 

Sometimes my walks are two hours, sometimes they are just 10 minutes. Sometimes my phone is just powered off or handed to a friend and sometimes I leave it in my dorm room. This commitment to myself has emphasized the importance of carving out time for myself and the transformative qualities of simple movement. 

Even on the walks that I normally wouldn’t be on my phone (like walks with friends), I find that I’m more present just leaving it behind. There’s no checking when I get a text, looking up something we are curious about, or even taking a cute picture. 

To be fair, I still take my Apple Watch so I can connect it to my headphones and listen to music. I’ve found that enjoying music distraction-free has been more helpful than not, so I allow myself this bit of technology. 

I’ve been on some beautiful walks over the 40 days which exist now only in my memory — no camera captured them, no picture was sent to my mom. Even when it was frustrating to not have my phone, it forced me to stay present and enjoy the moment. If something was beautiful, I had no choice but to enjoy it. If I had something I wanted to text my friend, I’d have to remember it. 

When Easter comes and I can redownload TikTok, I’ll catch up on all the videos my friends have sent me in my absence. But I don’t think I ever want to stop the practice of my no-phone walks.

• breaks
• lent
• mindfulness
• solowalks
• walk
• walking