The benefits of going outside everyday
It might sound obvious to some people, and if that's you, I genuinely love that for you. But for a chronically introverted, work-from-home, slightly-anxious-about-everything person like myself, leaving the house is not always as straightforward as it sounds.
Here's the thing: I'm more than happy to leave the house when I have somewhere to be. Errands, appointments, plans with people — no problem. The issue arises on the days when I have nothing on my to-do list that actually requires me to go outside. Those are the days I could, and would, happily stay in from morning to night without once questioning it.
And for a while, I didn't question it. Until I started noticing what those days actually felt like by the end of them.
Does this sound familiar?
In which I add "go outside" to my to-do list
Let me start with some context. I work from home. And not only that, but before I did, I had a commute I genuinely dreaded. Three or four days a week, back and forth, every minute of it resented. So when that stopped, the relief was REAL. Staying home felt like a reward I had earned, and I leaned into it completely. Cozy, comfortable, nowhere to be. The dream.
But if you also work from home, you probably already know where this is going. It's a slippery slope, and it sneaks up on you. Especially when you work from home, work out at home, and have recently moved to a new city where your social circle is still very much a work in progress.
The days started blending into each other. I wasn't unhappy exactly, but I wasn't quite right either. By the end of a day spent entirely indoors, my brain had that particular kind of mush that only comes from not having gone anywhere or done anything that wasn't on a screen.
So what does someone who is mildly obsessed with to-do lists and getting things done do with a realization like that? She adds "go outside" to the daily to-do list. Ridiculous, maybe. But it worked.
A non-exhaustive list of reasons to leave the house
Let me start by saying that I am not the type of person who can just go for a walk with no destination and no purpose. If you can do that, I genuinely admire it, and you can skip ahead to the next section. For me, it has never worked that way. Every time I leave the house, I need a reason. Not a big one, not an errand-filled afternoon necessarily, but something.
So over time, I've built up a little repertoire of reasons, things that get me out of the door without feeling forced, and without becoming an excuse to spend money every single day. That last part matters to me. Going outside shouldn't have to cost anything, and most of the time, it doesn't.
Here's what actually works for me.
Running errands, the long way
The most obvious one, and the easiest starting point. Groceries, the pharmacy, the post office, or whatever needs doing. The trick I've found is to resist the urge to batch everything into one efficient trip. Let one errand be one outing. And whenever possible, take the long way there and the long way back. The task gives you the reason to leave; the route gives you the walk.
Reading or journaling outside
I have the enormous luck of living by the sea, which means I can grab my book, make myself a coffee, find my favourite spot and sit there for an hour with the sound of the waves as background noise. It is, genuinely, one of my favourite things. Some days I bring a journal as well, and just write whatever is in my head until it isn't anymore. If you've never tried journaling outside, I'd genuinely recommend it. But you don't need the sea for this: a park bench, a garden, a café terrace, any patch of outside that feels like yours will do.
Take a workout outside
If you already have a fitness routine, this one is an easy win: move one of your sessions outdoors when you can. A run instead of the treadmill, a swim in the sea, or better yet, sign up for an outdoor class. Same workout, fresh air, and a reason to get dressed and go.
Little free libraries (or the actual library)
If your neighbourhood has a little free library, one of those small street boxes where people leave and take books, making a habit of checking it regularly is a surprisingly good reason to leave the house. You never know what you'll find. And if you're not lucky enough to have one nearby, the actual library is a vastly underrated outing and a completely free one. Browse, borrow, sit and read for a while. Both are also two of the easiest ways to read more sustainably. Worth keeping in mind if that's something you think about.
Wander through a market
Farmers' markets, flea markets, book markets, Christmas markets… wandering through a market is one of the best free things you can do in almost any town or city, and it requires absolutely no plan beyond showing up. You don't need to buy anything to make it worthwhile, though if you do happen to come home with a bunch of flowers or a second-hand book, that's nobody's business but yours.
Photo by Simon Hurry on Unsplash
The real benefits of going outside every day
I want to be clear that I am not remotely qualified to give health advice. What I can tell you is what I noticed in myself, over time, from simply going outside every day. Consider this a field report.
Mental clarity and mood
This one is hard to quantify but impossible to ignore. There is a specific kind of mental fog that builds up over a day spent entirely indoors, and fresh air cuts through it in a way that a second coffee simply does not. I don't always come back from a walk with the answers to life's questions, but I almost always come back clearer than when I left.
A natural break in the day
Working from home makes it very easy to never actually stop. Going outside forces a real pause, not a scroll-through-your-phone break, not a walk to the kitchen break, but an actual interruption in the day where you are somewhere else, doing something else, breathing different air.
Moving your body
Think of it as a break for your back and neck after hours at a desk, a chance for your eyes to focus on something further away than a screen, and an opportunity to remind your legs that they exist and have a purpose beyond getting you to the kitchen and back.
Creativity and fresh perspective
Don't be surprised if, after hours stuck in the same room staring at the same four walls, the ideas stop coming. Sometimes the only thing standing between you and a good idea is the front door. Going outside won't guarantee inspiration, but staying in will almost certainly kill it.
Feeling less isolated
There's something about being among people that quietly reminds you that whatever is going on inside my head, the world keeps spinning.
Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash
The part where I admit it actually helped
The most unexpected thing is how much easier it has gotten. Not because leaving the house has become effortless (some days it still takes a small act of will) but because I now know, with some certainty, that I will feel better afterwards. Every single time.
The other thing I noticed is how much smaller my reasons have gotten. At the start, I needed a proper excuse to leave. Now, the excuse can be almost nothing, and I go anyway.
In conclusion: go touch grass
This is what worked for me, and I'm sharing it in the hope that it might work for someone else too, or at least spark something. That said, I want to acknowledge something: I live somewhere sunny now, which makes all of this considerably easier. Before this, I lived somewhere it rained almost constantly, and I know from experience how much harder it is to drag yourself outside when the weather is miserable. You need more creativity, more layers, and possibly a higher tolerance for damp shoes.
Are you a fellow homebody trying to make this work? Or do you already have a leaving-the-house habit of your own? I'd love to hear what gets you out the door in the comments.
