Our Journey to 1000 Hours Outside in 2023, Pt. 1
Today I wanted to chat with you about something other than crafting or toddler activities. Our family has decided to track our outdoor time this year and we have a goal of reaching 1,000 hours by December 31, 2023. Yes, that sounds like a lot of time and honestly, a lot of energy. Let me share my why and how we are making it work for our family.
If you haven’t heard of 1000 Hours Outside, be sure to check out their site. I’ll share my perspective and how their philosophy fits with our family priorities, but this challenge might not be for everyone. I still think there are great mindset shifts to be noticed and useful information on their site and in this post, but my intention here is not to shame anyone who doesn’t/can’t/won’t make the same choices for their family that I make for mine. We have a lot of privileges that make this goal possible and I acknowledge not every family has the opportunity to pursue this. This post is more of a “how are we doing this and why”, not a “you need to do this or else…”.
Why 1000 Hours?
If you’ve never heard of this concept, you are not alone. I think I first saw their page on Instagram a few years ago and was intrigued. I grew up in a nature loving family and loved the idea of immersing my kids in all the beauty nature has to offer as well. The average American child clocks in over 1,000 hours of screen time in a year, so balancing that with outdoor time logically seemed like a good idea to me in my early motherhood journey.
Being outside has well documented benefits for children and adults. Touching the grass, digging in the dirt, morning sunlight, unstructured play time, and a whole host of other opportunities are available outside that have been proven again and again to help us regulate our hormones, regulate our emotions, build resilience, improve social skills, and build physical strength and endurance among many other health and psychological benefits. I am more than happy to dive deeper into the research on this if anyone is interested in having a more in-depth conversation about this, but I’ll keep it succinct here. A quick Google search will give you more information that you might possibly want.
After stumbling upon this concept, I had been toying with the idea and really getting the kids outside as much as possible, but not doing anything structured. During the summer, we eat snacks and lunch outside, we bike or walk almost every day, and soak up the sun. I was noticing that I would avoid going outside when it was cold or I was busy, even if the kids wanted to take a walk. I have endless dishes, laundry, and work to do inside! Can you relate? So I found myself saying no or staying indoors more often than not from November through March.
A Growing Family and Changing Priorities
As our family grew, I naturally had to prioritize where and how I spent my time and energy. When I sat back and thought about the things I valued, when I felt the best, when I felt parenting was easiest, and when my kids where happiest, everything kept coming back to nature and being outside. I came across a quote from Annie Dillard that made me pause for a moment and really reflect on the life I was living for myself and showing my children.
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.”
-Annie Dillard
How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. How we spend our minutes will eventually add up to be the story of our life. If I value peace, harmony, feeling my best, and helping my children be the happiest and healthiest versions of themselves, then it follows that I would pursue that by getting everyone outside more. Last winter I tried to get outside most days, but we had a new baby and that makes it tough on the extremely cold or windy days we sometimes experience.
When the whole country changed in March 2020, our family life also changed. My husband and I had been limping along working opposite schedules because daycare did work for our children or our family. Being forced to stay home for a bit was honestly a reprieve and I loved spending time with my (at the time) 2 children. When it was time to head back to work, Ryan and I decided we couldn’t go back to living a life of passing by each other with quick goodbyes every single day. We were missing each other and time together as a family. We were missing our children and their childhoods. We were missing out on life.
In order to honor our values and act in a way that aligns with our priorities, I decided to leave my job and work a few hours a week close to home. That meant I was home with the kids most of the day and we suddenly had a lot of time to fill. We headed outside a lot! In the snow, in the rain, in the woods on a summer afternoon, and in our snowy backyard. And guess what? It usually made things easier, not harder! I can tell my mood shifts dramatically when I get outside enough, and I can see the difference in my children. We all sleep better and are more regulated. Having some physical space between my body and the children is life giving some days. Watching them make up their own games outside is hilarious. I love to see their personalities shine and their creativity flow.
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it takes 20 minutes to get out the door and there are days I really don’t want to get everyone dressed and deal with the mittens falling off or the suddenly urgent need to go back inside for the bathroom after we finally made it outside for 3 minutes. But, for some reason having our third child really sparked a mindset shift in me that made all of these annoyances seem very minor all of a sudden, especially when I considered all that we were gaining. Getting dressed wasn’t a waste of time anymore, it was simply time I was with my children. I had the opportunity to teach them self care skills, how to clean up after themselves, patience, and cooperation.
How We Plan to Reach 1000 Hours
If you look into the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge, you will most likely find some ideas of how to reach 1,000 hours in a year. This averages out to be around 3 hours a day, which seems like a lot. That seems almost impossible on the coldest days here in Michigan, especially with children in school full or part time. So how are we planning to reach this goal?
First, I want to clarify that I am not forcing the kids to be outside. I spoke with them several times over the course of about a month and asked if they were interested in tracking our hours outside. I have a personal goal of reaching 1,000 hours for myself because it brings me so many benefits, but I'm generally not a forceful or authoritarian parent, so heading outside doesn’t involve threats or shame. If the kids don’t like this challenge in a month or 6 months, they don’t have to continue. So far, they have enjoyed coloring in their trackers and feel pride in occupying themselves outside.
Second, we definitely do not get outside for 3 hours a day in January. We have had some “warmer” days where we get 2 hours, but we are aiming for 1 hour a day this month. I’ve found a great example of how to get outside for 1000 hours in areas with harsh winters and we plan to follow it loosely:
January 1 hour/day
February 1 hour/day
March 2 hours/day
April 3 hours/day
May 4 hours/day
June 5 hours/day
July 5 hours/day
August 4 hours/day
September 3 hours/day
October 2 hours/day
November 2 hours/day
December 1 hour/day
Having a goal has already proven to be helpful for my motivation in getting outside. Apparently the second Friday in January is considered “Quitter’s Day” and I noticed some internal pushback to this goal around that time, but we persevered and I’m always happy when we get fresh air. I’ll update you mid-summer and I might have a different tune by then, but getting outside is not new to use. We are simply tracking our time this year. If we make it to 1,000 hours, well that is fantastic. If we happen to only make it to 800 hours, I still think that is fantastic! In my mind, there really isn’t any losing in this challenge.
For me, this challenge is about living out our values and making our physcial and emotional healthy a priority because it feels good to us and tracking is motiving. Not everyone feels that way, so this challenge might not be the right fit for every family. I usually find it easier to have patience when I’m outside because it is so regulating for me. We can experience unhurried time watching leaves float by on a nearby river, listen for geese, hunt for worms, or swing endlessly. In the summer we garden and play in water and our activities change to reflect the changing seasons.
Our Gear Makes it Possible
Ask anyone who spends time outside, and having the right gear makes all the difference. Have you noticed your kids seem impervious to the cold? I hate being cold and was often the limiting factor in our outdoor time. I realized my coat was not keeping me warm enough and my hands were always so chilly. Last winter I decided to get some new items to take away that barrier and it has been amazing! A few simple purchases made a huge impact on my ability to tolerate being outside. Here is what we wear and use in the cooler months to keep everyone comfortable:
Mom
Kids
Scarves
Outdoor Toys for Cooler Weather
Wagon- we mainly use this in our neighborhood, so it doesn’t fold. We got it after we had several strollers, so this fit our needs.
Stroller(s)- single stroller, double stroller, jogger. While I have been happy with Britax for our stroller and carseat system, I would probably get a different brand if I had to buy present day.
Ball
Chalk
Sunglasses
Bikes
Scooters
T-ball set
Blanket
How Do We Track Our Hours?
We are using the paper trackers from the 1000 Hours Outside site. Each person in our family picked a tracker they liked, and we hung them on our wall by the back door. I used a handy dandy laser level, command hooks, and clipboads and got everything hung up in just a few minutes. I have a reminder on my phone every evening as we are finishing dinner and everyone gets to color in their squares if they didn’t do it earlier in the day. We keep the crayons or colored pencils in a drawer separate from the rest of the coloring materials to make everything easy to find.
I know there are apps, timers, and digital trackers, but I am a paper person all day. I still have a paper planner and cannot get on board with the calendar on my phone. Anyone else? Plus, having this by the back door is a good reminder of our goal and a great visual to see the progress we are making!
I want to note here that you can start this project at any point in the year. There is no rule that says January 1 or bust! If anything in this post resonates with you or you are curious to see how much time you are spending outside, I encourage you to track. It takes me about 1 minute every day to keep tabs on everyone and I think the payoff will be huge!
Now you have the scoop on our journey to 1000 hours outside. Maybe it was enlightening and gave you a boost to spend more time in nature. Maybe you think I’m losing it a little but are curious to see where we end up. Either way, I hope you take something away from my insights and at the very least spend some time reflecting on your personal values and goals. Are you living in a way that is authentic to your “right now values”? I say “right now values” because my values today are not the same as they were 1 year ago or 5 years ago. It is normal for your priorities to shift as you gain now roles and responsibilities, find clarity and support, and experience shifts in family dynamics and your personal life. Reevaluating your priorities and letting go of commitments that no longer serve you can be tough, but is often needed. Keep things in your life that are driving you toward the life you want and release the guilt from things that are not longer serving you. If that includes 1000 hours outside, I will cheer for you through the comments! If that includes literally anything else, I am still cheering for you!
You can catch me outside for the rest of the year!
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