Last year, we decided to take the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge. If you’re not familiar with the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge, it’s as simple (and challenging) as it sounds. The goal is to literally be outside for 1000 hours over the course of a year. The movement was started by Ginny Yurich, a mom who wanted to “match nature time with screen time” (you can read more about Ginny and her movement HERE).
So how did we do on our 1000 Hours Outside Challenge in 2021?
WE “FAILED” AT OUR FIRST 1000 HOURS OUTSIDE CHALLENGE
Yep. You read that right.
We spent 852 hours outside last year, missing the 1000-hour mark by a disappointing 148 hours.
By the time we entered November 2021, I realized there was no way we were going to get to 1000 hours outside. Thankfully, we had enough warm days in November and December to play outside more than I expected. But I was still pretty disappointed. As a Type A, goal-oriented person, I don’t like to fail.
But the truth is, I don’t see this as a failure.
Why?
Because we still spent EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO HOURS outside! That’s an average of 2.3 hours outside per day!
And did you know that the typical American kid only spends an average of 4-7 MINUTES outside each day?!? (Source.)
4-7 minutes. Let that sink in.
You guys, that breaks my heart into a thousand pieces. My entire childhood was spent outdoors and I am soooo thankful for it. I want to give my kids the kinds of memories I got to make as a kid, not memories of how much TV they watched or how many video game levels they beat.
So even though we didn’t quite reach our 1000 hours outside goal, I’m still thrilled that over the course of 2021, we made the intentional choice to go outside and play even when the weather was less than ideal. Even when I was tired. Even when it felt like too much work to put on all the winter gear. Even when turning on the TV would have been much easier.
WHY WE “FAILED” AT OUR FIRST 1000 HOURS OUTSIDE CHALLENGE
I think that one of the best way to learn from our “failures” is to figure out what went wrong.
In this case, it’s not so much about what went “wrong” so much as it’s about what obstacles stood in our way that prevented us from getting outside for 1000 hours.
So why did we fail to reach 1000 hours outside?
01. WE MOVED LAST YEAR
I had no idea how much this would impact our hours outside, but I think it was a pretty significant factor in us not getting outdoors as much as I would have liked, especially during the mild spring and early summer months.
We moved on May 8. That meant that for weeks leading up to us listing our house, I was busy cleaning, decluttering, and painting to get it ready to put on the market at the beginning of April.
Then I was busy packing, decluttering, and running to Goodwill to get our entire household packed up to move.
Then we spent 5 days between both house closings, prepping our new house to move into, moving day, and cleaning our old house after moving.
And then, once we moved, I was busy cleaning, unpacking, and organizing (although I could finally slow down a bit, since we were no longer on a deadline).
When it was all said and done, I spent about 3 solid months on the packing and moving process. Because everything was on a deadline and we didn’t hire any kind of moving company, we spent way fewer hours outside than we normally do during March, April, and May while I was busy working in the house.
02. WE HAD HIGHER-THAN-AVERAGE RAINFALLS IN 2021
To be fair, we did still spend some time outdoors in the rain. It’s not my preference, but we enjoyed splashing around in the puddles and going for a few drizzly hikes.
But we had some torrential downpours last year, some which lasted for days on end. Our late spring/early summer was VERY wet. And then our fall was also VERY wet. These would typically be times of the year when we’re outside constantly, and last year the weather kind of poo poo’d that.
But I don’t want that to be the case again this year! To avoid that being a reason we miss our goal this year, I plan to purchase some better rain gear. Last year, the kids had their wellies, but I didn’t get us all nice raincoats or rain suits. But rain (and snow) gear aside, part of it is that I just have to suck it up and be outside even when it’s not my favorite weather.
03. LITTLE MISS WAS STILL TAKING 2 NAPS PER DAY FOR HALF OF 2021
This one was a blessing and a curse. I was so thankful that she was a good little sleeper (and still is), but because she was still napping twice a day, that left us with less time each day to be outside exploring or going for hikes. When my boys were younger, they frequently napped on the go, but Little Miss has never been one who would nap in the carrier or stroller. And I do prioritize sleep for my little ones, because it’s so dang important for their growing bodies and minds.
However, she’s down to only one nap a day. And she’s finally to the point that it doesn’t completely ruin our evening if she happens to miss that one. That gives us MUCH more flexibility to hike, go into the woods, or just play in the yard for a pretty sizable chunk of each day. So I don’t see this being an obstacle in 2022.
WHY WE’RE TAKING THE 1000 HOURS OUTSIDE CHALLENGE AGAIN IN 2022
Honestly, we loved the 1000 Hours Outside challenge! I’ve said it before, but we’re an outdoorsy-type family, so just getting outdoors wasn’t a stretch for us.
The challenge came, though, when I really wanted to turn on a cartoon for the kids and get stuff done around the house. Or when I had some down time and could have picked up a book to read. Or I wanted to work on my blog while the kids played with LEGOs.
Having this challenge in the back of my mind – and the tracking sheet hanging on the fridge – encouraged me to take the kids outside instead of whatever else I had been planning to do indoors.
And because of that, we’re going to take the challenge again in 2022!
