I bought a fitness watch a couple of years ago — not so much to lose weight but to keep off the pounds I lost during our 5 month downsizing move from one home to another.

I wore it for two weeks without trying to increase my walking, just to see how much I did walk (much like you have done), to figure out which of my activities produce the most steps, and how far distances are, especially walking in my neighborhood.

Once I had a baseline, I started setting small increase goals — not daily because my daily activities vary greatly but by week.

Adding 1,000 steps every 3 weeks to my weekly total was not an overwhelming goal, and the 3 weeks before the next increase gave me time to adjust.

Actually, I always added more than my additional 1,000 steps. Not on purpose, it just happened. I thought about moving more and did. Action follows intention.

Within 3 months, I increased my weekly steps by 7,000 steps — reaching the fitness step goal of 10,000 nearly every day and often going over.

Shortly after, I lost my fitness watch and felt no need to replace it. I knew how many steps were generated by my normal activities and had a much better concept of distance.

Goals are not evil, Zach, just don’t set unrealistic ones. Like Shaunta and her goal of 10 minutes of writing each day, adding 100 or 200 steps a day or 1,000 per week are doable goals. Think of the numbers as intentions rather than goals!