I’ve been doing a lot more walking lately. Initially, it didn't start as a health thing but as a writing thing. You see, most mornings when I wake up, I'd sit at my desk with a cup of coffee and stare at a computer screen with a blinking cursor for 25-30 minutes and get virtually nothing. At best, I would hit maybe 100-150 words. On a really good day, if I had a few hours to myself, I might be able to hit the 500 mark.

But then I listened to an episode of The Creative Penn podcast about dictating. It wasn’t anything new, really. I’d heard a lot about dictating on several podcasts, but I never thought it was for me. But something about this episode struck me in the right way. I had recently read about one of Google's new apps called Recorder that would record voice memos and instantly transcribe it for you. So, I thought I would give it a try.

I popped my headphones in, put some music on, started walking through the neighborhood, and hit record. The trip I mapped out around our subdivision is roughly a mile and a half, and it took me about 25 to 30 minutes to walk it, all the while talking and recording.

And a wonderful thing happened. My writing productivity skyrocketed.

On my first walk, I hit around a thousand words: two blog entries and a a scene for my new novel. I was floored. My struggles seemed to be less of a struggle. I kept doing it day after day, and I kept getting some really productive work in. So far, I've averaged around 800-1,000 words per walk, which is an incredible increase from my previously dismal average.

Sometimes we get into ruts in life where we get into routines and things kind of halt. They get a little stagnant. Now, there's nothing wrong with routines. Routines are what help us establish habits, make changes in our life, and keep us going. But every once in a while, our routines hinder us. They hold us back.

Sometimes we need a little jolt just to change things up. For me, it was a change in the method and a change in scenery. When I'm out walking, it’s just me and the recorder. Fresh air. Sunshine. Nature. I don’t get nearly as distracted as I do when I’m sitting in my office, thinking about other things I need to do. I’m more focused, so I’m more productive.

You might be in one of those lulls right now. You might be in a place where you're struggling. You keep doing the same thing the same way but don't seem to get results. Whether it’s work, exercise, creative endeavors, whatever, try something different. Try a new routine. You never know what kind of jolt may shock your system into a new and better way.