Is Dopamine the Reason We Can't Achieve 1000 Hours Outside a Year?

The short answer is yes. However, it is also the solution.

It’s mid-October, the 10th month of the year, and already I know we will not reach our goal of spending 1000 hours outside. Again.

The question is, why is it so hard to get outside?

The 1000-Hour Challenge

Starting the 1000-hour outdoor challenge in January of 2021, I was confident. Fairly competitive by nature, and a sucker for targets, I thought we would easily conquer the challenge. Knowing that the average screen time per year for a child aged 3 yrs was well over 1000 hrs, and considering we limit our children's screen time at home, I thought it should be easy to substitute time when they might be watching tv with time outdoors.

I was wrong.