A 10,000-step daily goal may help students put things off less

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   195 students at one university in Singapore: 90 in the goal group and 105 who started two weeks later. They were about 23 years old on average, about 64 in every 100 were women, and most were Chinese.

2. 02

   What they did

   For 14 days, the goal group aimed for 10,000 steps a day. It got one or two reminders a day in a Telegram channel. The other group had no reminders and started the same 14-day challenge two weeks later.

3. 03

   What happened

   Compared with the other group, the goal group took about 10,400 steps a day on average, against about 8,500. After adjusting for the many questions asked, three results held up. People in the goal group put things off less, made fewer everyday mental slips and felt less negative. Positive mood, stress, self-belief, mindful attention, goal progress and self-control showed no clear difference.

What the study found

1. HelpedGoals

   A daily goal of 10,000 steps, with reminders, got students to walk more each day.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: Get a remindertested
   • Action: Track your progressused

   Randomised trial of 195 university students in Singapore · vs students who started two weeks later · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished; summary claims more than the results show

2. HelpedProcrastination

   Students with a daily goal of 10,000 steps and reminders put things off less than students who started later.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: Get a remindertested
   • Action: Track your progressused

   Randomised trial of 195 university students in Singapore · vs students who started two weeks later · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished; summary claims more than the results show

3. HelpedFocus

   Students with the goal made fewer everyday mental slips than students who started later.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: Get a remindertested
   • Action: Track your progressused

   Randomised trial of 195 university students in Singapore · vs students who started two weeks later · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished; summary claims more than the results show

4. HelpedOther outcomes

   Students with the goal reported less negative mood than students who started later.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: Get a remindertested
   • Action: Track your progressused

   Randomised trial of 195 university students in Singapore · vs students who started two weeks later · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished; summary claims more than the results show

Source