[digging]

I don't meditate, but I do introspect a lot. I often do so on walks. And I find I must give myself at least 10-15 minutes to even get into that mode, to stop worrying about what's actually happening or about to happen or did happen and to be able to let my mind wander and explore things deeply. So I force myself to continue until I reach the point where I'm no longer trying to convince myself to give it up and go home because there's something else I want to do so badly.

After that point, it's up to my subconscious. I'll stop when I feel like it, when I feel satisfied. That could be anywhere from 10 more minutes to another hour. But the longest part is always the beginning. The second part never feels like time is passing - it's exactly what I want to be doing.

Of course, if I only have 15 minutes, there's no guarantee I'm going to reach a place of satisfaction. I would aim to set aside 30-45 minutes whenever possible. I often see "do X for 1 hour a day" and that's just not realistic for everyone. You can definitely get good results with less time investment. But in general, yes you'll get out of it what you put in. I don't walk every single day and I noticeably suffer for it.