Some things I learned from reading a number of articles on effective walking. I added some of these to my walking.

1. Some walking is better than no walking
2. As few as 2200 steps (higher numbers are more effective) help fight diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
3. Focusing purely on steps misses the big picture - what kind of steps you are taking is just as important as the number
4. If your step numbers are slow, start small and slowly increase them over time
5. Walk faster. Building intensity into walking is not about burning more calories ,its about strengthening your cardiovascular system. You can alternate between bursts of slow and fast walking
6. In one study, walking faster led to lower rates of sleep apnea, acid reflus, diabetes and hypertension
7. Begin by walking faster for 30 seconds or one minute at a time. Increase the frequency and length as you are able.
8. After speeding consider heading up. Find hills or paths to walk up and increase your heart rate
9. Try jogging for some stretches.
10. There are more ideas to increase walking effectiveness - I’m not bold enough to start these yet..but I’ll list some of them here - walking hill backward (this targets different muscles), carrying weights in your backbpack - apparently this is a popular trend called Rucking, Nordic walking (walking with poles to engage your upper body)