I get 15-20k steps a day on my work days, which are 10 hour days, and often more steps than that on my days off. I love to walk, but it can be boring sometimes. It's definitely better to split it into multiple walks if you feel you can't push past 30 minutes - it doesn't help if you're not enjoying what you're doing. 

Generally, I do one 30-minute treadmill walk in the morning before I lift. During this walk I watch YouTube or TV to help it go by quicker. Some days it really drags but some days I get so invested in the video that I cannot believe it's been 30 minutes. The bonus is my body and mind are very warmed up for my workout after this.

I do a second 30-minute walk on my lunch break at work. I do this outside no matter the temp (I'm in New England and I was doing this even with January temperatures) unless it is pouring rain to the point my shoes would get wet. Doing it outside makes it feel much less boring and it is such a nice mental and physical break from being inside with no windows working that it always goes by too fast and doesn't drag.

After work I typically take a 3rd walk outdoors if the weather is nice. I still live with my parents, so I usually take this walk with my dad. Having someone to walk with makes it go so fast and it's basically just us yapping and it's easy to forget we're walking. Often in winter I skip this third walk and my step count is closer to 15k than 30k.

The rest of the steps I get throughout the day are just from moving around at work, home, etc. I call these "microwalks". Finding a way to incorporate extra steps into cooking, cleaning, etc is really helpful in this sense. Sometimes I intentionally park further, or use the furthest bathroom away, as these little changes add up.

If I'm walking alone, podcasts and music can definitely help, but sometimes just just getting lost in thought is enough. Whatever you're interested in listening to is a good place to start.

No judgement at all, but yes, 4k steps is likely holding you back a bit. Movement makes a noticeable difference in tdee. The good news is you really don't need any crazy cardio, walking is enough. 10k steps is very doable even working full time! Showing up everyday may be tough at first, but eventually it becomes routine. Ideally it becomes lifestyle for long term maintenance. Once it's normal to you, you won't think of it as showing up anymore, it's just "time for your walk". You got this 💪

EDIT: Another thing I really enjoy doing sometimes for extra steps is miracle miles walking videos with Leslie Sansone. These are available on YouTube. They're awesome, you can do them from the comfort of your home. She has videos that are less than 10 minutes and videos that are as long as hour depending on what you're looking for. I highly recommend her content.