I have not missed a single workout all month!
So I wanted to share with you some tips that have helped me stay on track this time around.
Always remember the benefit outweighs the other option. For example, I’ve been getting up 30 minutes earlier than usual to drink coffee, study some scripture, stretch, and watch some GMA. I feel so much better after that. I’m ready to face the day and it totally beats a little more time to sleep and starting work groggy.
Set reminders on your phone. I currently have a daily reminder on my phone to “Work Out” at noon (my lunch break). That way, if I’m caught up in something with work, I’ll hear the reminder go off and realize what time it is. I also have one to eat breakfast at 9:30 because sometimes I forget. I have a few other daily reminders but I also set some up only on certain days. Let’s say, I’m planning to make something in the crock pot for dinner that night. I set up a reminder for when I need to turn the crock pot on so that it will be ready at dinner time. These reminders really help me. I could write them down, but I’m not necessarily going to look at my planner in time, you know?
Get some accountability. Everything in life is easier with other people. Especially if those are people you can trust to hold you accountable. I love the Blogilates community for fitness accountability. I also created a fitness Instagram account (@mrsmaugeri_fitness) to better connect to the community. For more accountability, Jessy from The Artsy Cajun and decided to become accountability partners and have been for a few months now. We simply check in via text or email every once in a while just to see how things are going. We’re both working through the Good Morning Girls bible study and helping each other along. That brings me to my next point… The Good Morning Girls community is great for accountability. There are study groups for anyone to join or you could start your own group using the free resources that Courtney provides. Or you could study on your own, like I do, and use Courtney and her blog for accountability.
Make sure you’re doing something you enjoy. Following a routine of any kind is much more difficult when it’s something you don’t enjoy, Whether you’re forcing yourself to train for a marathon or read through the Bible in a year, if you don’t thoroughly enjoy it, you won’t stay on track very long. I hate running, but I love Pop Pilates. It’s fun and engaging and I actually want to work out every day. I think I may even be addicted. Similarly, I love Good Morning Girls bible studies. I really did not enjoy reading through the whole Bible in a year. It was too much to read each day and I felt like I was just rushing through it and not getting everything out of it. And if I fell behind, it felt like such a burden to catch back up. But the Good Morning Girls only study one chapter per day and only on week days. If you fall behind, catching up is a breeze. And they dig deep. And they give you all these free optional resources and accountability.
Invest in cute clothing and equipment. Seriously, this makes all the difference. I almost feel ashamed and materialistic, but when I have cute workout clothes to wear, it makes me want to work out so much more! And the same goes for Bible reading. I bought a new journal the other day that I just love and I can’t wait to write in it every day during my bible study. I have an adorable mason jar tumbler that I love to drink water out of! Whenever I buy new kitchen supplies, I want to cook and use it! When I buy new clothes, I want to wear them out on dates with Pearson. All these are things I’m working on (I talked about them in my Marriage Goals and Personal Goals posts), and as sad as it is, buying new stuff makes me want to do it more!
Wrote my first entry in my new journal today! Isn’t this a beauty? I’ve had my eye on it for over a year now and I finally broke down and bought it last weekend. Since it’s real leather and hand crafted, it was a little more expensive than what I would usually pay for a journal but since I couldn’t get it out of my mind for a whole year, I figured it was worth it. Also, I think the first journal entry certainly counts as a #beginning for the #bloggingonmyownterms challenge, don’t you? And it also works for the “warm” prompt for the #fmsphotoaday challenge.
Set a timeline with long term goals. We all know you can’t get fit in a day, right? It’s a long process. So set a long term goal, say you’ll loose X pounds or inches in 3 months, and setup a time line to get there! I sort of started this journey in August with the end goal of Halloween in mind. I didn’t set any specific number goals, but I want to see improvement in how my clothes fit and how easily I can get through a Blogilates workout. I can already see improvement in that area!
Those are my tips for staying on top of your goals. They work for me and I hope they work for you. Do you have any tips to add to my list? How are you doing on your goals this month? Thanks for reading!
