After writing my 90 Day Plan, I sat down with my three goals: fitness, reduced debt and increased blog traffic. The goals are lofty and will make me a happier human when I achieve them and…way too general. After all, life happens and general goals get lost in the shuffle. Instead of giving in to frustration, I decided to work with the choices I made and fine tune my list.
I used 4 steps:
- Define my goals.
- Schedule the work.
- Look for obstacles.
- Set a reward for when I achieve my goals.
Let me share how I fine tuned the first goal of fitness.
Define: outline a specific and measurable goal.
My original goal was fitness. I refined the goal to: lose 12 pounds, run a sub 2 hour 1/2 marathon, gain upper body strength. I looked at that and thought, better but not clear. I defined the goal one more time. Here’s the new list:
Lose 12 pounds = 1 pound/week.
Reduce sugar intake by skipping sugar 4 days/week.
Less booze! Skip the wine most of the time.
Yoga class 12 times…seriously that’s 1/week.
Schedule the Work: this is the how-to list.
I understand what my goal is. I want to be healthier, faster and leaner by September 16. To lose weight and get faster, I needed to create a scaffold. A plan makes it easier to stay on track.
A 12 oz glass of water first thing every morning.
Eat a daily clean breakfast.
Begin this 12 week 1/2 marathon training schedule.
12 classes of yoga checklist. 🔲
Booze free minimum 2 days a week, including “just one glass” of wine at dinner.
List Obstacles: life happens, prepare for some of the challenges.
Hindsight is 20/20. Generally, I have great intentions near the beginning of any lofty plan. About halfway, I get tired and fail to see the point. This is due in part to not defining the goal enough to see my progress. Another piece I often overlook is life happens. Work, illness or fun can get in the way of achieving goals. I looked at my defined goals and listed ways I may get sidetracked.
My own mind. I get in my own way a ton.
Traveling. I travel quite a bit. Most months, I’m gone at least one weekend. That is a barrier to exercise.
Eating out no matter how delicious is a barrier for me. We eat out once a week or more. It’s a lot easier to eat poorly or drink that one glass of fill-in the blank when I’m out.
Not prioritizing exercises other than running is a continued challenge. I’m able to get out and run regularly but need to cross train.
Stretching is not routine…yoga would work…
Finally, schedule for success.
This takes a bit of time each week. I’m using the bullet journal method. Here’s a week of tasks laid out. I’m a bit lazy but don’t hesitate to get fancy.
And the reward?
I think I’ll wait until day 45. At that point, I’ll need something to help me refocus. Perhaps a new outfit or fun destination? Keep you posted.
