7 Steps to Making Time for Your Wellness Goals

“I don’t have time.” This is probably the biggest obstacle for people when they are trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Let’s face it; we are a society that has a “to-do “list a mile long. Jobs, families, friends, and all kinds of other responsibilities and commitments in between. We multi-task. We double-book, triple-book, and wear a variety of different hats. At times, it may seem like we’re running on a hamster wheel. To add to the never-ending cycle seems plain daunting. So how do you make time for your wellness goals? Here are 7 steps that you can take to make time for your wellness goals and make it happen.

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Making Time for Your Wellness Goals

Before we begin with the steps, let’s talk about time for just a moment, and I would like to be frank if you don’t mind. Every single person has the same amount of hours in the day as the next person. Everyone. So how is it that some people can be more productive than others? They have an action plan and goals. They make these goals their priority and block out time each day to make them happen. The goals become non-negotiables. If you have something that you really want to accomplish, you must take the time to start chipping away at it. If you want something different, you must do different things. Do you need to set boundaries? Give something up? What is not serving you in your life right now, that is just sucking up your time? We all have something.

That brings us to the topic of distraction. On top of us having the long “to-do” list., we have an enormous amount of distractions. They’re everywhere, but mostly at the palm of our hand. Who doesn’t have a smartphone these days? They’re great, don’t get me wrong. Heck, you’re probably reading this article on one right now. They are also the biggest form of distraction most of us have in this day in age. With social media, you-tube, amazon, and the countless apps and games available to us, distractions are the killer of productivity. Where are you spending your time? Start being mindful of this, and I assure you that you will find time for the important things.

Creating Goals

The first step is to set your goal and make the time for your wellness goals. Start with the big picture. What is a long-term goal that you want to reach? Don’t be afraid to think big here. We will often be intimidated by a larger goal, afraid that we could never reach it, but having the big goal and desire written down makes it real. It may take you a year, 3 years, or even 10. Nonetheless, the point is you have the end in mind, and that’s where we want to start. These big goals are known as stretch goals. Stretch yourself to imagine reaching that goal. The sky is the limit.

Once you have that stretch goal, we now want to break it down into smaller steps. What goal or goals can you realistically accomplish in the next 90 days to move the needle toward that stretch goal. Putting a time stamp on it is important because it makes it tangible. In addition, you want it to be measurable. For example, if you’re looking to lose 60 pounds, maybe you can start with your first 15. If you want to run a half marathon, maybe you can start with your first couple of miles. When setting these smaller goals, keep in mind that you want them to be small enough that you’re able to obtain them but big enough where it will move you toward that stretch goal.

Explore Your Obstacles

Now that we have got your goals in place, I don’t want you to think of this shortlist as a “to-do” list. I want you, instead, to think of this as your plan. This is your action plan toward success. With any action plan, we are going to have obstacles. We must consider these. When you go on a road trip, you may have to detour and perhaps not take the route you once thought, but that’s the glory of flexibility vs. rigidity.

Things come up, and you have to expect that, but you also have to commit that you will work through those obstacles to follow through to your goals. What do you need to carry you through, over, or around those obstacles? This is part of your plan. What do you need? Accountability? A partner to go through this with? What is your plan for when you’re about to fall off?

Fear

Let’s talk about some obstacles that may come up. Other than the excuse of no time, the biggest thing that I find holding people back from reaching or even making goals is FEAR. This may seem like a silly obstacle for those that are adopting a healthier lifestyle. Now, what the heck would you be afraid of, right? But hear me out.

We have this fear of perhaps failing. For example, you may have taken on a new health routine in the past and then gave up on it after a while, and you’re afraid that might happen again.

You may have a fear of being judged or rejected by others. We, as humans, like to belong. When our sense of belonging is in jeopardy, our brain says, “halt; we are not comfortable here. What will they think of me?” This type of thinking may lead to self-sabotage that will then result in throwing in the towel.

In the words of Winston Churchill, “Failure isn’t fatal.  Success isn’t final.  It is Only the courage to continue that counts.”

What would happen if you just worked through those fears? What if you just pushed play and unpaused your life? Well, you might succeed, that’s what. Furthermore, you may actually go above and beyond succeeding and discover that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. This may sound cliché, but what if you actually followed through on your goals instead of becoming paralyzed by fear or derailed by another obstacle. Perfectionism perhaps? Time? Doubt? Support?

Procrastinators

Ok. Let’s talk about perfectionism. It is the #1 trait of procrastinators. Finish the sentence, “I will do it when _______.”  On Monday? When are my kids older? When I retire? After the holidays. When summer comes. Any of these sound familiar? Truth bomb here; there is no such thing as perfection. If you’re waiting for the perfect time, perfect place, perfect scenario, situation, whatever, it might be too late. Say this with me now “Done is better than perfect.” Say this as often as you need to. Finally, just do the thing!

Another biggie! Limiting beliefs. What are these? I’m glad you asked. These are beliefs that we have about ourselves that hold us back. An example might be I am too old. I am too young. I’m not smart enough. These are just some phrases that we may say to ourselves or even others. We may have several limiting beliefs, transcending across many areas of our life. We may not stop these beliefs from surfacing, but we can recognize them and not listen and then start to shift those beliefs into more positive ones that will better serve us and assist in moving the needle forward toward growth.

So whatever your obstacle is, and you may not recognize it today, but it will come up, I encourage you to push through it.

The way I like to structure my week is to set it up into 3 sections. What I must get done, what I should get done, and what I would like to do. I map my days out the same, focusing on my top 3 things to get done today. This allows me to cut through the overwhelm and reach my goals faster and more efficiently.

Now, take a good look at your calendar. Are there things on there that are not serving you right now? Anything that is an obstacle from reaching your goals that are not rocks? Basically, these are the things that you may have to let go of to move forward and create time for your wellness goals.

Finding Our Why

Simon Sinek quoted, “Happiness comes from what we do. Fulfillment comes from why we do it.” If you’re making any changes in any area of your life, you need to have a why. Without getting real about why you’re doing it, it just makes it another “to-do,” and we will not have any motivation to stick with it.  Just stating that you want to eat better to be healthier is not a strong enough why. Why do you want better health? What gets you up every morning or lights you up? What makes your heart sing? We need to know our big why because when you become demotivated, which you will (it is perfectly normal), you need that “why” to get you back on the motivation train. Dig into that. Come up with your big why and pull that sucker out when things get rough.

Staying Motivated

There is no bullet-proof method to guarantee that you’re going to stay motivated and keep on track toward your goals. But, there are a few ways to assist you in staying on that motivation train. First, your why has to be strong enough to keep you going. Be sure it’s rock solid. Next, you may need someone to keep you accountable. Perhaps you can bring in someone to do “the thing” with you and keep you both on track. Finally, the community is highly effective in keeping one motivated. When you surround yourself with like-minded people, individuals working toward the same thing as you, it doesn’t seem like work. It becomes easier. The other thing that makes it easier is to keep going. Over time, we develop habits that will have us wondering why we didn’t do that sooner.

In conclusion, every win is worth celebrating. Remember to acknowledge yourself for each and everyone, no matter how small it seems. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” ~ Lao Tzu

Lastly, do you need help figuring out your wellness goals? It is time for your wellness goals to be put in place. Discover the right system with the right accountability and support. Book a Free call with Tess RN today! Make time for your wellness goals!

What are Your Priorities

You may have heard the story of a teacher that presented his class with an empty jar. He then filled the jar with some rocks and asked, “Is this jar full?” The class replied, “yes. The jar was full.” The teacher then added some pebbles to the jar filled in between the rocks up to the top of the jar. “Is the jar full now?” he asked. The class replied, “yes, it was indeed full.” The teacher then added sand to the jar, which fit tightly in between the pebbles and rocks. He repeated the question, “Is the jar full now?” The class agreed that the jar was finally full. The teacher then explained that the rocks were the most important things in our lives. Our top priorities. Perhaps our family, health, relationships.

The pebbles are important things like our work and community, and the sand represented the things that we like to do, but they are not the priority, such as hobbies or volunteering. Priorities look different for everyone, but if we add the sand and the pebbles to the jar first, we won’t have room for the rocks. Decide what your rocks are. These are your priorities.

Time Blocking

I always liked to think of myself as a “fly by the seat of my pants” type of person. This did not serve me well. Am I saying not to be spontaneous and adventurous? No. I suggest that having routines and schedules allows you to be more productive and help us be more successful at reaching our goals. When we block out the time in our calendars for those rocks and then pebbles and finally sand, we actually have more flexibility to have more time to be adventurous.