How do you want to live?Hunter S Thompson said on designing your life "Beware of looking for goals; look for a way of life. Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living within that way of life."
When you think about changing your lifestyle to include healthier habits and an optimal way of eating, you might be thinking of the obstacles that come with it.
There are several impediments to changing routines, particularly when adding new tasks and activities, such as food preparation and exercise. One reason is that people usually do not have large blocks of unoccupied time.
People usually say, “I understand what you are telling me to do and why it is a good idea but I’m so busy now I don’t know how I’ll find time to shop, cook, and exercise.”
Since you don’t have free time now and you can’t manufacture more – we all have to work within a 24-hour day – changing the way you plan and schedule in order to do more with the time you have are the keys to success.
Creating a time management system for yourself can help you fit in your healthy habit changes. It is simple, but requires commitment and the willingness to set and stick with schedules. Remember that it is only by repeating the right behaviors in a stable context over a long period of time that you will form and maintain good habits. I am going to share what has worked for me.
The first thing you will need is a paper planner (yes, paper, not your phone calendar) that allows you to see an entire week at a time with weekend days grouped together. Your planner should also have times to write in your activities from 8AM to 9PM on weekdays, and space for each day to write lists of things to do, reminders, birthdays and other things to remember.
Start by writing in all of the recurring activities you do each year, and the events you have already scheduled. Examples of recurring things would be your monthly book club meeting, piano lessons on Wednesday night at 7PM, and the annual meeting for a charity you support that takes place on the first Tuesday in June. Examples of things you have already scheduled would include things like the Alaskan cruise you are taking in July. Then write in birthdays, anniversaries, the dates you need to file your sales tax returns and all of the other happenings you don’t want to forget. Write in your workday hours, if applicable.
The times not already blocked out are what you have left for everything else, and you should write in the days and times each week you will be doing everything needed to maintain your life. These things include buying a birthday present for the party you are attending next week, taking your car in for an oil change, and of course, shopping for food, batch cooking, and exercise. The key is consistency, both in writing everything in your planner, and keeping the appointments you make with yourself to do the things you have decided are important to you. This system works if you make your mind up to do it.
Sometimes I just don’t feel like doing the things I’ve committed to, like shopping, at a specific time. Most people have to do things regularly that they may not feel like doing in the moment, like filing a tax return, taking care of children, and going to work. At some point you have to make the decision that not feeling like doing it is not a valid reason to not practice good habits. You don’t tell the IRS that you just didn’t feel like filing your tax return, or your employer that you’re just not in the mood to come in today. You have lots of experience in rallying to do things when they need to be done. Toughen up, put on your big girl or big boy pants, and do the right thing!
Doing the same thing over and over is how you develop a routine that can lead to better habits. We all can come up with excuses to justify our bad behavior.
For things to change, you’ve got to change. For things to get better, you’ve got to get better.
Liz Fattore
Nurture Your Health
Licensed Food Over Medicine Professional
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