Mindset Tricks to Stay on Track

What gets you off track?

From working out to achieving a new goal, it always seems that we face that crucial moment when we can’t seem to get the ball going again.  Everything is going great; you’re on fire, things are getting done, then BAM you have a day when it all comes to a halt.  It can be anything or a lot of little things that pile up so high that we can’t see the momentum from our previous days.  I know for myself anytime that everything seems to be going all too well, something will derail me.  An odd schedule change will put me in a “mood.”  If not that, I get into a disagreement with Justen, or the kids, or the dog.  I use to let a tiny moment in life alter the path that I was on.  Try to take note of the type of disruptor that tends to steer you in the wrong direction.  Knowing that will help you better prepare for the next time.

 

In the end, I have realized that those little upsets will pass, and I will not remember what it was that made me so upset. However, I will remember that I broke a perfect 32-day yoga streak, or that my no eating sweets turned into eating every sweet thing in the house.  So the next time you decide to create a new goal, first determine what you will do “in case of an emergency.”  In other words, plan out your most typical disruptor.  I started using this simple trick, and it has kept me on track with my goals.

 

Set a Timer

Another great tip is to give yourself a timeframe to be unmotivated.  Once that window has closed, you have to kick it back into high gear.  This helps a lot on those days when nothing has gone wrong, and yet you can’t peel yourself out of bed, or you can’t imagine stepping foot into the gym again.  Give yourself an hour and then hit go.  Sometimes it’s best to stop asking ourselves what it is that we feel about a particular task that we don’t want to do, and we just do it anyway.  Have you ever had a time when you don’t want to wash the dishes, do the laundry, or workout?  This next step may make all of the difference for you.  Set a timer and ask yourself, “what would happen if I just did this XYZ-task for 15 minutes?”.  Then give it a try!  I’m pretty sure that once you get started, it won’t be the end of the world, and your ability to push through will give you a much-needed boost in the motivation department.

Just Move

We underestimate the need for our bodies to move so much that we don’t realize that a lot of times; it is the lack of movement that keeps us from wanting to move.  Crazy right?  I’ve had times when I don’t want to workout.  The best thing for me at that moment is to say “okay fine, I don’t want to work out…but I will start and decide after the warmup if I still want to continue or not”.  Sometimes I give myself space to only go at it halfheartedly. In just about every situation, I end up finishing strong, and a lot happier that I just pushed through.

The sheer lack of movement does create a stagnant mood and can keep us from finding the joy in a project.  The next time that you start to feel in a funk and you can’t figure out why try moving for a few minutes.  I would suggest a quick, 15-30 minute workout.  If all else fails and you can’t find a free app that you like, try the good ol’ fashion jumping jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups…I guarantee that you’ll feel a lot better once you’ve moved a little bit.

Feelings not Necessary

The most crucial part is forming a habit of NOT giving up on a goal when your mood is off.  Once we start to give in to our feelings, we tend to find that it’s hard to compete with the instant gratification of relaxing, emotional eating, or allowing our tasks to pile up while we scroll social media.  The trick is really to change our mindset.  I have found that things get done when I take care of tasks as is they are habits.  I’m not sure when it became a “thing” to continually check in emotionally before we start a job, while getting ready for work, before we even step out of bed, etc.  Are those little blue “thumbs-up” to blame?  Are we becoming conditioned to “check-in” with our emotions the way we do when we log onto social media?  Maybe we should ask ourselves what our goals are for the day, rather than looking into our current mood.  Once your day is complete, ask yourself, “how do I feel after kicking butt all day?”  I promise one is way more gratifying than the other.

 

Discipline or Consequences

As you can imagine, the easiest way to keep yourself productive, motivate, and with a winning mindset, is to make sure you have a good idea of what you intend to do each day.  It’s super easy to feel unmotivated when you have a million things to do and yet have no idea where to start.  I just recently heard a podcast where the guest explained that it works best to have a consistent daily schedule.  At first, I thought this might be challenging, but in reality, it makes so much sense.  If you could be more consistent with your work, workouts, eating, they all start to become habits.  It leaves you time and mental energy to do other things.  Here’s a free printable to get you on your way.

 

How I use my planner sheet…

I start the day off at 5 a.m.  I write this on the left side of the sheet.  Below each day of the week, I write down what I will do each morning at 5 a.m., for me, it is wake up & workout.  I leave a little cushion between my exercise and my 7 a.m. task to do things like filing my nails, applying a facemask, etc.  At 7 a.m. I will focus on responding to email, social media posts, etc.  I go down the list and try to keep as many daily tasks as possible consistent.  If you start with the things that you must do each day, you will see all your free time gaps.  It will change everything if you’re weekly chart is filled out, and you’re waking up and seizing the day with purpose.  I do have a planner for daily things like appointments, calls, etc.  I recommend using this as a consistent schedule reminder or as a great tool to see where you may have some free time.  The best part of it all is that if your day does go haywire, you’ll now have a starting point later in the day, or you can call it a wash and start over the following day!

 

If you want to give my prefilled planner a whirl, here you go!

Let me know what you think and what other printables you would like to see.  I love hearing from you and being able to create helpful tools!