Last week I put up a post announcing I’d try to put out a new blog post once a week for 2020. I made it through the first week, and then……..
I have a lot of stuff I could write about, but just can’t seem to put pen to paper, so to speak. I’ve been digging into a bunch of physiology research lately on the deeper neurology of how mobility changes and what works in the most direct means possible, so that’s always a topic I could put out there, but it’s primarily been for my upcoming workshop Scientific Application of Mobility, and it’s also pretty dense material, so deciding on whether to go HAM on science talk or making it digestible as a saltine will make for some challenges.
Also, it’s cold as balls here right now, with temps dropping to around -35C next week, before windchill. For the American friends who use Freedom units, -40 is the same in both celsius and Farenheit, so that’s an interesting tidbit. When it’s this cold, work is usually the LAST thing I would want to do in lieu of sleeping, cooking, and trying to not die anytime I walk outside.
So I woke up this morning, knowing I had a target to hit, with nothing behind my eyes but good intentions and thoughts of tropical tradewinds. However, there’s something magical that happens once you start doing something.
You keep doing it.
As I was writing out the first few sentences of this piece, I had an idea. Writers block on an instance like this is no different than the waxing and waning motivation to keep working out. In week one, I was ready to go. I had a topic, pulled the research, had everything lined up, wrote my face off, and fist pumped once I hit publish. Life is good.
Now we’re in week 2. Nada. What pulled me forward last week is moreso pushing back against me this week. Sounds like a New Years Resolution to workout regularly, doesn’t it?
PT Direct did an excellent piece talking about adherence among gym members with data from IRHSA and the International Fitness Association. They showed that from January through June, the frequency that members accessed the gym decreased significantly, and most precipitously in the groups that attended the gym less than 4 times in the month, or once a week. Attendance also decreases across the week, with most check ins happening in the first half and falling off once Thursday came around.
It’s not uncommon for someone to come out of the gate hot at the beginning of January with best intentions, but then by 1-4 weeks in, those new habits aren’t being consistently supported anymore. There’s a lot of reasons behind this, ranging from environment to program design or lack thereof, to costs,schedule, existing habits, whatever.
So in light of having no specific blog post topics to discuss, todays blog will be dedicated to helping those who are looking to keep going into week 2 of the year find the road with their tires and keep moving forward. This info can also be doubled up as self-talk for fixing writers block as well, so it’s somewhat selfish on my part.
#1: Just Do It
I sat down at the computer today with no idea of what would pour out, but I started writing, and found a groove as a result. I’ve rarely ever started a workout feeling like I was really into working out at the moment, but always finished feeling better for having done it. At least for most of them. AMRAP deadlifts can suck the life out of you.
You found the workouts last week, so just put distractions and excuses out of your mind, make it happen, and then you can do a celebratory Kid N Play dance for having finished in the face of procrastination.
#2: Plan for Success
Last week, I had the game plan and executed the way I’d planned it out. This week, I had no plan, and executed it exactly as I’d planned it. So going forward, what’s the plan? I’ll have to set things up early to make sure I have the resources, topics, and environment set up to succeed, and you need to do the same.
Get your meals organized so you know what you’ll eat for the week. Give some wiggle room here and there, but have an actual plan. The same goes for your workouts. What days, what times, and what activities? What will you need to do to make those work? Make sure you have clothes and shoes to get to the gym if you’re going there, or any equipment needed to play any sports or activities. Put it together now so you’re not trying to figure it out last minute.
#3: Remember Why You’re Doing This
My goal of writing weekly came from the fact that in the past 2 years I haven’t made it much of a priority, in spite of the fact that it’s a major driver of my business plus a creative outlet that I actually enjoy. It’s what brought me to the dance, so to speak, in how I was able to build a side career that’s allowed me a lot of really cool opportunities and financial stability.
Why are you looking to workout this week? I’m guessing your goal is still the same as last week, so remember what’s driving you and make it a continued priority. If you were successful last week, you can be successful this week. The formula is there, so just keep working it and you’ll make week 2 as successful as week 1, and set up to make the other 50 weeks this year a massive success.
#4: Do a DeBrief of Last Week
Every success and failure leaves clues, so dig into what happened and see if you can tease out some details that can help make this week successful for you.
For week 1, I had the goal in mind, the plan to act, the resources needed to make it happen, the timeline to put it together, and the motivation to hit publish at the end of the piece.
What were the easy parts? I had the environment (office, website, scheduled time) to make it happen. I had a topic in mind, and research to put together the outline of the piece.
What were the hard parts? Focusing on making it happen when I had competing demands from errands, programs, and other work stuff getting in the way. Making sure I didn’t get distracted and actually finished the task on time.
What could I have done better? Once I finished I should have started planning out the next weeks post so I could have had the plan in place again. I’ll do that this week to make it less daunting for next week.
What did I do really well? I made it happen, and I followed my own plan essentially to the letter. Yay me.
Now do this for your last week. What were the easy parts, what were the hard parts, what could you have done better, what did you do really well? This will help form an outline for how you can proceed into this week to be as successful as possible, plus make you think about the process a bit more. The process produces the results, so make sure you know what you’re doing.
So since it’s Sunday, you have the week coming up shortly, it’s time to put your plan in place. Get organized today, outline what you’ll need to be successful in hitting your goal, and then execute the plan. I’ll be doing the same thing, so hopefully by the end of 2020 we’ll have all hit our goals.