Procrastination is a bitch. That’s why when I catch myself doing it, I revert to remembering that procrastinating isn’t productive at all whenever I’m pursuing a new endeavor. No one has the perfect solution to battling it. Everyone has to deal with it eventually.
To keep me on my toes and away from procrastinating, I know I need to always push myself to start things before I think I’m ready and to never give up by becoming my own pest. These two things will also push you towards a pathway towards fighting through procrastination too. Starting now and just keep bugging yourself.
Start before you think you’re ready by 1st finding one healthy goal to pursue and just do it.
The 1st healthy goal I chose was figuring out how to incorporate a consistent workout routine into my weekly schedule. We should have a goal to be active daily. I am not that. So to start off simple, I needed to think of ways to fit working out within my schedule outside of my job. I wanted to complete this at least for a month. If I can say I incorporated a consistent workout routine in a month, I’d be proud to say I scratched it off my goals list.
In the early fall of 2019, Facebook decided to advertise a lot of fitness ads in my timeline, which became the path chosen for whipping myself into a routine. Hero Fit’s 12-week workout challenge was one of the many Bootcamp campaigns in Maryland at the time that had a very enticing program and incentive I opted not to turn down. The challenge granted me the opportunity to take a chance on a whim to bet on myself to meet a goal. If I could lose 20 lbs or 5 % body fat by the end of the 12-week challenge, I could win a trip for two to Las Vegas and $500. While losing weight was already on my mind, money and vacation became the objects of my desires. I contacted Hero Fit to inquire more about their fitness challenge, and next thing I knew, I was attending 30-minute boot camp classes 3 to 4 times a week as if I was registered for a class in community college.
I didn’t think about creating an immaculate workout plan. I knew the structure would come as I go. I just wanted to make getting moving part of my regular schedule as soon as I clock out of work. Bootcamp helped their participants in doing this by holding them accountable for checking in to every class using a login system only accessible in the class. The rule of the challenge was to log in at least 3 times a week.
In my next #Thirsty30Body blog, I’ll share with you the makeshift 6-week workout challenge I made at home using a grid book for tracking days that I workout.
Make it a habit to become your own pest.
I love stationery! Notebooks, planners, and sticky notes are reminders, outside of my daily reminders app on my phone, which helps keep me focused on what needs to be done. My to-do lists are posted everywhere I frequently look so tasks can stay at the forefront of my mind to complete. This secretly annoys me deep within, but I know through lifelong habit, it works. I’m eternally grateful for this habit I’ve gained because I reap so many benefits staying up with note keeping. I’m my own pest when it comes to getting what I want to be done.
“It takes 28 Days to Form A Habit.”
This quote written in my notebook is the starting point for where most of my healthy habits are formed. This idea stems from the 1960s Psychology Theory by Maxwell Maltz that it takes 30 days to form a habit. Maltz wrote the book Psycho-Cybernetics to prove the 30-day habit-breaking theory, and also “postulated that a person must have an accurate and positive view of his or her self before setting goals; otherwise, he or she will get stuck in a continuing pattern of limiting beliefs.” This same concept also highlighted as one of the four steps of getting started with #Thirsty30Body: Get in the mind frame to get healthy, not only to look good.
Whenever I want to start a healthy eating habit, I challenge myself with this 28 Day Rule. It’s my way of being a pest. I’ve done this with multiple challenges that I’ll later highlight in the #Thirsty30body blog series. For now, I’ll share an easy one that you can begin with on your healthy journey; forming the habit of drinking more water daily.
Drinking my daily average water intake is one of my easiest healthy habits developed over the course of #Thirsty30body, and all it took was reminding myself to carry my water bottle with me and to not purchase drinks while out, daily, for 28 days. I purchased a water bottle from Amazon and carried it with me like a purse every moment I could. My water bottle had time measurements labeled along its side to help me stay on track for where my level of hydration should be in my day. I don’t always follow the timestamps, but I’m reminded by just looking at my bottle that if I finish this bottle twice in one day, I’ve had all the water I need.
You should try it!
When you’ve got the hang of your new habit, set a new healthy goal to pursue. I find that when you set goals this way, tackling them one at a time and creating a routine, it becomes painless going for new healthy habits.
Start now! Don’t overthink your masterplan for how you’ll lose 30 pounds on the first day you choose commitment. Sometimes drafting an entire blueprint in one day can be overwhelming. Start off simple, like drinking water daily for 28 days, conquer it, then move on to your next healthy goal. One step at a time, you’ll devise a working healthy plan. The important part is getting started.
Do you have another healthy habit that you want to form during #Thirsty30body Challenge? Leave what great habits you think would be good starter goals in the comments below.
