Recently, I was a guest on my nephew’s new podcast Teo Learns. In it, I spoke about setting goals for yourself and sticking with them. As an occupational therapist (and all my fellow therapy disciplines), writing patient goals is part of the job, but this was about applying goals to everyday life, getting things done, and staying motivated.
I certainly don’t pretend to have it all figured out, but this year, I have been trying to get more efficient with my time and stick with things more. I have been setting goals to help me stay focused and to know when I’ve made progress.
In the podcast, I went into a little detail on thinking about your typical your day and possibly identifying some goals that you can set for yourself to find more balance. I was definitely lacking in self care time before my husband started taking his nightly walks with the kids, allowing me to fit in my workout on the bike trainer while the kids are out of the house. I also wake up earlier now so that I don’t have to rush in the morning and have some time to actually get myself ready. I go into much more detail about how I balance my day in my Healthy Routine post. There are some days when our family routine kind of falls apart because someone isn’t feeling well or our day gets disrupted by an appointment or one of the kids has trouble falling asleep. We just tell ourselves that we’ll try again tomorrow!
Back in March, I set a goal to exercise for at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week. I set myself a short term goal of setting up my exercise area and put my bike trainer in the living room where it is easily accessible and I can watch TV (or the kids) while I ride. I started out a little over zealous and was riding my bike trainer almost everyday for 45 to 60 minutes, but then I started to lose my enthusiasm and there were weeks that I didn’t exercise at all; I was busy doing other things, or just didn’t want to. The old me would have said, “Oh well, it just didn’t work out,” put it out of my mind, and felt a little guilty for quitting. But this time, I got back on the bike and back into my exercise routine.
I thought about all the reasons that I wanted to keep exercising. I want more energy to chase my kids, it boosts my mood, and it’s just a healthy thing to do. Plus, I had been bragging about my new workout routine to my family and I couldn’t just let that go down the drain! With a few more little bumps since I started, I am still at it; it’s become a habit and that is a success.
Another motivational tip that I mentioned on the podcast was planning a reward for myself once I met a goal, and setting up a vision board. I have rewarded myself with my favorite dessert a couple of times and splurged on a pair of new shoes upon completion of my long term goal. I have not set up a vision board, but I do think it is a great way to stay motivated. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, it could just be a meaningful picture on your phone’s home screen or a note written to yourself that you keep on your bathroom mirror; anything to keep reminding you of your goals.
Just because you lose momentum or feel discouraged, doesn’t mean you have failed. Regroup and start again! This was my first experience on a podcast and my thoughts were a little scattered, but I think the biggest takeaway I wanted to express was that failure is optional.
Check out my guest experience on Teo Learns here!
What goals are you working on?
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Love it! Like we always tell our kids, "if you make a mistake, just try again." K