Planning
I’ve been watching people with these cool little planners for about a year now, wanting to get into the game. The planning game of glamour! Not really, but somehow owning a planner like this seemed like the way to get things done in 2017. Forget that I’ve never used a planner much beyond the first two months of any year… apparently this year will be different. In fact, I think I know it will be different. Why? Let me show you:
I think the primary thing I’m excited about with this planner is that there are pages one can add, at will, anywhere you need. This means that I have added a couple of goals pages. One traces my weight from 205, currently, down to 170, hopefully this time this year. While it may not seem like a terribly motivating thing, a piece of paper in a planner, it is. Spending the time making that also made me meditate on it, plan for it and consider the level of disappointment I’ll feel if I don’t reach it. I also decided to include a monthly goals sheet to help me track my progress toward goals.
Then I spent some time just thinking about what is possible this year. With my high-needs, intense class this year I know that I don’t have the energy or motivation at the end of most days to incorporate a bonafide run. I can go for a walk, though. So I incorporated walking Wednesday as a thing every week in my planner. I’m hoping to take a walk with a family member every Wednesday. It will dial back my intensity expectations for myself and hopefully will add a connecting piece, midweek, with my family. I also realized that it’s easy to incorporate a kitchen jog once a week or so. Or at least I can write it in my planner as an idea, I can consider it in the moment and decide from there. My hope is that once the seed is planted that my follow through will be better. There is something to the power of suggestion, you know. 😉 I realized I can’t strive to be the powerhouse I have been over the past few years, but that doesn’t mean I should let it go altogether. I realized I need to be forgiving of my sapped energy level and I need to dial back expectations. I’m still planning to run every weekend. I’ll run one 5k and another run or hike of undertermined distance the other day, that way I’ll stay in condition for shorter races and will still be able to push for some distance training as the year goes on and my class balances out a bit more.
As I was adding washi tape and stickers to make my planner all adorable and colorful, because that’s necessary when planning, I thought and thought a lot about this little thing. I realized that just holding it in my hand put me twenty paces ahead of where I was the day before. Suddenly I have a path I want to follow and an idea of how to get there. That’s half the battle, right there.
Here’s to planning, health and a successful 2017!