Format works better than forcing it.
Today, I was proven right.
5pm rolled around which is in the ballpark of when I usually go for a walk. It was gray again. And drizzling.
I don't know what made me do it, but I finally put on the running clothes I laid out last week. If they hadn't already been there, I probably wouldn't have gone looking for them. But I knew that, which is why I put them there in the first place. Same with my running shoes by the door.
I stepped out into the rain and breathed in through my nose. It was a bit misty more than raining. I walked to the end of the block to loosen up, stretched, and then I started to jog.
When I recently wrote about overhauling my health, I set three primary objectives I thought would get me there: better sleep, consistent exercise, healthier diet. 10 days into this adventure and I'm happy to report that I have completed it as written exactly zero times so far.
Still, I'm ecstatic.
I'd outlined a pretty lofty morning routine... BUT, adherence hasn't been the goal—not yet. Right now, I'm focused on adoption (probably because I'm a marketing operations and systems dork at heart). I just want to make it as easy as possible for me to do the things on that morning routine list. And I'm a firm believer in the wisdom of If You Give A Moose A Muffin. Or, simply the "if this, then that" ideology.
If I walk at the same times each day, then using one of those time slots to run isn't such a big change after all. If I put my running clothes and shoes by the door, then I'm much more likely to put them on without having to think about it.
That's how I've been thinking about this. For me, changes like these are about engineering the space to succeed rather than trying to will myself to do everything all at once. That's looked like meal prepping, food shopping, walking, and getting up earlier in the mornings than I have been.
If you want the first domino to hit the second (and then the third and so on), you have to set them up. Starting means placing the pieces for the chain-reaction.
Otherwise, willpower is worthless.
Our Daily MAP Year Prompt
192/365
Do you make it easier for yourself to do it next time or scold yourself for not doing it this time? Why?
onward.
For more on this daily column and The MAP Year Project, read the backstory here. And if you know someone who'd appreciate this, pass it along.
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