Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Michael Brockbank
Well, I highly doubt that I’m going to meet my goal by the end of the year. I haven’t lost much, and am pretty sure that I won’t be anywhere near 200 pounds by January 1st. But, I haven’t put anything back on, either.
But, in contrast to my issues of the past, I have some solid reasons why I haven’t maintained a good workout schedule.
Why Am I Failing a Daily Routine?
This past week, I’ve put in a stupid amount of work for both clients and myself. I am focusing on getting things ready for 2021 and putting into practice a lot of elements I am going to carry over into the new year.
As a result, my time is quickly depleted throughout the day and I am undergoing some massive amounts of stress.
And then there is the fact that I often forget what I want to do as I am sidetracked with trying to keep everything balanced.
Need to SLEEP
I’ve been incredibly exhausted lately. Between personal stress, the holidays, and having a hard time sleeping on that brick in my bedroom, the struggle is real a lot of the days just to keep conscious.
It’s called, “running on caffeine and Emerge all day long.”
I really need to start remembering that I want to drink Sleepytime tea at about 8:45 pm.
Still Not Paying Attention to Alarms
I’m still not paying attention to my workout alarms on the phone. Again, it goes off when I’m in the middle of working. And again, I think to myself, “I’ll do it as soon as this article is done.”
And again, I forget and just keep working.
I need to get into the mindset that everything else can wait. Well, except for Mondays when I’m in a staff meeting when my first alarm goes off. I really should change the time to workout on Mondays.
It’s Not About Being Lazy Now
The most frustrating part about all of this is that it’s no longer about being lazy. I have so much energy and drive to lose the last of the weight first thing in the morning. But, I keep getting sidetracked and forgetting.
I have so much going on at the moment, that my days are simply melting by.
On the upside, being too busy to remember to workout also means I am too busy to snack. In fact, I haven’t done much midnight snacking over the last few days because of being so busy.
I won’t be the muscle-bound, Greek god I wanted to be by January 1st. But, I won’t gain weight, either. So, I guess I can call that a win.
Trying Something New with Case Studies
Perhaps what I can do is keep track of the time I spend on certain case studies. For example, I don’t “clock in” on my spreadsheet for working when I am playing the Xbox or using the Bodyblade.
In reality, I should. After all, the data I collect from these case studies is used for the blogs and YouTube videos.
Maybe that will help me remember since one of my goals is to be more productive. I count the time I spend researching an article. Why shouldn’t I count the time I spend collecting fitness data?
Now that I think about it, I believe it’s a great idea to help me maintain focus.
Gotta Find Some Fitness Structure
So, I like how Chris Desatoff sets up his weekly blogs. It’s a breakdown of how his week went, what he ate, and a summary of his exercise. I was going to try something similar, but again, I forget throughout the day.
And that’s where circumstances fall apart…trying to remember that I want to do those things.
Maybe if I stick with keeping track of case studies and maybe doing a picture per day on Instagram, I can get into some healthy habits. I just need to make sure I don’t annoy everyone on Facebook.
My Instagram feeds directly into my personal Facebook timeline. Some of my friends and family probably aren’t going to care about what I ate or what exercises I am doing.
Eh, it’s all good. Everyone knows who I am and what I do.
Let’s Get Some Habits Created
This next week, I’m going to work on keeping track of exercises as part of “working.” Like I said, the data is used for blog posts and videos. So in a sense, it’s all about the content.
I may not meet my goal weight by January 1st, 2021, but, at least I’ll hit the ground running.
About Author
Hang in there, man.
I bet this next week you’ll make some good progress. If you can take a little time this weekend to set yourself up for success, that’ll help things fall into place more easily the rest of the week.
Maybe prep several containers of food so your meals are ready to go.
Or on your white board, write up a list of exercises you want to set new PR’s for during these last two weeks. You can draw it as a table with blank fields for each day. Then just fill in the data every time you do a quick workout. You could even just focus on bodyweight squats, pushups and situps. Just see how many reps you can rack up by the end of the week. Idk.
Maybe put that box of Sleepytime tea right on your desk, next to your monitor, right in your field of vision. So when your alarm goes off, maybe it’ll be more likely to get done?
That’s kinda what I’ve been figuring out lately. Weird little hacks like these help me make changes. Not instantly, but over time, with repetition.
– I will cook a pot of rice or pasta, scoop some out into containers, open a can of chili and a can of Progresso soup and pour it in there. 5 minutes prep time. Boom. 4 meals are prepped and ready for the microwave. Ditto with sandwiches.
– Or I’ll put a bowl and packet of oatmeal out on the kitchen counter so it’s ready to go and so I don’t forget. That way, I see it when I come into the kitchen in the morning. I don’t have to do that anymore, but for the first few times I did, and it helped me remember. Now I pretty much eat oatmeal or cold cereal every morning as a matter of habit.
– Dumbbells are on the floor next to my desk. I haven’t been using them much, due to pain in my forearm from a house moving injury last summer. But occasionally I say “f*ck it” and just push through the pain and bang out a set or two.
– For next week’s blog post, I typed all the data fields for the whole week…like a template. So as I go through my day, I just record my last meal, record that bottle of water I just drank, record that set of shoulder presses I just did.
Since my template is all set up, it only takes me like 10 seconds to pull it up and fill in the data. Then I’m back to doing whatever I was doing.
And if I’m on the road, I can do it right on my phone, since I type everything up in Google Docs and it’s updated in real time.
These work for me. But then, everyone’s different. And I bet you’re a lot busier than I am lol.
But you can do it. Something’s gonna click this week. You’re motivated af, so it’s just a matter of committing a few minutes here or there to take next steps.
Anyway, at least you’re not gaining.
That’s a small win right there.
I usually don’t have a problem with meal prep. I’ve been prepping meals for years now. In fact, I need some new containers. These ones are seeing some major mileage. lol.