Yes, I know, this is not my bullet journal blog and yet HERE I AM, WRITING ABOUT MY BULLET JOURNAL. But this post is actually MORE about habits and health which is NOT something I write about over at bulletjournaljoy.com – I save that spectacular content for you guys.
This picture here is showing a NEW attempt at a “health tracker” I’m using for December. I’ve attempted about 100 variations of health trackers in the years since I started bullet journaling. The problem is, I’ve never kept up with them. EVER. And I really REALLY need to get my health back on track because I’ve not been walking OR running and I’ve been binge-eating and going back to having more several beers a night and…and…you get the picture.
But I decided to set four REALISTIC goals. 1) ONE glass of water a day. 2) 20 minutes of exercise. 3) 1 beer or less a night. 4) “Mindful Eating” which I kinda quantify personally and vaguely as a day where I don’t binge-eat anything. Which, lately, is every day. If I want a granola bar? I have one. NOT FOUR. If I want a cookie? I have 2 NOT EIGHT. If I want some mac-n-cheese? I eat a cup full, NOT A POT FULL.
I think I’ve failed at these trackers in the past because I’ve set the goals that I WANTED TO REACH. I want to be someone who eats just what her body and soul needs, I want to be someone who drinks water all day, I want to only have beer on special occasions, I want to run 30 miles a week. I always set the goals like that…where I want to reach someday, instead of setting goals that are already WITHIN MY REACH. I can’t realistically go from NO water to 8 glasses a day. I can’t realistically go from NO exercise to 4 miles a day. I can’t realistically go from 2-3 beers a night to NO BEERS. I can’t do anything majorly restrictive like sugar detoxes or calorie limits or Whole 30…none of those things have EVER been attainable no matter how much I WANTED them to me.
Instead, I’m looking just a little ahead of where I am but IN THE DIRECTION of where I want to be.
I also chose this method, instead of the boxes for EACH goal that are either FILLED IN or NOT. With this method, as long as I do ONE thing, every day will have something colored in! No day will be a failure if I meet one goal! I’m not striving to make every day be perfect, but to have at least met ONE of those goals each day so that no day is BLANK. And that? Is VERY WITHIN IN MY REACH.
I’m just trying to be kinder to myself and instead of thinking about where I’ve been or where I want to be I am thinking about where I am RIGHT NOW. And right now I don’t sleep well because my body is processing all of the junk and beer and no water and I feel slimey in the mornings and so it’s hard to motivate myself to do anything even remotely athletic and…well, you get the picture.
So here’s to choosing the goals we can REACH, one baby step at a time, in the direction of the big changes we want to make.
That’s…pretty dang brilliant. I think I might poach this idea and try something similar for myself! I’ve honestly been thinking about tacking up a giant posterboard on my bedroom wall and making a little calendar out of it so I have a hard-to-miss visual reminder, coupled with (hopefully) the satisfaction of checking something off. This totally appeals to the color-coder in me and the idea that if I have a few options for goals, I’m more likely to hit at least one of them! Simple, but a really good idea. I hope it works for you! I will report back…
I think you’re on the right track. This goes hand in hand with what James Clear talks about in his book “Atomic Habits” (I think I mentioned this book before). Small steps toward your final destination. Right now, I can’t seem to get past making pretty lists. 😛
This is so smart! Start with smaller, achievable goals, so you can have some success and then move along to the next steps. And the visual component being more than pass-fail is great, too. Very nice!
Sounds great. Perhaps you should consider the wording in your post though. No day is a FAILURE if you live through it. Maybe you can reword your thoughts – if you don’t meet your challenge, it’s just a day you didn’t meet your challenge. There are more days (we hope!). Be conscious of how you think (as you know to do).