Set Up For Success

A friend of mine recently told me about a planner he uses, and I decided to get one. I ordered it online, and after I received it, I read through how to use it.

As I was setting up my new planner, I began to realize how much planning I already do, and how writing things down will help with my planning even more. Planning things out sets you up for success. Writing out your plans, what needs to get accomplished in your months, weeks, and days, will put your success over the top. So let’s look at seven areas where planning is important for success.

Food

Nutrition is the foundation of any healthy lifestyle. Plan your meals at least one week out. This accomplishes four things.

1. You are spending time and energy to decide what your meals are going to be at one time, instead of using thought and energy every single day. When you sit down with a planning mindset, with a goal in mind, decisions are faster and easier to make than if you were to do it daily, at the last minute.

2. Planning your meals establishes a shopping list. You know exactly what you need, and you can plan around what’s on sale for the week. It also helps you to make one single efficient shopping trip.

3. Planning your meals helps you hit your calorie and macronutrient goals. You know what your body needs, and your food list will make sure that no needs go unmet. This is also a good way to plan for variety in your diet.

4. Eating out. If you are attending an event or are just planning on eating out, you can decide beforehand where you will go and what you will order. If you’re attending an event where you know there won’t be enough protein sources, for example, you can be prepared beforehand by bringing whatever it is you need.

Planning your nutrition is crucial. It takes the emotions, guesswork, and carelessness out, and helps you maintain your healthy lifestyle.

Exercise

Being a Normal Human, you know you must exercise and keep up with your general physical preparedness. It is important to not only plan your exercise and rest days, but to plan what you will be doing on your exercise and rest days.

Which days are set aside for strength training? Which ones are assigned to work on your mile run speed? Core training? These are just examples of the vast amount of fitness modalities your exercise programming should address. Make sure you are working on the ten elements of fitness and that your rest days are planned so that the time is utilized properly.

Sleep

Ask any sleep expert and they will tell you that maintaining the same bedtime and time you wake up everyday are essential to getting quality sleep. What is an easy way to do this? Plan your sleep!

Setting your bedtime is an absolute that we all can do. It takes a commitment to yourself, and proper planning of your day to stick with it. Realize how important sleep is and allow no excuse to stray from your set bedtime.

Entertainment

Plan for your entertainment. Make it an action item on your to-do list. This covers two bases. First, it prioritizes your needs, and second, it keeps you out of the “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” mindset.

Projects

If you have projects that are getting put off, not only are you not getting important things done, but you’re not setting yourself up for success. Things that aren’t getting done take up space in the back of your mind causing stress and worry. Plan for time to attack these projects to flush them from your mind.

Family Time

Family time is a must. It allows for shared experiences, relationship building, and bonding. It is you spending a valuable resource, your time, to show those you love that you care about them and reinforces your love for them. Plan for family time to ensure that it happens. It need not be an elaborate event; spending your time and attention is all you need to do.

Habit Making/Habit Breaking

Being successful is in the daily consistency. It is in the good habits we make, and the bad habits we break. Schedule time to reinforce a good habit. Want to read more? Plan time for it. Want to stop eating junk food? Plan your meals and snacks so they are adequate to keep cravings away.

It takes a lot of work to do all this planning, but it gets easier the more you do it. Practice makes perfect and change is never easy, but being set up for success makes it all worth it. The results will come quickly, and you will notice your hard work paying off. As the results build on themselves, use this momentum to optimize your planning and set yourself up for success.

This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Individual results may vary, and is not intended for medical diagnosis or treatment. If you have a medical concern or issue, please consult your physician.