Call it a Plan

Right about now, your inbox is probably flooded with two words….New Year. Methods, systems, courses of action all promising a better you. I have to be honest – I hate New Years Resolutions. But not for the reason you may think.

I actually love the idea of a fresh start. But limiting it to one day out of 365 is defeat in the making. Big changes don´t happen overnight. Growth is the accumulation of lots of tiny steps forward and also a few steps back.

My New Year mindset is rooted in intention which I manifest through goal-setting. A few years ago I read the quote, A goal without a plan is just a wish. Truer words have never been said.

I will admit, at first I was a skeptic. I can´t tell you the amount of time I have spent selecting a planner, only to watch it collect dust in a drawer. But over the course of the past year, I have learned that planning is essential both personally and professionally.

One of the first realizations came to me while working out. When I originally joined BeachBody, I worked out with a group at my work and we would skip around doing different formats each day. I loved the results that I saw, but the true transformation happened when I started following a program. This is one of the biggest obstacles I see when I begin working with a new client. If you wake up each morning ¨hoping¨ to work out, the chances that you will are very low. However, when you specifically blocked out the time in your schedule and know exactly what workout you will being doing – the chances go way up! It takes the guessing out – you have manifested your intention.

The second realization came when I started writing out my daily goals the night before. Mornings can be chaotic, especially with two kids! I don´t have the time or the focus to list my goals in the morning. What I do have time for is reviewing the goals that I have set the night before. I also jot down to-dos on post-its throughout the day and then stick them to my page for the next day. When I go to organize my planner for the next day, I add these tasks in.

Third game changer? Adding journaling and meditation into my planning process. My journal has a blank page for each day and I will use this exclusively for journaling. I love having all of my thoughts in one place. My goal for 2022 is to wake up 15 minutes earlier so I can accomplish this first thing. This was part of my daily routine, but I fell off this habit during the summer. I have noticed a huge difference.

Finally I wanted to share the planner that I will be using for 2022. It is called a PUSH Journal. It is a 30 day planner and you can buy them in a set of 3! I will go into more specifics, but what really hit me when I started using the planner, was that many of my goals were way too complex. Many of us literally go into the new year planning to completely overhaul our life. Start eating better, start exercising, getting more sleep, start a side business, monthly date nights with your partner. The list goes on and on. The truth is, it is probably not possible to make all of these things happen at once.

Instead, this journal helps you determine what habit you need to create in order to make all of your other goals possible.

The PUSH Journal works like this:

Write out a list of goals (any area of your life). List things that you would like to accomplish this year and also give yourself permission to dream.