Tips For Getting Consistent With Your Habits
Consistency is a KEY element for building healthy habits and reaching your goals.
Have you ever started a new health and wellness program only to forget about it after a short amount of time? When starting anything new, excitement and motivation set in first. You start setting your goals, maybe even go food shopping and buy all of the freshest produce for your fun healthy recipes, buy a new water bottle to hit your hydration goals, buy some new supplements, maybe even buy a new pair of sneakers for your workout and create a new workout playlist. I will admit that I have done all of those things after deciding that I want to get “fit and healthy” after being unhappy in my body or unhappy with how I had been treating my body. But after about a week, I went right back to my old habits and forgot about those new habits I was going to start. Why? Because I was never consistent.
You could set even the most attainable goal and buy all of the food, supplements and workout clothes you want, but if you don’t have consistency with your habits, then you won’t reach your goals. Below are my tops tips for getting consistent with your habits to reach your goals:
Make A Plan
Your goal needs to be backed up with a plan. Without a plan you only have a goal which isn’t enough to get going and stay consistent. To make a plan you need to first decide what habits you need to incorporate into your routine to support your goal. If you have goals related to fitness, maybe some habits you would like to add in are weight training a few days a week or attending a boxing class a couple times a week, upping your water intake or adding in nutritious protein and carb dense meals, etc. Once you have a good idea of the habits you’ll need to get to your goal, then you need to plan out a schedule for yourself to make those habits happen. Your plan needs to be doable and enjoyable for you and your current lifestyle. If you are rushing to fit in a habit or if you don’t plan for it in your daily schedule, then it won’t stick!
Set Reminders
Reminders are not only just helpful to stay consistent but they can be a powerful tool for supporting your goals. Often you stop being consistent with a habit because you simply forget about it. Life can be so busy, so it is easy to forget to do your workout before work, or forget about drinking water or any other habit. But you can prevent forgetting by setting up a reminder system. Setting reminders can look like:
writing your habits down into your daily schedule or leaving yourself post it notes in places you often look (like a fridge, desk/computer screen, bedside table, mirror, etc.)
leaving a trail of bread crumbs around like- filling up a water bottle before bed and leaving it in front of your coffee maker in the morning to remind yourself to hydrate first thing in the morning or setting out your workout clothes the night before
set reminders on your phone
Accountability
Accountability is another essential element for reaching your goals. Accountability is having something or someone to hold you accountable for checking off your daily habits, reaching milestones, staying on track towards your goals, etc. Having accountability will keep you accountable for getting to your workout class, drinking enough water, limiting alcohol, staying on top of your nutrition or any other habit in your plan. Accountability can take on many different forms, below are a few examples:
An accountability partner- this is someone in your life who can check in with you a few times a week to make sure you are staying true to your goals. This can be a friend, close family member, significant other, health coach etc. This person would preferably be someone who shares the same health and wellness interests as you!
Book workout classes at the beginning of the week- if going to a studio is your thing, book those classes ahead of time. When you pre commit to something, you don’t have a choice but to go!
Invest in a health coach! A health coach helps to keep you accountable and helps to guide you toward reaching your goals.
Get a health and wellness tracker- this is a great way to track your meals, workouts, water intake, self care rituals or any other habits you have in your plan to reach your goal. This is a great way to check in with yourself at the end of each day and week to see how well you are holding up to the promise you made to yourself. Just like any other habit, this requires reminders so be sure to keep it in a place where you hang out at after dinner like your bedside table or living area coffee table.
Share some of the ways you will be staying consistent with your healthy habits in the comments below!
