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Sometimes it seems that despite our best efforts to simplify things, life keeps getting busier and busier. And not necessarily in a negative way, but in the way that make us feel like we better get uber organized or the wheels might start to come off! With these busy lives we lead, it’s so important to take regular breathers now and then, as well as do other things to like taking technology breaks and experimenting with stress reduction techniques like meditation, yoga, strict family only time, and so on. These are all things for another post. But the point is, we all need reminders to do things, whether it’s to pick up the dry cleaning, return a phone call, take care of the bills, or pick up the kiddo from preschool. Weave in new health/wellness goals and you can see how that might get pushed to the side a bit. When you’re looking to make permanent healthy habit changes, a daily reminder can be the difference between meeting your goals on a regular basis and feeling fantastic, and falling short.
Reminders can be delivered in many different ways and for many purposes. When it comes to healthy living, here are two types reminders that help us stay in touch with our goals.
1.The kind that reminds you to DO something…. like packing your lunch for work, writing out a grocery shopping list, or getting to your pilates class. Think about activities that you typically forget to do (it may even be something that you forget that impacts your ability to do that activity… i.e. you need to get items for lunch at the grocery store if you’re going to pack a lunch each day.) Then set a reminder on your phone calendar, your computer, your alarm clock, or simply put it on a sticky note that you’ll see each day.
2. The kind that reminds you WHY you want to do something. For instance, if it’s dark when you leave for work in the morning and dark when you come home, it’s tempting to trade in exercise for curling up the couch. But setting a reminder that helps you remember why you WANT to exercise can help give you the extra motivation to make it happen. If you program your phone alarm with a message that says “you ALWAYS feel better after a workout” or “30 minutes WILL make a difference” around that critical time when you make the yes/no decision on whether to put on your PJs or your gym clothes, you’re much more likely to head to the gym. Another great example of a motivational reminder is one that tells you to remember that you’re worth the effort. A great method for this reminder is to put sticky notes in places that you’ll see them most often, like at your computer, when you open your purse or briefcase, on your nightstand, in the medicine cabinet, or on the refrigerator.
How do you remind yourself to keep up with life and health goals?? We’d love to hear how you’re all keeping up with it all!