Hopefully, what you've read at TCOYou.com has grown your awareness and you, too, believe that Taking Care Of You is important. However, too much thinking about and not enough action leads to unhappiness, I say. It's time for action!
Which area of your life is most in need of some attention or what topic here has interested you? The one area that stands out the most is what I'd suggest that you choose for your 30 Day Focus. This is a commitment to one self-improvement goal for 30 days.
Set Yourself Up For Success
The typical type of 30 day plan, doing the same thing each day in order to build the habit, isn't successful for many because of boredom, taking on too much too fast and perfectionism, among other factors. I want to share a plan with you that can set you up for success by utilizing the power of time.
OK, let's pretend that your goal is to practice self-care. Here is how your 30 Day Focus would work.
Week 1 - Brush Teeth Every Day
For this week, you want to start super easy. My suggestion is to pick something that you do everyday anyway. It's what I call a 'small win'. It's not life changing at all, however, it gets us 1/4 of the way done and that feels good!
Week 2 - Moisturize Your Face Each Morning (or Night)
Now you are going to utilize a strength to start building momentum. This is something that you can do pretty easily but may not be something you do habitually already.
Week 3 - Do A TCOY 1 Minute Focus Every Day
By this week, you are feeling good about this whole goal thing. You are halfway through and haven't come up against anything hard yet. If the boredom came on, it was the last day or near to it, so it was easier to keep plugging along to the end. Time to utilize a less reliable strengthener this week; one that is in the area of your focus and maybe a bit hard if you don't do it regularly.
Week 4 (and remaining days) - Drink 8 oz of Water 30 minutes Before Dinner
Sounds easy enough, right? This is most likely not part of your day-to-day routine already, though, so it will take more focus to remember to 1) even do it at all and 2) plan ahead of your meal and drink the water 30 minutes ahead of time.
However, this is the final one for a reason. Consider if this was the goal for the whole time. Can you imagine how defeated a perfectionist would be the first or second time it is forgotten? Or if this was a goal you tried just because you saw it mentioned in a weight loss article and decided it was time to do something about that extra weight. Without the leading into it parts of weeks 1-3, this would be a great change that was 'too much, too soon' and most likely not a change that would stick.
The TCOY 30 Day Focus utilizes small periods of time, just seven days, to spend on a micro-goal. With the micro-goal changing week-to-week, the mind is less likely to become bored. It's also less likely to decide to quit due to the frustration of a missed day...because you have 4 different weeks to go for that beloved 'perfect result'! Using small wins, as in really easy changes, in the beginning also help to set up you up for success over the length of the goal. A goal that your more likely to finish and keep you engaged the whole time.
Other focus ideas:
Building A Better Sleep Routine
1 = Start a before bed routine (alerts your body to start getting ready to wind down for the day)
2 = Do your routine at a certain time each night
3 = Going to bed at a certain time (stage of tiredness would be even better for your body!)
4 = Waking at a certain time
Learning to Eat Breakfast
1 = Hydrating your body 1st thing in the morning (drink 8 oz. of water within 15 minutes of waking up)
2 = Eat a serving of 1 food group within 2 hours of waking up
3 = Eat a serving of 2 food groups within 2 hours of waking up
4 = Eat a serving of 3 food groups within 2 hours of waking up
These ideas are just to get your mind thinking about the powerful effect of small changes leading to a big result. If you think of other ideas, please share!
Also, please remember, nothing is a waste of time if you are doing something towards the area of your focus because even the littlest step is progress. Habits are built whether we are choosing them or not!
Our greatest enemy is ourselves, our perfectionism. You only fail if you never make the attempt. Are you ready?
Until next time...Take Care Of You! What are your thoughts on this topic? Leave a comment and let us know!
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