Can you believe it is already past the midway point of January? January for me so far has absolutely been jam packed, as I try to tackle my top three priorities:
- Focusing on school
- Maintaining a consistent fitness routine
- Building maintaining community especially on social media
I shared priorities with a former teacher, and friend recently and she suggested maybe I was tackling too much. This idea kind of shocked me. I mean really, it’s only three goals. But as I reflected on the past weeks, I realized that my energy levels were almost at an all time low. Although I was hitting every point I had aimed to check off, I was not doing it in a sustainable way.
I know for sure that I do not want to feel like I could always use a nap. I want to be energized and revving to go for whatever a day may throw at me. So that means I need to readjust and revise my plan to meet my priorities for January.
On realizing this, I downloaded some new podcasts to listen to in my car, that I knew were inspiring, but would also offer something tangible I could apply in my life. I downloaded a few of Gary Vaynerchuk‘s, Tim Ferris‘, and the Harvard Business Review.
In a recent HBR podcast, 505, Tara Mohr, shared an idea of letting go of fear, but also of praise. This is not something I’ve really thought about before. But it really made sense to me. If you’re a high achiever you might recognize this in yourself. Where you make decisions based on what you can achieve and the praise you will receive. Mohr, suggests that this can hold us back, similar to how fear works.
Another HBR podcast, 504, Heidi Grant Halvorson, shared a new idea to goal setting that really clicked for me. She suggested to frame you goals as if….then….statements. It makes your decision making regarding your goals a little bit easier. And it can also incorporate backup plans. For example, if I have two or more classes on a day, I will do an evening workout.
I definitely suggest downloading those two podcasts. They will explain these ideas much more fully.
Based on these ideas, I’ve revised my January to plan to look like this:
- If I have one class, I will exercise in the morning.
- If I have two or more classes, I will do an evening class, or a take a rest day.
- If I have a test up coming the next week, I will only meet with one person during the week.
*I also want to be really focused on improving my energy levels. The first two weeks of January, saw me meeting my 3x weekly spin classes with 6:15am or 7:15am classes. But then I immediately noticed I hit my first wall of the day midway through my 10am class. This was supporting my fitness goal, but was not positively supporting my academic goals. So I am making this energy level idea a higher priority this month.
I am first addressing this by shifting the timing of my classes, outlined a bit more in my goals above. I am also going to book a consulting appointment with a nutritionist who can help me figuring out if I am fuelling properly.
Did you set new priorities or goals for the new year? Let me know how they are going. Leave a comment below or shoot me an email stephaniepamelafowler@gmail.com. I’m taking Devon Brooks‘ lead and supporting my community to be accountable.
That Girl in Vancouver 
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