October means we only have 3 more months until the year is over. Let this be your 3 month mark to see a difference in whatever area you want to. Whether it’s sticking to an exercise routine, eating well, finding work/life balance, saving money or increasing your step intake every day. 3 months is a solid amount of time to be able to reach your goals.
HOW TO STICK TO: YOUR WORKOUT SCHEDULE
If you are having trouble sticking to a workout schedule or you find that you dread your workouts, perhaps you need to question whether you actually like the style of training you are doing. There are so many different types of physical activity from HIIT classes to strength training to running, boxing, swimming, dancing and so many more. Maybe it’s time to shake it up and try something different.
Once you have found a style of physical activity that you enjoy, try booking your classes in or scheduling time in your diary. Treat it like a meeting or an appointment, you wouldn't miss a meeting, so why miss a scheduled workout? This will help keep you accountable and sticking to your workout schedule.
If you need help, check out my fitness plans. They are all 8-week programs designed for either weight loss and toning in the gym or weight loss and toning from home. They are currently 25% off using the code "motivated" and are linked here.
HOW TO STICK TO: EATING WELL
Find meals that you actually love! Honestly, eating healthy does not have to be boring. There are healthy alternatives to pretty much every single meal or snack out there.
Another tip is to have fallback meals. I say this to my girls who do the Shred: 30-Day Challenge. It is so important to have easy, quick meals that you know can be ready in 5 minutes if you are super time poor. An example is microwave oats with banana, protein power, chia seeds + peanut butter.
Plan your dinners and plan your groceries! Making sure you are prepared is another big thing. I have a note on my phone with all the usual staples we get when grocery shopping. I break it down into: fresh produce, tinned, cold section, pantry staples and frozen section. I would encourage you to do the same. It is so helpful for being super efficient in the grocery store both time-wise and financially.
Finally, switching off for dinner has been such a nice routine for me since getting married and moving in with Brenton. When I lived with housemates, I would always just rush dinner and sit and eat on the lounge or at the dining table while watching something or on my phone. Since living with Brenton, I absolutely love finishing work and preparing dinner. I put on a playlist of whatever I'm feeling, though 9 times out of 10 it's Lana del Rey (Brenton's lease fave - sorry babe). I also love to present the meal with a candle, placemats and ALWAYS at the dining table with no phones (unless we get takeout on the weekend and watch something on the lounge).
HOW TO STICK TO: SAVING MONEY
Okay one of the biggest tips is to have a timeline - how much do you want to save and in what timeline? Make sure this is a numeric number. Otherwise you’re just saving in general. If your goal is to “save money”, it's not specific. Saving $2 or $20k is both saving money. If you can have a specific numeric figure in mind it makes it easier to be able to then work backwards. For example, if you wanted to save 20k, then you can figure out exactly how much you need to save per week in order to achieve this goal and when you will have this amount by. It also keeps you accountable, and helps you put away a specific amount every week.
Plan a budget. I read the Barefoot Investor and while we don’t implement it now, it played a huge part in me learning to implement saving habits. It helped me recognise my spending and saving habits. Which leads me to my next point...Track your spending! Recognising what you spend your money on and how much you spend per week is important. If you find that you are spending way too much on takeout every week because you never have any groceries, then you are able to address this and make sure that get enough groceries for the week and not spend as much on takeout.
You will see a pattern here. Each habit feeds into the other. If you plan your groceries, then you will be more likely to eat at home which will help both goal B) eating well and goal C) saving money.
Remember, there are 3 more months in the year! Time for a refresh, a reset and setting some new goals.