10 Tips for Getting Back on Track

Hello family~

Getting back on track can be hard, I know I fall off the wagon once a quarter, life is busy and I am quite lazy. There are a million more things I would rather do than log my life (play Ark, Play Stardew Valley, watch something off my list, watch documentaries on Netflix, hell watch YouTube mindlessly) so I understand falling off the proverbial wagon.

Just a general update, I am still doing digital on a lot of things; collections, tracking and notes; but I am doing daily plans with the Happy Planner. I actually got the student one. This one. I always pick base on inside pictures, and I love this one. I focus on the dailies as I like using them as memory planning. Even before HP, I have old planners where I was keeping daily memories.

I actually had a Recollections lined up instead because HP had not made one I was really in love with to date this year. I kept bouncing and was unhappy with the process so I was happy to see this design. They have some hitting Target soon too, so I might have to see those 😍 but I am trying to avoid buying a full new planner. I honestly have enough to do another planner surprise box, which I might do on eBay again to destash (highly recommend doing this!).

 

Today I want to talk about falling on the good habit wagon. When you realize eating hot pockets at 2 AM playing a game is going to kill you.

Also, I’ve decided to fill this post with meme’s~

 

1. Accept it Happens

First things first, accept you got off track. It’s okay. Cheat days turn into weeks, sadly. It happens to the best of us. It’s one of the first rules of r/loseit  (on Reddit). It happens. Forgive yourself.

One big thing I can’t stress enough is to forgive yourself. And try again.

I also suggest trying again immediately. Not on Monday, not next week, etc. It’s a better habit to just stop, sigh and move on, then start again. If it happens to fall on Monday or the 1st, etc, that works too. But starting sooner than putting it off, will make you feel better and more accomplished as you go.

2. Write down the new plan

Next, write down the plan. It might not be the same as the old plan. The old plan may have been to difficult to stick too, maybe it was unrealistic time-wise and you gave up because it wasn’t getting done. Journal it, make a schedule, stick it on a post-it-note, but write it down how you want to try again.

For me, I journal whenever I feel like I need to, I have notes from 2006, seriously. It helps me look back and see where I came from to where I am. I highly suggest it. In this, I write down the new plan. Today I wrote down the new goals I want to get back on track for.

Morning Routine, I want to get up at 7:30 AM so I can get to work at 8 AM (I get ready fast), eat, listen to the news, and write a bit.

I also want to start taking lunch away from my desk. I am trying to cut stress out of my life and nothing annoys me more than mid-bite someone ask for something because I am at my desk.

In the evening, I am a terrible brusher, seriously as an adult, I should be shamed. So I want to start a bedtime routine at 10:30 PM, shower, brush, inhale lavender (again stress), NO SCREENS (*cough* addicted to Pokemon right now again), read for 20 minutes, then hit the actual hay around 11 PM. I honestly fall asleep pretty quick if I am properly tired and ready. Also no screens. I should move my phone away from me.

I also want to exercise somewhere in there, so I am going to try to use the elliptical in the house on days hubs works late (3 – 4 nights) because I am too much of a coward to go outside alone. #socialanxiety

So this is basically what I wrote, I also try to write why. I want to read more for obvious reasons, but essentially I want to read more books. I like to learn. If I read more, I can learn pretty easily. It’s a win-win. I tend to read self-improvement books very slow, but I love novels (good ones) and tend to get through those in a weekend. So I feel like I need to schedule this in my life. Which brings me to

3. Determine your current habits

Another good tip is to know yourself, are you a morning person or a night person? Habits are easier built based on your natural flow vs you forcing yourself up at 5 AM.

For example, I would not be able to do morning routines because I would not be able to get to sleep at 9 PM, 8 would just be insane. I would have to drug myself when I left work. I am just to hyped at night. I also tend to pick up the hubs at 9 PM on some evenings, so sometimes it would be impossible.

Since I know I will never really get to bed before 10:30 PM, unless I am dead tired for some reason, then I plan around that habit. I get up at the time that allows me to get to work when I want too, essentially just getting dressed and feeding the bun in the morning. Then I am fortunate that my job lets me do whatever while I work so I eat something small at my desk and let Google read me the news/check Reddit. It helps my job to be caught up on these things.

I also know the first little bit after I get home, at least an hour, I leave open. I feed the bun again, eat myself and usually watch TV mindlessly for a bit. Then depending on the day of the week, chores and side art.

One thing I tried to plan out, was to do laundry every Monday evening, as I am TERRIBLE at this. I hate laundry. So far I have not been able to keep it, so I think I should pick another day. I think doing it once a week would help me overall so I want to try again.

Another good point is you want to set yourself up for success, don’t put too much in a day that wouldn’t work for you. If you overdo it and fail, you are less likely to keep going. If you work 9 – 5 PM don’t plan to spend 20 minutes writing at lunch if you need that time for yourself. If you work, you most likely want to spend that time doing nothing and relaxing. Think of your sanity!

4. Schedule your habits

Not only do you want to write your habits down and work with your already established life schedule, you should also set up reminders.

I use Android so I can yell at my phone to remind me of things. I also put them in my calendar and use a list app – typically Todo-ist for work and Keep for home. I also write down big things in my planner for the week. The act of writing them down helps me remember them.

I also suggest setting a reminder to “start routine’ VS each item. As that can get annoying very fast, and you may ignore them as a result.

5. Allow yourself to mess up

Again, allow yourself to mess up.

You didn’t get X done. That’s okay, tomorrow we’ll try again. It’s okay. No one is perfect, no one wakes up and their day is scheduled down to the minute.

One thing you can do you is limit your daily task. Yes, 20 things need to get done this week, but which ones would be a good goal today? Pick 3 – 5 depending on the difficulty. For me, I try to do chores and meal prep on Mondays, which is probably why Laundry never works out, just too much for me. Chores suck, keep in mind you will get tired of boring things.

Another thing I tend to do that is probably terrible but works well for me. I make art and order things when there are sales. I have some cut designs ready-ish to go, and I just got an email Outfab is having a sale (yay!) so I will finish those today and order that. I am not sure I’d call it productive, but since I do these things for ME and nothing else, I tend to wait for sales before I finalize stuff and order. It helps keep those items on the back burner, then that day I get it done and order it. (I do this for anything I order custom like this, charms, metal, etc)

6. Tell someone! Accountability is real

Find a friend, partner, online person, FB group, whatever, to hold you accountable.

If you are interested, we can do it here together. I would love a community. I think the social pressure of telling someone you didn’t do X this week, makes people embarrassed and as a result, you do it anyway.

This only works if you care what other people think, even a smidge. If you tell a real friend or partner they might reward you or punish you in a fun way too. So if you don’t do X – you have to buy them lunch kinda deal.

 

7. Remember, you are an ADULT

Self-Care it the latest buzzword for taking time for yourself. Yes, it is important, and please do take time to care for yourself (can’t pour from an empty cup, etc)  but you are (most likely) an adult. If you want to sit on the couch and watch Netflix for 4 hours, by damned you can. These types of breaks are so good for us and I think we forget that in this ‘hustle’ & ‘side hustle’ world. It’s okay to just chill sometimes.

I think in this hyper-productive, over-worked WHY BABY BOOMERS WHY SCREW US world, it’s important to realize you can do whatever the hell makes you happy.

Prepare to get smack for that too.

In the r/leanfire (a finance group on Reddit devoted to lean early retirement) there is at least once a week post people getting smack from older peers for retiring at 30 – 45. HOW DARE YOU save your money so you can escape this rat race. I’ve also had friends get smack for wanting time for themselves or not having kids. Let’s all be a little nicer and do what works for you.

You can be into anything you want to, legally of course. If you have the money and time, it’s not illegal or hurting anyone, paint rocks if you want too. If it makes you happy go for it.

I don’t (I hope) think it is as bad as some articles and news make it seem, but I just wanted to touch on this. As an adult, I sometimes play Sims 4 for 6 hours. I’ll order a pizza and not move for those 6 hours except to use the restroom. And I can. It’s probably terrible for my health. But my bills are paid, house is clean, and I don’t have kids who need anything from me at this moment. I CAN DO WHAT I WANT. And so can you.

8. Clean your work-space

I like to clean when I am stuck, I imagine other people do this as well. It’s always a safe bet to clean up the area a bit to feel way more accomplished. Same thing here, if you are falling off track take the time to clean up your workspace, notebook, planner, etc.

Rewrite those items that got missed, start a new section in your bullet journal or just take the time to rearrange a bit to get those feel-good emotions going. This is one of my favorite tips when you are not in the mood to do something, clean up a bit and once you get going you will feel much more productive checking things off the list.

9. Re-Evaluate often

Why are you trying to accomplish X? If it’s not getting done, is it really something you want to do? If it’s always at the bottom of the list it might be time to look and see if that is really what you want to do. Take the time to look at your goals objectively every once in a while.

I’d say quarterly is good. You may have different goals at the end of the year vs the beginning. I know my mind changes a lot, it’s why I personally don’t set SMART goals at the start of the year, more vague ones, then focus more on the monthly goals.

Honestly, I am starting to think maybe even weekly for me, but alas that is a different problem.

Take the time to sit down and see if you still want to learn how to speak French, or maybe what the purpose was behind that? Sometimes we forget it’s okay to just exist and be here in the moment….

10. Embrace life and mistakes

Which is where I end.

It’s okay if your goals a random and small or if you only set one or two. Maybe you don’t have any currently. I think sometimes we forget it’s okay to be HAPPY where we are. It really truly is. I struggle with this, as most of my goals are things, not real life improvements. It’s hard to remember in this goal driven, overly ambitious society its okay to be you as you currently are.

If you are in this spot like I feel I am in, but still want to pick goals, go for the thing you’ve either always wanted to do or make. For me, I love making things. I don’t really care if they are good things, but I wanted to try it. And I am always glad I did, even if its not my thing in the end. It adds some spice without getting overly complicated.

Looking for a simple step? Try tasting Cheese or something each week from the store. Learn about the flavors, where it came from, etc It’s something small and simple, but it’s new to you. Same with anything you are interested in. Just pick something small and try it. (I mention this because I was staring at the Cheese display at Kingsooper’s and considering this myself)

 

That was a bit winded, but I hope the examples help, I typically fall off the wagon quite often. You just dust yourself off and get back on. Accept it takes time, and time will pass either way.