Nothing throws me off of my game than when things don’t pan out on the schedule I thought they would. A lot of people ask how I manage to “get so much done.” And I get that question. I balance a full time job, YouTube channel, this blog and some semblance of a personal life. It’s a lot.
But the truth is, I’m always one overslept alarm or missed calendar invite away from dropping the ball in one or more of these arenas. I’m not a superhero.
But I am a pretty intentional person. And when I can stop and really figure out what’s working versus what’s not, I can usually nail down what I need to start or stop doing to see the results I want.
When I wasn’t sleeping and barely getting through everyday without crying, I realized that something had to give and I had to get myself back to therapy. It didn’t happen over night, but once I was back in a good practice with regular appointments the difference was undeniable.
When I realized I hadn’t been intentionally moving my body enough and that it was causing other issues to manifest, I decided to dive back into working out and going to yoga again.
When my stomach started screaming to me after almost every meal, I knew it was time to address some of my eating habits.
All of these things were productive. Seeing a problem and then taking the necessary steps to solve that problem is productive. So often, we’re all trying to have our most productive days ever. It’s stressful, when you wake up and your optimal goal is just to do as many productive things as possible.
And then we wonder why we’re all so prone to burning out.
We take off at the start of the week at a full sprint with no breaks and by the time we hit the weekend, we’re gasping for breath and barely functioning.
Not a great way to live.
I mentioned that I’ve been focusing more on developing solid wellness routines. Being realistic about what I can accomplish within a give day, week or month. And one thing I’ve found is that, even more important than being productive each day, is the power of consistency.
It’s about showing up for yourself the way that you said you would, time and time again.
This changes the narrative in my head from “I’m not working out enough” to “I went to yoga twice last week, I can find time for two more classes this week.” I start to focus less on doing things as often or as productively as I can but rather how I can honor my promises to myself and stay consistent with my goals.
Making realistic to-do lists helps so much with consistency. Instead of filling a list with as many items as possible, I focus on how I can show up to add more consistency to my day (like getting this blog post up now).
Doing a bunch of things every once in a while, as productive as those things may be, won’t get you far. But developing good, healthy habits and practicing them consistently is a game changer.