21 Ways to Stay Accountable to Your [Health and Fitness] Goals

January 20, 2017 by jlmdiscovery

Raise your hand if you’ve ever set a health or fitness resolution.

Now raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled with achieving your health or fitness resolution.

I doubt you actually raised your hand (I wouldn’t), but I know you’re thinking about goals you’ve set in the past that fizzled out after a few weeks of attempts. Reaching our goals is hard. But that’s not a bad thing. The best goals push us forward and show us who we can be.

I have several of my own health goals for this year, so I’ve been studying ways to stay focused. I’ve learned that the process is the same for almost any type of goal. It’s about accountability and letting our values and personality drive our efforts.

Here are 21 ways to stay accountable to your health and fitness goals!

Establish Your Goals

1. Set Specific, Achievable Goals

How can you hold yourself accountable to a goal if you haven’t defined it? It would be like shooting an arrow with no target. Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based (i.e. S.M.A.R.T. goals).

2. Know Your “Why”

Ask yourself the following questions:

How will your life be different once you achieve your goals?
How will you feel if you don’t make progress?
What do you value in life?

When you understand why you want to reach your goals and how they fit within your values you’ll have powerful motivation to complete them.

3. Break Your Goals into Bite-Sized Pieces

Big goals are great, but it’s easy to feel like you’re not making any progress. Break each goal into milestones, and then break those down into weekly tasks or daily habits. When you have steps to focus on each day/week/month, you’ll know you’re moving closer to your goals.

4. Write Down Your Goals Officially

Writing down your goals is like signing a contract with yourself. State your resolutions and lay out your plan for accomplishing them. Include your motivations, timeline, and milestones.

5. Post Your Goals Where You Can See Them Frequently

Out of sight is often out of mind, so post your goals in a few places around your house or on your phone. I use reminder apps to send me a notification daily. I also love posting index cards to my bulletin board in my office. Another idea is to write your goals in your journal every day to keep them fresh in your mind.

6. Share Your Goals

It’s been shown that people feel more accountable to their goals when they share their intentions with friends and family. Discuss your goals with loved ones and ask them to support you. Social media has similar abilities, so why not share your resolutions in a Facebook or Twitter post?

Stay Motivated

7. Create a Schedule and Set Timers

Create a meal plan, add workouts to your calendar, and set reminders to alert you of your plans. We get so caught up in our current lives and distractions that it can seem impossible to add anything else to our plates. You can make it all work if you stick to your plans and trust your timers.

8. Help Your Future Self (Plan Ahead)

Be your own accountability partner by doing as much preparation and planning in advance as you can. Lay out your workout clothes the night before, prep healthy meals, fill the fridge with fresh, filtered water, and do anything else you can to make life easier for your “future self”.

9. Fill Your Inbox/News Feed with Inspiration

Follow some of your favorite health and fitness pages on Facebook or Twitter. Subscribe to daily tips or meal ideas straight to your inbox. When you surround yourself with support for your goals you’ll get inspiration even when you’re distracting yourself with a social media break.

10. Educate Yourself on Your Goals

Take the time to learn more about your health and fitness goals, whether that means studying nutrition via an online course or watching videos on proper weightlifting form. The more you understand the benefits of what you are trying to achieve, the more committed you will be.

11. Sign Up for a Competition

Competitions are great because they give you specific goals and a deadline. Races are fun for runners (or soon-to-be-runners), but you can also consider weightlifting competitions, tournaments, or even friendly weight loss competitions.

12. Support a Cause

If you’d like to help others while helping yourself, why not sign up for a charity run? You can also volunteer time for projects that involve physical activity, such as Habitat for Humanity.

13. Join a Health or Fitness Challenge

Many health bloggers host free mini-challenges throughout the year. I’ve seen some focused on drinking more water, improving mindfulness, better meal planning, and battling cravings. You can also search Pinterest for 30-day fitness challenges, such as a 30-Day Abs Challenge.

14. Create Your Own Rewards Program

For each of your milestones, determine a reward you will earn for achieving it. It can be as small as a new article of clothing or as large as a weekend getaway. Make them personal and relevant to your goals so you’ll know you’re working towards them.

15. Create Contingency Plans

You know those excuses and distractions that constantly get in the way of your good intentions? Get in front of them by creating contingency plans for your obstacles. Example: If you know you’ll skip your workout when you hit snooze a few too many times, find a 10 minute workout you can keep on reserve.

Track Your Progress

16. Use a Fitness App or Habit Tracker to Log Your Progress

One of the biggest struggles is feeling like you’re not getting any closer to your goals. Tracking your progress, even in small intervals, will prove to you that your methods are working. I love the My Fitness Pal app for measuring my progress and keeping track of my nutrition. I also use paper habit trackers to check goals off my list daily. Here are a few great apps and tools:

17. Keep a Journal

Journals serve two great purposes when it comes to goals: you can write down your goals daily (some recommend twice per day) and you can reflect on how you feel throughout your journey. Write about your progress, your struggles, your victories, and your emotions each day.

18. Schedule Check-Ins With Yourself

It’s helpful to reevaluate your goals and methods every now and then to ensure you’re still on the track you want to be on. Schedule sessions once a quarter, or even once per month. Ask yourself what’s working and what isn’t, and make adjustments to your plans as necessary.

Build a Support System

19. Work with a Friend

Combining fitness with social time is typically a win-win. Find a friend who will be your “accountability buddy” (preferably one who has similar goals). Plan activities together and share tips and ideas. Check in with each other regularly to share your victories.

20. Work with a Trainer/Coach

Depending on your situation, you can choose from a personal trainer at your local gym or a virtual health and fitness coach. Do your research before signing on with someone, and be sure they understand your current state and long-term goals.

21. Join a Support Group

Thanks to Facebook Groups, you can easily find a group that will fit your needs no matter where you are located. If you’re following a specific diet or fitness plan, there are specialized groups and sometimes local chapters. Wellness communities work to inspire members and offer assistance overcoming obstacles and answering questions.

The best way to stay accountable to your goals is to choose a combination of these strategies that aligns with your personality and needs. Remember, you get a chance every second to make a decision that will move you closer to your goals!

Which strategies will you choose this year?

How to Organize Your Home With the 5S Method

January 13, 2017 by jlmdiscovery

Feeling overwhelmed by clutter? Wishing your home was a bit more organized? I’d like to share a process I learned in my time as an engineer that will help you tackle any space. It’s called the “5S Method”.

The 5S Method originated in Japan and became popular in the west in the 1980’s. It is now used in a variety of industries including health care and aerospace. The 5 “S’s” stand for:

Sort
Set in Order
Shine
Standardize
Sustain

What started out as a manufacturing organizational method can be easily applied at home. I love this process because it is focused on giving every item a place. It also helps you to group items by function in “kits” that help your day run more smoothly. Here is how you can organize your home using the 5S method.

The 5S Process

5S will help you go from a cluttered work space to a streamlined one in just a few simple steps.

Before You Begin

Focus on a single work space at a time. Choose one to start with and identify its main function.
Create a “red tag” area. This is a place to temporarily put items that do not belong in your work space. Create zones for the following categories:
1. Relocate
2. Donate
3. Sell
4. Return

Step 1: Sort

Empty the work space completely. Be sure to clear items out of drawers, off surfaces, and out of shelves.
Remove obstacles, unnecessary items, and those not currently in use.
1. Dispose of any trash immediately.
2. Move other items that don’t belong to the “red tag” area.
Categorize each remaining item by function.

Step 2: Set in Order

Arrange items in work space by category.
1. Create zones for each function and group all related items together. Use baskets, bins, or dividers to keep groups contained.
2. Put more frequently used items closer to the front.
3. Create and label (if desired) a “home” for each item and/or group.
Ensure that your “work flow” is smooth.
1. Make sure everything is easy to retrieve and replace in its location.
2. Make sure items you use frequently are within easy reach.

Step 3: Shine

Determine a routine to keep your work space clean.
“Clean as you go” throughout the day to minimize workload later on.

Step 4: Standardize

Review your system periodically to see what works and what doesn’t.
1. Make adjustments as necessary.
2. Identify “best practices” and apply them in other areas of your home.
Verify that every item has a dedicated “home” to return to.

Step 5: Sustain

Perform regular inspections of your work space to make sure it remains organized.
Determine a routine for clearing out your “red tag” area.

Tips:

Make a shopping list of any organizers (boxes, bins, dividers, trays) you need as you categorize items.
Clear out your “red tag” area as soon as possible (trust me, it will become a new problem area if you don’t).
If you’re stuck on where to store an item, put it aside for a moment and continue organizing. Return to it when you’re finished and see if you can find a place for it.
Nightstands or under-sink cabinets are great places to start.

The goal is to follow this method for every area of your home, one work space at a time. When everything has a clear, easy place to return to you’ll find that there is less clutter overall.

Which space are you going to organize first?

How to Find an Extra Hour in Your Day with 5 Minute Lists

January 6, 2017 by jlmdiscovery

Who wouldn’t want an extra hour in their day?

It’s easy to feel like we don’t have enough time to do what we want to do in our days. Between family, work, chores, and activities we feel stretched thin. But the truth is that most of us already have that free hour; we just don’t realize it yet.

Here is how to find it.

What would you do with an extra hour in your day?

Think about this first. What would you do with your extra hour? Would you pursue a hobby? Check off some cleaning? Work towards a personal goal? Maybe just sleep?

Write a list of the things you wish you could accomplish in a day. This list can include items you’d like to add to your daily routine, goals you’re working toward, hobbies you’d like to pick up, and whatever else comes to mind. Be sure it includes things you really want to or need to do, and not just things you think you should be doing.

Here is an example:

Read (a book/scripture/articles)
Get a workout in
Learn a new language
Fold laundry
Plan for the week
Journal
Write a blog post

Look to your long-term goals for inspiration. If you’re trying to get out of debt, maybe you’d like to spend that extra hour reviewing your finances or working on a side business. If you would like to advance your career, perhaps you want to take an eCourse or read industry articles. If you’re committed to getting healthier, maybe you would spend that hour on a workout program or meal prepping. We can chip away at goals a little at a time if we make time for them.

Where is my extra hour?

Take a moment and think about what you do on your average day. If you’re like me, you feel like you’re constantly busy. It’s easy to think you couldn’t possibly fit anything else into your schedule.

But do you do any of the following? Watch TV, scroll through your Facebook or Instagram feed, browse Pinterest, commute to work or school, lounge in bed before officially getting up, or maybe just let yourself get lost in thought for a while? We all need breaks from the chaos, but it is in these times that we have the opportunity to fit in that extra hour.

Write a list of what you typically do in a day. Be honest with yourself, and be sure to include distractions that you usually fall into (i.e. mini-Netflix marathons). Try to be as thorough as possible. Here is an example:

Hit snooze on alarm
Feed the baby
Get ready for the day
Make breakfast
Work
Make dinner
Clean up
Watch TV
Scroll social media before bed

What could you accomplish if you took just five minutes from every hour and put it towards your goals?

Look at your list and identify times you could easily carve out five minutes. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Before getting out of bed in the morning
While getting ready for the day
During your commute
In between work sessions (work for 25 min, take a break for 5)
While cooking/prepping meals
During commercial breaks (typically 2-3 minutes per break)

The idea is not to overload yourself by “multi-tasking”. It’s to find time you already have to spare and put it towards your goals. Five minutes doesn’t seem like much at first, but it adds up over time if you’re focused on using it wisely. Just taking five minutes of every hour will give you 60-80 minutes “extra” in your day.

Decide what you’ll do with your extra hour

Now that you know what you want to accomplish and you’ve identified your extra hour, it’s time to create a plan for how you’ll spend your time.

Write a list of the five minute tasks that will help you work toward your goals. These can either be independent tasks or longer tasks broken into five minute intervals. This will be your reference when you find you have a few moments to spare.

Here are a few examples:

Goal: Keep the House Clean

empty the dishwasher
wipe down counters
dust off surfaces
put in a load of laundry
fold 5 minutes worth of clothing
empty trash bins
pick up toys
sort mail

Goal: Get Healthier

do a 5-minute full body workout (I love the Sworkit app for these)
do 100 jumping jacks
do 25 pushups
lift weights
prep a healthy snack for the day
drink a tall glass of water
stretch
brainstorm healthy meals for the week
meditate

Goal: Learn Something New

read a book for 5 minutes
watch a 5 minute TED Talk
read an article
learn new vocabulary
listen to a podcast
watch a YouTube video on a new subject

When you find you have a few minutes free, you simply pick a task off your list. You may even find that by completing routine tasks throughout the day you have more time in the evening, allowing you that extra sleep you’ve been wanting.

Tools & Tips

There are a few tools I’ve been using that have helped me fit in these extra tasks:

Timers – I mostly ask Siri to set a timer in the moment, but doing so makes sure I won’t loose track of time.
Sworkit – As I mentioned, I use this fitness app for five minute workouts (for the times I can’t motivate myself to fit in a full workout).
Feedly – This blog reader allows me to collect all my favorite newsfeeds and browse them together (so I can limit my distractions when I only have time for one article).
Daily Planning Sheet – I use a daily sheet I made to help keep track of the five minute tasks I know I want to accomplish each day, along with the rest of my schedule.

Here are a few other tips I’ve found helpful:

Find audiobooks, podcasts, TED Talks, or audio-courses for times you know you’ll only be able to listen along – commutes, meal prep, etc.
Make use of your commercial breaks (unless you’re a Netflix fan – then use the time between episodes) – see how much laundry you can fold or how many sit-ups you can do before the show returns.
Check in with yourself every now and then to see if you’re in a productive state of mind or simply lost in thought – at those times look at your list and see if you can work on something else instead.
Even on your busiest days see if you can take two minutes at a time to drink an extra glass of water, meditate, or jot down your thoughts (these will be more effective breaks than scrolling through Twitter).

The goal isn’t to overwhelm yourself with an endless list of tasks to fit into your already busy day. It’s to purposefully make time in your day to work towards your goals.

So tell me, what do you plan to do with your extra hour? Share in the comments below!

Reflections on the New Year

December 31, 2016 by jlmdiscovery

Hi!

As you may have noticed, For the Love of Lists has been on a bit of a hiatus this past year. In May we welcomed our first child and I have been busy learning to be a mother. It’s just as hard and just as rewarding as everyone told me it would be.

But now I am ready to return my attention to this blog, as I love sharing my experiences and lessons learned with you. I have big plans for 2017. They include more posts, more tools, and more ways to make life a little more organized.

I am so excited to share my ideas with you, and I hope you’ll join me as I work to make 2017 the best year yet!

Wishing you a happy and blessed new year,

Jessica

Best Math Resources for Any Age

March 14, 2016 by jlmdiscovery

$Best Math Resources for Any Age$

Happy Pi Day everyone!

To celebrate this year’s Pi Day I’ve decided to put together a list of some of my favorite math resources. Math is one of those subjects most people either love or hate, but as it is every present in our world it is still one we should all understand. Even if you haven’t been interested in it before, check out these sites to see a different side of the STEM world!

Adult Education

Wolfram MathWorld – a mathematics encyclopedia and resouce
Khan Academy – free opencourseware on a wide range of math subjects
MIT OpenCourseWare – free opencourseware from the MIT Mathematics Department
Coursera – a compilation of free math courses from the world’s leading universities
TED Talks – intriguing TED Talks about some of math’s most interesting questions

K-12 Education

TED-Ed Math Videos – fun, educational TED videos to get kids interested in math applications
The Math Dude – podcasts covering mathematics lessons and fun math facts
PBS Learning Media – a variety of resources, including articles, videos, and interactive media, focused on explaining mathematics
Mathsframe – includes over 200 math games for ages K-12
Yummy Math – a site dedicated to demonstrations of how math applies to our everyday lives

Note: I’ve separated these sites in order to identify which are at an elementary level and which are more advanced, but high school students may be better served by those listed under “Adult Education”.

For more math fun, check out my post on the Top 10 Ways to Celebrate the Ultimate Pi Day!