We hear it over and over- “if my class wasn’t scheduled- I don’t know that I would make it as consistently." Or, "this is time I am setting aside for ME, or..." this is set time that I know I'll see friends that I might not see otherwise this week" , or "I feel blah if I miss my fitness appointment".
It can be said that we take the MAYBE out of fitness and make it a MUST. Taking out the uncertainty of exercise and actually making it a part of one's weekly schedule. We book everyone for their time slots for 12 weeks at a time- its a solid set of Barn appointments each session. And it got me thinking- what else do we all have booked on the regular? I've been talking to people all week about what their days are like when they leave the Barn, what's their jam, what do they get up to.... I am a forever curious person, I love to know where and how people bop around in between the hours when I see them at the Barn. I have loved hearing allllllll the things that people do- I am loving that I know where to find so many around town if I needed them at any point.
Having some things in our lives as standing appointments or weekly dates helps ensure they get done and we then look forward to them and count on them a lot MORE & miss them a lot LESS. We continue to learn that consistency and the daily, weekly & monthly rituals (no matter how small) are drivers of success- ranging from overall happiness to emotional steadiness, to just general productivity...Workouts, physical therapy, coffee dates, hang time, health visits, business think tanks, beer breaks, book clubs, early morning runs etc.
If its on our schedules- we go. If its not, we just hope it happens.
I can attest to this- a few of my favorite rituals of the week (aside from the mom type stuff) involve things that I have made weekly standing dates ... I look forward to them, depend on them and RARELY miss them.
Just a few:
-my Mondays after classes.
-my Wednesday nights.
-my Thursday afternoons.
-my Saturdays at sunrise.
I mean, the only way I got to Yoga this session was by making it a standing appointment each week with friends on Wednesdays at 11:45am (and I am loving it-join me!). I'm not super scheduled, but I have found that having something set helps me make it happen on the regular, keeps life more fun, builds stronger relationships and unwinds some mental blocks about all the things there is to do (*fun fact- I also schedule my dentist appointments on Halloween and April fools Day every year so I never forget)
Its rituals that help us take something from a maybe in our life... and turns it into a MUST.
And its whatever is a must in our world that gets attended to and accomplished consistently.
When we schedule it and keep to it, this accountability shifts our standards.
So let's set up our schedules for success this week- look at what you'd like to have happen and... BOOK it.