I FEEL YOU-I need a strategy

Some days, I feel like I am in over my head—pushing to make my ability to write sync up with my former and present success, while still working a full-time job, creating time for exercise, and my husband and family, and spending time with other writers. For years, it has been a struggle to stop the insanity. My multi-tasking-ever-busy-lifestyle has been the reason my health took a backseat and why I have not seen some of my best friends in far too many years. I need a strategy.

As I am contemplating the end of a long and illustrious career, and the hope of being an authorpreneur in the retirement era of my life, I am seeing that there is never enough time. Getting more done the smart way (work smarter, not harder) is becoming a new mantra in my life. It is important to get everything done, always, but sometimes, you have to choose to get the RIGHT things done and let the rest go.

LIFE CAN BE A ROLLERCOASTER

Today, I am a regular blogger and podcaster. My blog gets almost 3200 visits a month. My podcast, Writer Groupie gets more than 80 hours of view time a month. I am also one of the founders of Murder by 4, an online writer’s site that has been getting Writer’s Digest 101 Best Sites awards since the early 2000s.

I am also a speaker and the author of eleven books and short stories, including my newest, Yew to a Kill. It’s the second book in my mystery series featuring Shannon Wallace.

I am the founder and CEO of VideoVision Entertainment. We are a solo-preneur company, videotaping events, training, and theater performance for high schools.

I am busy.

And until just a few weeks ago, I didn’t exercise with any regularity. I didn’t like to sweat. 

 Besides, I thought, I walk a lot at work and I’m always busy moving around doing something. But that’s not the same as exercise, as any physician will tell you.

My friend, Susan, on the other hand, has had a gym membership for a long time. Periodically, she invites me to go with her. I would always find an excuse (as I said, I am busy!) and keep doing what I was doing, ignoring the obvious damage I was doing to my body.

Recently Susan talked me into going to her gym. I had simply run out of excuses and suspected she was onto something with all the exercise. A looming doctor’s appointment also pushed me forward into that mysterious place with all the equipment. 

It  wasn’t terrible. In fact, I felt really good after it was over. I sweated. It wasn’t deadly. And no one ogled my fat butt. No one paid me any attention at all anyway. To say it was an eye-opening experience would be an understatement. 

I am a convert. I think I found a strategy.

And I am ready to change my life. Create a new habit. Make exercise a part of my daily life. But statistics say that the lazy lifestyle we enjoy in this country works against me and my chances of success are slim unless I do a few things.

Here is a list of FIVE things I can do to change my lifestyle and make a new habit: (this will work for you too!)

1. Go on and get that doctor appointment out of the way – it will likely be a bad one, given that my life has been one of lazy contentment. I am steeling myself for it, and planning to make my doc my advocate and get info from him to make this a true lifestyle change
2. Get an accountability partner. Susan is now my accountability partner with exercise. I have other accountability partners for other facets of my life, like my mastermind group. The need to have someone to keep me accountable is critical. They don’t need to be a Dementor about it though. Love and encouragement go a long way.
3. Develop a schedule. We often think of scheduling as something negotiable. However, it shouldn’t be. Schedules are critical and I should pay attention to it. A schedule will help me maintain a regular regime. Something about that red circle on the calendar speaks to my laziness. I will commit to the action I want to perform.
4. Track my progress. I’m one of those people who is encouraged by progress. I am motivated by successes, and I like to see physical change. This is true with my writing and why I am a word count nerd. It measures the space between my beginning goal and my ending accomplishment and gives me an overall snapshot of my success. Seeing that flab disappear will mean a lot. Writing down my successes and keeping track of it will go a long way toward keeping me motivated to do what I have to do.
5. Envision the final result. It helps me to look ahead to the healthier me. If I don’t change, where will I be in six months when going back to my doctor looms again? If I do change, what will be the benefits? My mental picture of a healthier, slimmer, more lively me sure helped. Try it!

Being persistent, and focused, will get me a long way down the road. It will be that way for you too. You just have to take that first step.

What is one thing you want to accomplish that you hope to make a lifetime habit?