Simple Trick for Exercise Motivation

I have been doing this for the past week or so and it has done wonders for me. 5 straight days of running or weight training.

You know when it comes to losing weight, eating healthy or doing exercise sometimes it feels like I am 2 different people. There is morning Steve, always tired but very motivated and hopeful for having a good healthy day, no junk foods, lots of walking breaks at work, drinking lots of water and looking forward to working out at night/evening etc.. I like this Steve.

Then there is night Steve or more specifically after the kids are in bed Steve. He craves the junk food and does whatever he can to get it. Night Steve is also tired but only when it comes to exercise or meal planning or making lunches/snacks for the next day. For all other activities like working on the computer until 1am, watching movies or driving to the store to get junk food he has boundless energy.

Obviously these 2 personalities clash and for some reason at night after the kids are in bed and it’s Mommy and Daddy time I forget about all the good intentions I had started the day with.

So Simple it Seems Stupid

What I do is this, in the morning before I leave for work is I write myself a note, nothing too elaborate usually just a sentence or a word.

For example yesterday’s note said this “Before turning on the computer run for 30 minutes on the treadmill, you’ll feel great” . I left this on my computer monitor, sure enough last night I came down stairs ready to hop on the computer as usual. I saw the note and immediately it brought me back to when I wrote it that morning.

45 minutes later I had run for 35 minutes and burnt 365 calories. Best of all I did feel great afterwards and I was able to work on the computer guilt free.

The key for me was not to think too much about what else I had to do that night or what else I could have done. Basically not talking myself out of it. I was listening to my motivated self and did what I knew I really wanted to do.

I Don’t Have Short Term Memory Loss

Maybe “forgetting” is the wrong word for my not following through with my good intentions, as I do not have short term memory loss. It’s more like wilful ignorance and I know I’m not alone on this.

My wife thinks it’s funny that I do this and has posted notes around the house with things like “unload the dishwasher” and “change the laundry” mocking me it seems. (Doesn’t work like that honey )

Before you just blow this off as silly or stupid, give it a try first. When you’re motivated in the morning (or anytime you’re feeling motivated) write to yourself and leave the notes somewhere you’ll be most likely to read it or need to read it. (on your fridge,TV, bathroom mirror, in your car etc…). Hopefully this will help you stay motivated or at least remind you of what you really want to do, when your motivated that is.