With my group of PCPers, Tuesday is actually the start of our training week. This seems to work well and I'm most thankful for jump-only Mondays, but sometimes I find it hard to get the routine rolling on a Tuesday.
How true this morning as I lingered in bed, calculating the bazillion things that need to get done today and this tenth week of the PCP -- one of which being, I needed to get my butt up and workout!
So I hoist myself out of bed and sit down to make a task list prioritizing today's to-do's, along with an outline of the rest of the week. Ugh, this one's going to be a bear, and my initial reaction to an overwhelming work/life week is to feverishly wish that I didn't have to deal with it.
In moments like these, when the list is making me want to run and I just can't seem to find the motivation to start the day, I turn to a little visualization exercise. I imagine myself as one of the amazing ladies of the US Women's Softball Team at the plate during batting drills. Balls are being lobbed at me fairly quickly, and I'm just knocking them out, (thwak!) line drive, after (THWAK!) line drive!
Not sure exactly how I hit upon this visualization (too much Wii Sports perhaps?), I don't play softball, but I do love to watch these ladies do their stuff! I so admire the players for their mental fortitude and incredible athleticism, and I think the image reminds me to stand up, get a handle on the situation, take one thing at a time, and just keep on swinging!
It seemed to do the trick this morning, and by the time I was half-way through my workout, I was feeling pretty pumped. Two words for you gals -- DOUBLE JUMPS. Hooyah!
How about you all? What are your tricks for staying motivated?
That's cool Shelly. I also find visualisation helps. I tend to visualise competing in some kind of race or I try to outlast a song I'm listening to. So if I'm skipping I'll try and do a certain amount of skips within the length of the song. And there's always a big crowd of people supporting me. Any kind of game visualisation helps
ReplyDeleteHmm...interesting question. I have recently come to the realization that I am not a multi-tasker. So even if there are a million balls flying at me at once, I can only concentrate on one at a time. Making lists and ticking things off sometimes helps. Or I start by saying, actually...I'm not going to do ANY of this right now...and I do something that makes me happy first. With the workouts, it's usually as simple as...once I finish all these reps, I get to eat breakfast! Nothing spurs me on like the promise of food.
ReplyDeleteGetting started sometimes requires overcoming all kinds of sophisticated procrastination techniques. When presented with too much, I start trying to procrastinate with things totally unrelated. Rearrange the desk, yep. Shred paperwork, yep. Book another commitment I have no business adding, oh yeah!
ReplyDeleteThen, it is break out the list, focus on what I can accomplish or have the most control over first. Start with the good old standby of circle of control vs. influence. Pick some things I can control the outcome, and start there.
Working out? It is just getting started and not procrastinating that, then I am all good. Vanity works pretty well there. Looking in the mirror and I am reminded this is working. Healthy? Yeah I remember that later, making myself workout when I don't wanna. Vanity. Awesome on the double jumps!