Why I Still Carry a Paper Planner
Call me crazy, but I have carried a paper planner since the 7th grade! I cannot do without it! Paper planners have helped me to achieve all of the goals in my life I am most proud of… graduating high school, graduating college, getting through grad school, planning a wedding, losing weight, navigating a divorce, getting married again, moving from state to state, and buying a house! Whew chile!! I just don’t know how I could’ve done all of that without some sort of organization and planning. You don’t have to carry a paper planner, but having some sort of plan is KEY to success, longevity, and consistency.
That’s why this week I am focusing on planning and informing all of my friends why it’s so important to begin to incorporate planning into your health journey. We plan for everything else, how about we start planning for health! Can I get a, “Yeeeessss, sis!!”
Here are some things to know about planning…
1) You already have the skills! We plan for work. We plan for our hair and nail appts. We plan for our meet ups with friends. We plan for our TV shows. We plan for our children. WE PLAN! So, you can do it, you just have to transfer that skill over to your health. In the same way that you have planning meetings at work, you can start taking 20-30 mins a week to plan what you want to tackle in your health for the week.
2) Start super small! I know you are ambitious, honey. That’s such an awesome trait to have! However, it can also be a blessing and a curse. Trying to do everything at once can be exciting on the one hand and overwhelming on the other. The key to getting wins with your health is starting small and taking small bites of your larger goals. On IG yesterday I used the analogy of a burger and pizza. You don’t just devour the whole burger or pizza in one bite. No, you devour it in small chewable bites. Use the same analogy for your health journey. Create a plan that allows you to take small chewable bites instead of trying to take it all down in one bite!
3) Give yourself time to process what’s going on and to make mistakes! Too many times the health journey makes people feel like you need to be perfect. Well, you don’t! Trying to be perfect is a set up for a guaranteed let down. Your plans and goals should be flexible and make room for you to be HUMAN! You should have a plan that allows you to make mistakes and learn as you go. When you bite that pizza or burger, there is a process to getting it into your stomach. You have to chew the bite into even smaller pieces to even get down your throat. This is a process! The same goes for your health goals. Make sure you create small, chewable plans. THEN, allow yourself to sit in that process for a moment and chew on what is happening and what you’re doing. Too many times we rush to go on to the next thing before we’ve even finished chewing the first bite! Slow down, and enjoy the flavors of the food!! In other words, slow down and enjoy learning yourself and noticing the many details of your wins before trying to move on too fast.
Here’s to health and blessings!
Dr. Ebony
