Doing something consistently can be challenging if we think that the “doing” has to be some big ‘ol “project.”

When we set a task to a high goal – such as working out for 45+ minutes a day – it can feel daunting and overwhelming.

How likely are you going to be able to accomplish this on a consistent basis when the goal you’ve set already sounds too intimidating to even get started with it in the first place?

I’d like you to take a minute to think about a health goal you’d like to work on.
Here are some examples to get your brain juices flowing:

• Meal prepping?
• Exercising?
• Being more mindful of your actions and thoughts?
• Your relationships?

In your current life situation, how realistic is this specific goal that you’d like to work on consistently?

Start by breaking down each goal into its core components.

For example: I’ll use the example of Meal Prepping

When broken down into its core components, this task would include:

• Researching meal and recipe ideas
• Grocery shopping
• Finding a date/ time to actually do the prep work
• Food prep and storage
• Planning ahead for the next week of meal prep

Now, let’s actually get into the weeds and set an estimated time allotment for each task.

• Researching meal and recipe ideas (30 minutes)
• Grocery shopping (1-2 hours)
• Finding a date/ time to actually do the prep work (15 minutes)
• Food prep and storage (1-2 hours)
• Planning ahead for the next week of meal prep (30 minutes)

When you look at the total time for this task – and this is assuming you keep it simple with 1-2 meals worth prepping for the week – you’re looking at about 5+ hours of work.

Is this realistic for you right now given your current schedule and life circumstances?

If not, how can you best free up some of the time it may take to complete the task?

Here are some Meal Prepping Tips:

• Is there someone that can help you with your grocery shopping?
• Perhaps you can write your grocery list as you’re researching your meal and recipe ideas so it’s ready to go when your designee is off to the store.
• Can another family member help you with food prep in order to work simultaneously and cut your time in half?
• Can you spend 1 hour researching a few week’s worth of meal and recipe ideas and then space out those meals over the span of a few weeks, instead of 1 week at a time?

The first step toward developing consistency at any task you set out to do is to first understand how much time it’s going to take, if you (actually) have the time to do it, and if not, how can you can break it down into a more manageable task so you can complete it on a more regular basis.

Once you’ve created a plan, it’s then time to set it in motion.