Last week, I had my quarterly review. This is an opportunity for me to sit down and review my annual plan, which I build from my life plan. Based on that, I really assess how I’m doing and how I’m tracking against my annual goals.
I’ve outlined seven different priorities in my life. These seven things make me who I am and are what I’m called to be. They are the seven critical things I want to prioritize in my life.
Number one is God and number two is Self.
If I want to be who I need to be to my wife and to my family, I have to take care of myself. If I’m going to be who I’m called to be in my profession and the charities I support, I need to take care of myself.
So I dedicate the second priority in my life to making sure I’m healthy and physically fit and that I’m keeping my mind sharp and getting enough sleep.
I realized, in this process, that one area I’m totally failing in is my physical fitness.
I’ve struggled with having dedicated exercise since getting out of sports as a kid. I always kept in shape by being part of activities when I was a kid, like playing baseball or basketball. As I’ve moved into my professional career, it’s become more difficult to be part of teams like that and I have a hard time exercising just for its own sake.
Unfortunately, I still haven’t gotten it back on track. I’m using this quarterly review as an opportunity to switch things up and focus more. I’ve named improving the way I take care of myself, specifically how I’m going to get into shape, as my number one priority.
How will I do this?
1. I’m switching up my morning routine.
I’ve always struggled with how to fit in morning prayer time and morning exercise. For the last ten years, I’ve prioritized my prayer time (and rightly so).
That’s now enough of a habit that it’s time to integrate the two together. I’m going to start off with my prayer time as the very first thing I do, instead of getting ready to go. After my prayer time, I’m going to spend the time I’ve dedicated to doing my daily planning and reading.
Then, right after that, four times a week, I’m going to exercise.
I think I can cut my get-ready time by being more awake when I’m getting ready and having the pressure to get out of the door on time. There will be no loafing around in the morning.
2. I’m holding myself accountable.
I’ve told the people around me that this is what I’m doing. I’ve told my wife that I really need to get in shape. I’ve told my accountability partner and I’m telling you.
3. I’m going to measure and win.
I’m tracking how many days per week that I actually exercise. I’m creating a scorecard, checking things off, and then measuring my success.
Have you struggled with physical fitness? How do you address the need to be physically fit with the challenges you have to overcome to do it? I’d love to hear from you!