Scheduling Workouts

Creating wins

By Kelly on Getting Things Done

I hired a Coach to help me get ready for my sprint triathlon on June 4th. He's got me on a 32-day program of tracking my workouts, integrating personal affirmations and setting goals. With my travel schedule I had been letting exercise be one of those things that I would try to fit in as it worked. Well, less and less it seemed to work as a part of my day and I was feeling less and less prepared for this race.

Exercise is one of those things for me that when it's a habit, it's great. When it's not a habit or when I've lost sight of my desired outcome, I'll find a million other things to do instead. That's why I do things like triathlons--not to be a serious jock athlete, but to keep my sight on an outcome to keep me motivated and engaged.

One of the first things my Coach did was suggest I schedule my workouts a week at a time. On Monday mornings now I look ahead to my week and plot my workouts (including exactly what I think I'll do) on my calendar, including which are going to be rest days. Of course there are some days where what I scheduled isn't what I end up doing (swimming outside on a morning when it's foggy in LA isn't so fun), but seeing it as a "hard landscape" item on my calendar inspires me to find something else that I do feel like doing.

I've got my overall goals to be prepared for the race (comfortably swim 1/2 mile, bike 13 miles, run 3.1 miles all under 2 hours), but I've also been setting goals within each workout (I'm going to run for 2 miles, I'm going to swim 15 laps, I'm going to bike for 40 minutes.) It's amazing the difference setting goals has made in giving me a sense of accomplishment and completion instead of trying to just workout for as long as I can.

There's great application for this with the Weekly Review if you are trying to make that a habit. I suggest starting small. Set a goal of 15 minutes, or process 15 emails from your Inbox or 15 pieces of paper from your desk. Schedule it on your calendar for a block of time you can commit to. Pick the things that will give you the biggest payoff. And if you want to add some more structure to your weekly review, grab this free download from our online store.