Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about a little trick you can use
Speaker 1: to stay motivated to achieve monthly goals. Making progress toward
Speaker 1: any goals can be challenging. That's why we're always looking
Speaker 1: for ways to be more disciplined and consistent. A few
Speaker 1: episodes ago, we talked about the ten minute trick. Whenever
Speaker 1: you're resisting doing something a workout, practicing the piano, writing
Speaker 1: your novel, challenge yourself to do it for ten minutes.
Speaker 1: If you're still unhappy, you can quit. Most likely momentum
Speaker 1: will take over and you'll keep going, but even if
Speaker 1: you don't, ten minutes is better than nothing. Today's tip
Speaker 1: is about another little trick for making progress. This one
Speaker 1: comes from Before Breakfast listener Elizabeth. She writes that she
Speaker 1: wants to work out five times a week each month.
Speaker 1: That works out to times depending on how the dates fall.
Speaker 1: So she says she makes up a phrase with the
Speaker 1: appropriate number of letters letters. Each time I work out,
Speaker 1: I earn a letter towards that phrase. The month she
Speaker 1: wrote me about this tip, her phrase was you will
Speaker 1: own this workout. That's twenty one letters in case you're counting.
Speaker 1: Each workout brings her one letter closer to completing the phrase.
Speaker 1: As you can imagine, she hates to end the month
Speaker 1: with the phrase stuck at you will own this war,
Speaker 1: and so it gives her a little kick to keep
Speaker 1: going so she can assign herself the next letter. I
Speaker 1: love this idea. You could come up with lots of
Speaker 1: motivational phrases in the arrange. That means that this is
Speaker 1: a perfect match for things you intend to do several
Speaker 1: times a week, be that exercising, meditating, using a language app,
Speaker 1: writing in a journal, doing morning pages, or another freewriting habit.
Speaker 1: Here are a few sample phrases. I am always getting stronger.
Speaker 1: The world needs this story. My mind is calm amid chaos.
Speaker 1: So come up with the phrase. Then find a way
Speaker 1: to physically give yourself a letter for each completed session.
Speaker 1: You could use those magnetic letters that kids play with
Speaker 1: on refrigerators. Each time you look at the fridge, you'll
Speaker 1: see yourself getting a little closer to phrase completion. Or
Speaker 1: write each letter on a chalkboard or whiteboard. When you
Speaker 1: complete the phrase, take a little time to savor your
Speaker 1: accomplishment and then dream up the next phrase. Ideally, your
Speaker 1: goals have their own intrinsic rewards, but it never hurts
Speaker 1: to get a little extra push. Do you have a
Speaker 1: trick that helps you stay motivated. I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: about it. You can email me at Before Breakfast podcast
Speaker 1: at I heart media dot com. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart
Speaker 1: media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with
Speaker 1: all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to
Speaker 1: stay hang in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.