McKel Hill Kooienga, MS, RDN, LDN
Founder of Nutrition Stripped and the Mindful Nutrition Method™
Goal setting can keep you on track, accountable, and sets you up for success.
One of my first wellness blog posts was related to goal setting and I shared it for a reason. It’s important! Goal setting gets a silly cliche vibe sometimes, but in reality, it’s the one thing that can keep you on track, accountable, and sets you up for success. But what about after you’ve set the goals? How do you stay motivated?
I have a lot of things going on all at once with Nutrition Stripped…I mean, a. lot. So many of you ask how I stay motivated to do it all. Well, I’m just like you and go through times where my motivation is top notch and other times where I have to pull out all the strategies I teach my clients to get started with work for the day or to finish XYZ. Staying motivated by your goals can range from your professional life to your personal well being, relationships, etc. Identifying your deep-rooted motivating factor(s) is essential for success. For example “getting a 6-pack” is not on the list of strong enough motivators, but one of my clients who says “I want to decrease my hemoglobin A1C to prevent diabetes so I can live a long, healthy, and happy life with my daughters and see them grow up…” now THAT’S deep motivation, something that will probably carry them through years of staying on top of their goals.
TOP TIPS WHEN IT GETS TOUGH TO GET MOVING
No. 01 Start with Your Highest Priority Goal
No seriously, start with this before you do anything else. Do you ever find yourself with like 100 tabs opened on your laptop all aimed at distracting you from the big project at hand, or the project that’s intimidating you, or one that you’re just not in the mood to do but you “have” to do? I get it. At points during writing the cookbook I felt like this. SO after I finished my Morning Routine, I pumped myself up and told myself I’d get X amount done, set the goal, set the timeframe goal, and JUST DID IT. Every time I did this I felt so great, productive, and accomplished just by following through.
No. 02 Set the Timeframe
I like setting competitions with myself. It may sound silly but it works for me, as it helps to set a goal for time getting done with said task/project. For example, writing this blog post right now I’m allowing myself 1 hour total, extra bonus points if I can finish it in 45 minutes, which means my competitive nature will try to get this done in 30 minutes. Always challenge yourself and try to push forward.
No. 03 The Use of the To-Do List
Each morning I start off not only listing out everything that I need to do that day but also the bigger picture of moving projects along. Then I assign a timeframe to each task for how long it will take to get it done. I also refer back to this list about a thousand times during the day to make sure I’m on track. Whenever I gravitate towards hitting the FB tab or looking on Instagram, I know that I’m distracting from the bigger picture and pull myself back!
No. 04 Enlist Support
Having an outside level of support to keep on track sometimes gives you all the extra motivation you need whether it’s your best friend, mom, neighbor, or team (thanks NS team!). For me, just knowing that you guys rely on me each week to provide recipes, nutrition advice, wellness information and continue to be your guide for healthy living makes all the difference in the world.
No. 05 Get Visual
Make a date with yourself or with your girlfriends and nerd out with magazines, glue sticks, poster boards, and markers and make a vision board to hang up. Or go more digital and create a Pinterest board. We have tons of secret boards that are mood and vision boards for the future of Nutrition Stripped (which is damn exciting to look at when I’m having a tough day). Having something you can look at each day will help you envision and take actionable steps to reach those goals — so my challenge for you this week is to set a date and show me your vision board on Instagram!
Group chat
What keeps you motivated? Are there times where finding motivation is easier than others? Let’s start the conversation with each other and share what helps you guys– I know everyone can use this for some help.
xx McKel
p.s.
Still feel like you need the advice of a nutritionist to reach your health goals? Let me help you with a one-on-one nutrition coaching program!
