How to Follow Through with Your Plans

"The key to making healthy decisions is to respect your future self. " — A.J. Jacobs

During a recent coaching call, my client shared that she was struggling to hit her goal of going for a walk after work at least once a week.

Even though she made a plan in advance for which day she would walk,

When that day came, she didn't follow through.

And she was frustrated with herself because she thought she 'should' be able to stick to the plan.

But after some digging, we uncovered the real issue: The plan wasn’t created with her future self in mind.

It didn’t take into account the mental and emotional state she’d be in when the time came to follow through.

Her future self would have just finished a long workday. She’d be tired, both physically and mentally. And she’d want to go straight home and relax with some TV to unwind.

Yet her plan required her to get home, change into her walking clothes, then get back in the car and drive to the trail where she likes to walk.

Now, you might be thinking, "that sounds doable".

But the reality is, it ISN'T doable for her future self...the version of her who's exhausted and just wants to plop down on the couch for the rest of the night.

So, we created a new plan with THAT version of her in mind.

Instead of going home to change (which made it much less likely she’d leave the house again), we adjusted the plan: She’d bring her walking clothes with her to work, change before leaving, and head straight to the trail.

Next, after checking in with how confident she felt about this new plan, we identified another challenge with her previous approach: Sometimes, the weather wasn’t great, or it was already dark by the time she planned to walk.

So, we created a BACKUP PLAN. If the weather wasn’t cooperating or she worked late, she’d go to the gym and walk there. To make this plan even more enjoyable, we added that she would listen to a new audiobook (something she really enjoys) while walking at the gym.

Instead of staying frustrated with herself for not following through with something she thought she should be able to do, she accepted the reality that her future self usually doesn’t want to go for a walk after work.

And if that walk is going to happen, it needs to be really easy to get started. And if even the easy plan feels too challenging, the backup plan needs to be not only doable but also enjoyable.

So, if YOU have been struggling to follow through with a plan you think you should be able to do, ask yourself:

"How can I make this plan more doable for my FUTURE SELF?"

Consider:

• The environment she'll be in

• The emotions she'll be feeling

• The thoughts she'll be having

👉 How can you make things easier for THAT version of yourself?

Once you've adjusted your plan,

Shoot me an email and let me know what changes you made to make things easier for your future self. 

I’d love to hear how you’re setting yourself up for success and offer any feedback or support you might need!