A critical factor of sustaining success in our life time fitness is to prioritize healthy daily practices. These healthy practices can come in the form of eating healthy, having plenty of physical activity and adhering to a positive mental outlook. A useful technique that we teach out personal training clients in Napa is hash out the most important things in their day that should take priority regarding their health and fitness. Then put them in a check list format. We call this a “to do list.” While a to do list is a crucial aspect of having a successful day, we forget about the inverse part of what makes a “to do” list successful when we check off the boxes indicating we have successfully completed our task. The much forgot about “to don’t list.”
Our personal training clients commonly ask us, “What are some things that can be done on a daily basis to positively promote living a healthier life?” One tactic we use is to start identifying attainable goals that have a high success rate and create a “to do” list. Some of the easily accomplished and repeatable daily “to do’s” we start with are:
- Drink a tall glass of water first thing in the morning.
- Incorporate vegetables in at least one meal every day
- Get some form of physical activity every day.
Putting these tactics in a check-box format on a piece of paper will help you to knock out these tactics and positively influence living a healthier daily life. You can even put this to do list format on your smart phone and use that as a reminder to check off these healthy habits. To make this even more effective, combine your life time fitness “to do’s” with your other common chores you need to accomplish throughout the day, like cleaning or going to the store.
We add to our personal training client’s life time fitness success factors by implementing a “to don’t” list as well. Learning to create success in health and wellness efforts by abstaining or avoiding errors is a commonly overlooked tactic that can yield substantial success. This is similar to the way an elite pickleball player going up against a novice. If the novice sticks to fundamentals of keeping the ball in the court, the “to do” part has been checked off. If the novice ensures that the ball is not hit out of bounds, now the “to don’t” has been checked off. There is now success on both ends of the spectrum. The things to work to accomplish, and the things to avoid. Now the chance for the elite player to make a mistake has been revealed, and a successful point has been revealed because the player is focusing on fundamental tactics on what “to do” and “to don’t”. By focusing on both the “to do” and “to don’t” we can practice a refined sense of control in our decision making.
We know the need to utilize control to be able to maintain or lose a certain weight, manage stress, and be productive in our daily lives. So, a good way to support these is to investigate what we can stay away from and create a “to don’t” check off list along with our “to do” list. Some common “to don’t” tactics we recommend to our personal training clients are to look at the things holding them back from being productive and put a limit on them. Some examples might include:
- Don’t use your cell phone after dinner time unless it’s an important phone call. Stop playing games, surfing Facebook or Instagram, or checking your emails.
- Don’t have treats after dinner on certain nights. Put the potato chips and chocolate away after 5 PM.
- Don’t have that extra glass of wine or beer after dinner.
Of course, this list is subjective for everyone, but if we interact with a “to don’t” list each day, we can avoid some of the mistakes that might affect our success in the game of life time fitness. Making this conscious effort to create a list of things that slow you down will support optimal health and productivity throughout the day.
It’s important to identify attainable goals that can jump start your success. Starting off with modest “to do” and “to don’t” tactics is a good idea. That way, if you fail, it won’t be that big of a failure. You can simply make a new one tomorrow. However, the benefit of having two lists that focus on the things you are trying to do and things you are trying to avoid doubles your chances of supporting your goals to be more productive, have clear and concise thoughts, and live a healthful and happy life.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
