I’m a “lists” person. Give me a to-do list any day and I’ll make quick work of getting it from A to Z. Having a to-do list helps me feel like I’m in-check and on top of whatever I’m working on. More so than my love of lists, though, is my love of checking items off of a list. I love it. I can regularly be found planning out my to-do list for the day, as my first task when I start work in the morning, and I’m sure to check off each item from my list as I go, as well as updating any task reporting tools with the task I’ve just completed (at the moment, we use iDoneThis over at Woo- it’s pretty awesome).
As can be inferred by my love of lists, I like routines. Routines, however small and un-impactful, mean that in some small way, I know what’s coming next (and thus, can do any necessary preparation- either physical or mental). Some may refer to this as a comfort zone.
Yesterday, I went for my first road run in around a decade. Sure, I’ve run on a treadmill and all that. Not the same. This was one of those moments where I decided to get myself out of any perceived comfort zone, get out on the road and try something a little different. Fitness and I haven’t always been the best of friends. Heck, running and I have never been friends, really.
How do I sustain this action, form a habit and actually enjoy going for a run?
Make lists. Set goals. Go with what you know.
While thinking this topic over (on the run), I came to the (somewhat obvious) realisation that a list is just a set of goals, working towards a larger goal. I started by setting small goals for the run, to keep myself motivated and on track. This worked really well!
The next step I’ll be taking is to list the goals I aim to achieve via the running. I’ve been told this is a common step towards achieving your goals (write them down).
Every day, I make sure to make use of Lift, a tiny little gem of an app on my iPhone where I track goals and form habits. What do you know, another of my beloved lists. 🙂
While running is definitely outside of my comfort zone, I’m glad I can go with what I do know about, write a list of what I want to achieve and help running to become a comfort zone.
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