Hey Reader,​

I once trained for a half marathon, picked up my race packet, and then turned off my alarm on race morning and went back to sleep.

And yes, I still wore the T-shirt. 😂

That story pokes a pretty big hole in a few motivation myths you may have picked up from the health and fitness world:

• You should feel excited and motivated to exercise and eat well.
• Athletes and fitness professionals must feel motivated all the time.
• You need to wait for motivation before working toward your goals.

Motivation has a very good PR team. It gets credit for actions that are often carried by something far less exciting:

A plan.

Motivation comes and goes. Action often creates more of it. Once you begin, that small bit of progress can make you more willing to continue.

But how do you begin when you’d rather roll over and go back to sleep?

That’s where the 3 S’s come in:

Structure

Structures are the things and environments you put around yourself to make an action easier.

Ask yourself: What needs to be around me to support this goal?

Systems

Systems are the repeatable processes and routines you use to make something happen.

Ask yourself: What steps or routines would help me follow through?

Scheduling

Scheduling gives the action a specific day, time, and place.

Ask yourself: When, exactly, will I do this?

Here’s how all 3 might work together.

Example 1: Strength training twice a week

Structure: You choose a gym that’s on your drive home, keep a gym bag in the car, and have a workout ready to follow.

System: Every Sunday, you pack 2 workout outfits. On training days, you change at work and drive directly to the gym before going home.

Scheduling: You block Tuesday and Thursday at 5:15 PM on your calendar.

Now your workout has a convenient location, a repeatable process, and a reserved time. Your feelings have far fewer decisions to make.

Example 2: Making dinner during a busy week

Picture 5:30 PM. The kids are hungry, someone needs help finding their blue cup, you’re tired, and you don’t feel like cooking.

Here’s how the 3 S’s could help:

Structure: You keep ingredients for 3 quick backup meals in the house and post the options on the fridge. Maybe that’s tacos, rotisserie chicken with microwave rice and frozen vegetables, or eggs and toast with fruit.

System: Every Thursday, you choose 3 dinners for the following week and add the ingredients to your grocery order. Each evening, you check tomorrow’s dinner and pull anything you need from the freezer.

Scheduling: You reserve 15 minutes Thursday evening to choose the meals and 20 minutes Sunday afternoon for any simple prep.

When hungry-kid chaos arrives, several decisions have already been made.

Now it’s your turn.

Choose one action you’ve been putting off and answer these 3 questions:

• Structure: What could I place, stock, arrange, or choose to make this easier?
• System: What repeatable steps could I follow?
• Scheduling: What day, time, and place will I reserve for it?

Start with one action. Reorganizing your entire life before dinner sounds exhausting.

On low-motivation days, these supports can carry more of the load.

One useful structure. One repeatable system. One calendar appointment at a time.

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Until Next Time,