So You Were Saying You Have No Time To Create New Habits
**Disclaimer** There are some people who are extremely busy and as you read this article, I want you to pick one of the smallest, tiniest things you could start doing rather than focussing on one of the biggest things. Keep Reading.
So the date is October 4, 2021 and Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp are down for the day all over the world. As part of my work, I am a social media contractor, so this has more of a direct impact on me than your average personal trainer.
However, most growing fitness business' use their social media very heavily, and I have no doubt they are feeling a little bit on edge on a day like this.
Before I go further, this is why it's important for me to emphasize the importance of getting people to sign up for my email list. If you haven't signed up yet, you can find it here invigoratetraining.com/1
I want to talk about some of the things that I do when I come across an obstacle, because it's a big part of keeping a routine in fitness and it's a very versatile skill to have in life.
We've all been through these past few years (#pandemic) and we know that not everything is going to go according to plan. Businesses will close, people will pivot, endlessly and with little to no notice.
When it comes to these things we need to find a way to ground ourselves. We need to get calm. I like to emphasize breathing and in most of the work I've done with large groups or presentations, I have people audible breathe along with me. It usually looks silly as heck, but it works because they see I'm super into it and they follow suit.
I inhale through my nose and as I exhale I go "haaaaaahHHHHhhhhh". If you get a full group doing this it will probably make you laugh just to hear it and humour is often how we cope with stress.
Take 10 deep inhales and audible exhales (truthfully your exhales could be silent if need be).
I'll second this by saying that music helps as well. My goto calming music is usually compositions by Hans Zimmer. He just gets me.
Alright; you've played Time, you've breathed, now you are calm. Take a look at your calendar/agenda for the day. Are there any communications that you could possible carry out through a different platform?
For example, I went from using FB Messenger to contact colleagues and clients and jumped over to text, email and Slack and was able to continue through with the conversations.
For getting updated on different businesses and news, Twitter was still up and so I was able to get any relevant updates I needed that pertained to my day.
TikTok was also still running, so just like sometimes I'd look at Instagram to decide what kind of content to create, this time I just went to TikTok.
Pause for a second: Taking a little moment here to circle back to something I said earlier about small habits as we talk about habit change.
We talked about breathing, and music, and one of the ways a person can combine the two with a little bit of structure is by playing a 5 minute song, and breathing mindfully during the duration of the song. Just sitting in silence and either imagining how you want your day to go, or reflecting on how your day has gone. You can choose Time for example, it's about 4:35 so it would work nicely.
Another thing you can do, is just write out everything that's on your mind. Almost as if you're venting. It's surprisingly helpful for managing stress.
I want you to think about that and how little things like that can have a pretty big impact on your day and how you can build on the momentum and do even bigger things as time goes on.
Since I don't really know the layout of your day, I will share mine with you.
Today, I had a virtual client first thing in the morning, I had 5 IG posts to create for different businesses, I had an appointment at the blood donor clinic, I'm recording 2 podcasts, and I'm editing and publishing one of them today (see here: https://youtu.be/ufIx4Iw40wc ) or here
Now while I'd typically have all the Instagram posts done by noon and create posts to promote the podcast, instead I switched gears and decided to prepare an article for my website.
Unlike Instagram, I pay for my website, so I have a bit more ownership over it and invest more into it than I do towards my social media account.
So it's important to always create content so that you aren't completely deleted if Facebook or Instagram were to be offline permanently.
Social Media is an aspect of our lives of which we feel like we have control of, yet we don't, because we no longer make a decision of whether we want to use social media in the day or not, it essentially controls us.
This brings me to two book recommendations I have for you, one which I'm in the middle of listening to (Audible) as I type out this article.
First recommendation:
Second Recommendation:
I recommend these titles because they help me, and many other people to navigate what may seem like obstacles or struggles or addictions. We can be addicted to social media just like we can be addicted to sugar or alcohol.
If the Instagram and Facebook shut down has shown us anything, it is that there are so many things that are possible when we have to make adjustments due to our environment.
When we set out our clothes for the next day, we are more likely to be well-dressed and looking fresh.
When we set our bedtime timer for the night before, we are more likely to get the 8 hours of sleep we need for the day ahead.
A lot of this correlates with the way I approach personal training. I help people learn their way around the gym or stay on track with a program but I also help them navigate what actions they can take today to create sustainable habits for years to come.
When people work with me, I want them to have a lifestyle they enjoy while being able to articulate how their life has benefited from working with me as their trainer.
If you've made it this far, and you want to work with me either in person or remotely, follow this link and I will get back to you to schedule a time for a complimentary consultation.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4EOPNQErfyA5DqLZeFlet8YYrQl53kik4f90M84t6d5BXiw/viewform
I will conclude this article by highlighting how sometimes setbacks can be a blessing in disguise. At some point, I will be playing catchup with Instagram and Facebook communications that have been halted today. However, if it wasn't for that technical difficulty, I would have never written this article today, and this article may be the catalyst to the next book your read, or to your first training session or perhaps the first time you listen to my podcast.
If any one of those things happen as a result of you reading this, that's a win for me. Thank you for reading.
Please share with anyone who you think may benefit.