I've been in a bit of a rut with my writing lately. I have lots of ideas and a drive to keep working and keep this blog alive, but I've been struggling to actually get the writing done. I absolutely will not, for any reason, quit this blog for some silly reason, like a temporary lack of passion and motivation. I also feel like my life works in a cycle: I can be driven, determined, and productive for a period of time and then watch it all fade away before I have to rebuild it all again. During my last semester of college, I really felt like I had lost all the traction I had gained the summer before, and as I've been in the transitional period between school and life afterward, I made lots of slow progress to finally get myself out of the deep hole I found myself in. Of course, the road was bumpy and had many twists and turns, as it would for anybody. Along the way, I have still followed these phases of taking a few steps forward, a few steps back. Recently, I feel that I have been taking those little steps back again, but I'm ready to get back into rebuilding. It is important to acknowledge while wanting to take big strides ahead, the progress I have made over the past nine months and, really, over the course of my life. I no longer feel the immense fear and pressure I did after finishing school to figure out what comes next, I got comfortable with the way in which I finished school and stopped beating myself up for needing a bit of help toward the end, I have worked with my primary care physician and psychiatrist to develop a system that helps me not fall into an anxious/depressive episode for two weeks every month, I've taken a step out the door from working with my dad and into my first "big girl" job, and I have continued to express my creativity in ways I would never have believed were possible. I was able to accomplish all of that in nine months, and I won't even mention the extreme progress I have been able to make in terms of my anxiety, self-confidence, etc. over the years. But now I want more.
I recently listened to a new episode of the Manifest with Tori DiSimone podcast, where she walked me through what she calls the "Reinvention Routine." She recommends that you follow her goal-setting routine quarterly to get clear about your visions for the next three months, call your shot, and create a game plan for how to reach your goals. I have looked up to Tori for quite a while now, and I enjoy the way she discusses and presents tips and tools for how to do the things you want to do while also enjoying life, so I was excited to follow her steps and see what I could make from it. I actually ended up doing it twice because I had some changes that I wanted to make after I completed it the first time. I wasn't surprised that this happened because I struggle to really nail down a lot of concrete answers and plans because I find that I am interested in a wide variety of different things, I love to start new projects, and I feel that my interests, passions, and motivations jump around all the time. Also, I'm lazy. I'm probably the laziest go-getter or the most driven lazy person there is. I often find it difficult to build a solid plan and stick with it for an extended period of time. I really want to make some changes and work hard these last few months of the year so I can hit the ground running in the New Year.
Here's my written version of all of this.
First, Tori urges you to write all of this from the perspective of your future self, in this case, the person who I will be on December 31st, 2024. Write all of this out as if you have already accomplished all of the goals that you are setting today. In the world of manifestation, this is known as scripting, which uses the Law of Attraction to bring you closer to your goals by affirming them as already being true. She starts you off with the imagining feeling that you will have on December 31st, 2024, when you really have accomplished the things you put on paper today. Megan Teerlink talks about this extensively on her podcast, Getting Mindful with Megan. We often think that the good feeling comes after the action that we take, but it's actually the other way around. We choose the feeling we want to feel and then align our actions to fulfill that feeling. If I want to feel creative, vibrant, healthy, and active at the end of the year, I will decide to feel those things now and follow the steps I need to take between now and then to continue feeling that way. The feeling drives the action, not the other way around. That's why belief is so important.
Anyway, the first real step is to identify the ways in which you would like to be able to describe yourself at the end of the three months and write this as if it is already so. My list includes:
Healthy
Creative
Flowing
Excited
Confident
Determined
Driven
Compassionate
Vibrant
Active
Focused
Cared for
I kept all of these the same but added "beautiful" to the list the second time around.
Then she moves into what you will have accomplished at the end of this period of growth, again in the present tense, as if you have already conquered these goals. My first time around, my accomplishments read like this:
Established solid systems and routines that support my everyday wellness, my work performance, and my dreams
I made movement a vital part of my routine
I prioritized protein and produce
I built a system for blog writing that keeps me from scrambling
I built a thriving vegetable garden
Posted 50 blog posts and started building viewership
Made artistic creation a regular habit
Then, from those accomplishments, she asks you to identify your pillars or the main themes that emerge from what you wrote. Mine were:
Blog
Sleep
Movement
Nutrition
Garden
Routine/Systems
Creativity
Then, you turn those ideas into specific goals, which you can break down month-to-month. Here were mine:
I created a system that allows me to consistently clean and organize my spaces (room and car).
I built a consistent sleep routine to support my focus and wellness in my waking hours.
I created a movement routine that ensures movement is prioritized and allows for flexibility and variety.
I learned how to buy, prepare, and eat whole foods, prioritize protein and produce, and minimize food waste.
I built time into each week to focus and flow in my writing to produce quality content in a timely manner.
I broke through my fear of my work being read and started sharing it more widely.
I started and maintain a thriving vegetable garden.
I prioritized creativity as a way to relax and practice healthy ways to release dopamine.
See how these are all super vague, and I didn't take them to the next level? You can see that something was off for me.
The reason I ended up redoing this was because I realized this was just way too much for me to handle on top of balancing two jobs. I felt too overwhelmed. This is supposed to be exciting and energizing, but I felt intimidated and stuck. So I started again.
I changed my list of accomplishments:
I made movement a vital part of my routine.
I follow a consistent sleep routine.
I built a system that allows me to consistently write quality content without scrambling.
I fell in love with caring for my body and mind.
I created a system that allows me to keep my spaces tidy.
I replaced hours of mindless scrolling with artistic creation.
I pared my pillars down:
Blog
Sleep
Systems
Creativity
Movement
I rewrote my goals:
I practiced purposeful movement four times per week.
I spent ten minutes tidying my room every night before bed.
I woke up at 6am every weekday.
I brushed my teeth and washed my face every night.
I ate one serving of fruits or vegetables at every meal.
I spent one hour each weeknight working on my blog and two two-hour sessions on the weekend.
Last, Tori has you configure your schedule in a way that hits all of your pillars each day. I won't write out my schedule here, but I did find it difficult to get this done because my schedule varies quite a bit, and I lose a lot of time due to commuting. Right now, though, I do feel like I have done a decent job of making sure that all of these things are included in my daily routine so that I can get just 1% better every day (Read Atomic Habits by James Clear if you haven't already).
I also printed a habit tracker sheet so I can visually keep track of how well I am able to keep these habits up over the course of the next three and a half months. Now that I've gone through the process again, I'm feeling much better about my goals and my ability to accomplish them. I really can't wait to see where I am able to lead myself by December 31st, 2024.
Here's my habit tracker for the first 31 of 105 days!
Stay tuned!
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