I used to start my day taking care of pressing matters that I would get to first thing in the morning. Without knowing it, my day had started, my computer had swallowed me for the day. At 8pm, I would not have exercised yet even though I know exercise is a huge priority for me. I would end up having dinner and calling it a day.  I needed to find a strategy to make sure exercise.

I now choose to exercise first thing in the morning before it’s time to dive into writing, preparing a conference or seeing back-to-back clients.

My strategy is straightforward. I prepare my clothes in advance and leave them in the bathroom. When the alarm goes off, as a habit which I am sure I share with a vast majority, I get up and go to the bathroom. My clothes are laying right there beside the toilet, ready to put on before I even have time to think about anything. Then I brush my teeth and start to wake up, at which time, I realize I am wearing my exercise clothes, socks, runners, etc. ready to workout. If I put the clothes anywhere else, the odds of me putting them on go down. Trust me, I have tried different areas of the bedroom.

The point of this is to remember to prepare in advance. Setting up your environment will greatly improve your success. This apply to anything that is important to you and that you want to make sure you do first thing in the morning.  If you are planning to exercise after work, pack your bag ready to go with you in your trunk. If you happen to run into traffic, you won’t use the excuse to say you did not have time to get home and grab your stuff. You can go straight to your class or workout session.

Putting them on in the bathroom as I am still half asleep has been working for me like a magic spell. I am not noticing what I am doing, and I just do it. Once all dressed, I walk to the kitchen where I grab the shake I have prepared the night before – again, increasing my chances to go through with it – and I drink it as I walk to the gym for my short weight lifting / pushups routine.