Natalie Klaver
University of New England
Review
I made two main goals at the beginning of the semester and they were to drink more water along with eating healthier meals instead of snacks. And to set time aside to relax, stretch and do easy exercises. These goals were important to me because I felt that they were key steps that I could take in my life to better myself. These goals are also important to me because they aren’t new goals. They are actually goals that I have been trying to work on for about a year. I found that throughout the year, I have actually gotten a lot better at being aware of my goals and hitting them more consistently each day. I feel that I was very successful at meeting my goals. I found that I was able to meet my goals more often than not and that all the barriers I have run into, I am able to workaround. I definitely will continue to work towards them every day until my goals just become a normal part of my daily routine.
Things That Helped
I did many things to meet my goal of drinking more water throughout the day and eating healthier meals instead of snacks. I tried to make sure to always have a cup of water beside me when I’m home doing homework or even just laying in bed. Along with filling and packing my water bottle the night before in my school bag to try and decrease the amount of times that I forget my water bottle at home. When I’m at school I purposefully take my water bottle out and set it next to my computer as a reminder to drink throughout the class. I found this trick to work well for me.
For setting time aside for myself to stretch and exercise, I found that if I set a daily timer for 7 o’clock then I was more likely to get up in that moment to do that exercises that I had planned. I now also have a yoga mat that is out in my room constantly. I have found that this actually helps me to do more stretching throughout the day. I noticed that if I had any extra time, even just a few minutes, I could step aside and do at least one stretch. The yoga mat to me is like a small reminder.
Barriers
I found that I was having trouble staying consistent with drink a lot of water during the school day and bringing healthy meals to school. This was due to my own personal errors. I found that a lot of the time, I wouldn’t make enough food the night before so that there wouldn’t be enough for leftovers for the next day, or I wouldn’t give myself enough time in the morning to prepare a good meal. I also left my water bottle at home multiple times leaving me with the decision of having to buy a water bottle or just use the water fountain. I found that often I chose to save money and plastic by choosing to use the water fountain. But by doing this, I’m not able to drink as much water as I had planned or wanted to.
For exercising, I found that the 20 minutes that I had set aside for myself seemed to get shorter and shorter over time. I found myself rushing to get my stretching and exercising over. This is due to me feeling stressed about the amount of homework or studying that I need to do later in the night. I also found that I started to fit my 20 minutes of relaxing anywhere that it would fit in my schedule and I think that is what also played a role in the time crunch.
The Will To Change
At the beginning of the semester when we first made these goals, I would say that I was in the preparation stage. I already had recognized my problem areas prior and had begun thinking about how to help change them. I felt that I was taking very small baby steps towards changing. I was very open to new ideas and responded well to changes. At this point in the semester, I feel that I am mostly in the action stage, but moving toward the maintenance stage. I have been constantly engaged with trying to make a positive change along with still being open to new ways to improve more. I feel that my success has stayed pretty consistent for about a month or so, and I don’t find myself falling into old habits.
Necessary Changes
I want to buy another water bottle and have one designated for at home and the other one designated for school/to stay in my backpack. I feel that by having two water bottles, it will significantly decrease the amount of times that I don’t have one at school. I also plan on doing some research for meals that are good for meals for weekly meal prepping. I feel that if I am able to set up a couple of days worth of meals then I won’t run into the situation of not having enough time to make something. This way my meals will be ready for me to grab when I need them.
A big change that I want to try to make is to wake up 30 minutes early in the morning to do stretching and light exercises. I feel that would be the perfect way to start the day. This way I won’t want to put it off or shorten the time period because I’m tired or feeling rushed. I think that switching the time is what’s going to make all the difference.
