February 7 - Plan for Exceptions

Your reaction to a moment can too easily become your new course of action and you can start losing motivation (after reading today's email, zip over to read the new article on staying motivated).

Beware the “what the hell” effect where a small slip has you giving up for the rest of the day (or beyond).

Maybe you’ve had a long day and you run into the house with your mind full of tasks (cook dinner, do laundry, contact mom). You dump your coat, purse, and other items onto a kitchen chair with the intention to put them away later.

Later comes, dinner has been consumed and cleaned up; laundry is in the machine; your phone call is made; and you see the stuff in the pile. You think, “What the hell, I’ve had a long day, I’ll deal with the stuff in the morning.”

You throw yourself on the couch and ignore a few other things that could be tidied with minimal fuss, but you’ve already given yourself permission to take the rest of the evening off.

While maintaining order at home shouldn’t feel like punishment, unplanned exceptions only feel good in the moment. But, how can you be easy on yourself?

Create a plan. For example, tell yourself that if you get home after 9 p.m., you don’t have to hang up your coat or sort through the mail. It’s sort of like making the rule that you’ll only eat birthday cake at parties for immediate family; otherwise, no cake.

Creating a plan still allows for exceptions; however, knowing when you’ll make an exception means that you’re not really going off course.

What planned exceptions can you make for the future? Learn other ways  to stay motivated the best way for you with this article.