Goal Setting pt.2
Part 2—Long term or big goals
Just a quick reminder of where we left off:
Our Goal
“I'll gain five pounds of muscle over six months by exercising four days per week, getting 135 grams of protein daily, and getting rest and recovery with eight hours of sleep each night."
Meets the SMART Goals ethos. Read more here »
Based on my own personal experience, I’d have to say that traveling is one of the biggest disruptors for a fitness journey. It’s harder to plan meals, temptations are easier to come by, and the fatigue of travel can literally make it easier to take shortcuts or make rash decisions that aren’t rooted in the rationale of working toward good health outcomes.
So what’s the solution? How can we realistically translate the hard work and good intentions we have at home into a road trip?
For a short trip, breaking this goal into smaller objectives gives me something to target in a way that makes better sense for the circumstance. Put differently, breaking my larger goal into smaller parts makes me more likely to adhere to it. However, to be successful, my new goal is more than simply saying, “I’m going to stick to a fitness routine during my work trip.” Instead, I can adjust my larger SMART goal for shifting circumstances and still keep myself accountable.
A SMART Goal for travel might sound something more like this:
I still check all five boxes.
Specific: Three concrete areas of focus:
Two days of exercise
Daily protein intake starts with 30 grams at breakfast
Sleep duration is still 8 hours
Measurable: Each thing I was specific about has been assigned a number, so I’ll know if I’m successful or not
Exercise: "at least two of the three days"
Protein: "at least 30 grams"
Sleep: "at least eight hours"
Action-Oriented: I’m literally using verbs to describe what I’ll do
Exercise
Have at least 30 grams
Sleep at least eight hours
Realistic:
This goal will be challenging (especially with all the open bars on this trip), but absolutely achievable.
Timely: This goal has a clear and defined timeframe:
"3 days”
"start each morning…"
"each night…"
By adjusting the bigger picture, I can still focus on something that feeds into a larger objective and helps keep me on track.