Last week, I wrote about how important planning is when it comes to achieving your goals. Here’s the quick recap:
Whenever I fall short — missed workouts, poor nutrition, skipped habits — I ask myself:
What did I do to plan and prepare for this?
And most of the time… the answer is: not enough.
If something matters, it deserves space on your calendar. Not just good intentions — an actual plan.
Here’s what works:
✅ Block off 30 minutes a week
✅ Plan your meals, prep time, eating windows, and workouts
✅ Stick to the plan and adjust as needed
Don’t just hope it’ll happen. Make it happen.
But there’s another level to this — one that can make the difference between a solid plan and a successful week.
It’s the ability to anticipate obstacles before they happen.
In your 30-minute planning block, ask yourself:
“What do we have coming up this week that could derail my progress?”
This might include late meetings, social events, travel, kids’ activities, or days where your energy will be lower. Identifying those friction points before they happen allows you to pivot and not react in the moment when stress is high.
An easy way to build this habit:
Look at the calendar the night before with your partner.
Talk through the next day — carpool duties, meal timing, who’s training when — and flag anything that could throw you off. When you’re both on the same page, you can adjust ahead of time rather than scramble.
Here’s a quick example:
You’ve planned a gym session for 6:00 PM after work.
But at 5:00 PM, your son tells you he’s got a pick-up hockey game he really wants to join — and you’re on deck to drive.
That could be a derailing moment.
But if you had looked ahead the night before and chatted through the week’s plans, you might have known this was coming. Instead of skipping your workout entirely, maybe you hit a 25-minute session at lunch or get up 30 minutes earlier to move in the morning.
It’s not about perfection — it’s about staying on track enough times that you keep your momentum.
Final thoughts:
Life will throw curveballs. Some things will derail us, and they’ll be outside of our control. That’s normal and we need to give ourselves grace when that happens.
But a lot of obstacles are predictable. And with a little foresight, they’re completely avoidable.
If you can build the habit of asking “what might get in the way this week?” — and you take a few minutes to plan around it — your consistency will skyrocket.
And when you’re consistent… progress is inevitable.
Luke Amaral
Owner
MVMT Strength