Fit For Life: Write Your “Done” List

Saturday, March 05, 2016

Matt Espeut, GoLocal Health +Lifestyle Contributor

I live off a list. And I update this list several times a day. On this list is a prioritized bunch of “to do” items that remind me of what I need to accomplish throughout the day. This list holds me accountable to myself to GSD (get s--- done) throughout the day. And for the most part, it works well, and I believe that if everyone writes out a “to do” list daily, they would work more efficiently, and get more accomplished.

But about a week ago, I was reminded that it is equally important to make another kind of list. A list I had never done before, but one that has helped lift a little stress from our lives. And, that’s a “DONE” list. You see, the to-do list keeps us chasing. Always going after something, always moving and shaking, and sometimes stressing out to accomplish the tasks at hand. On the other hand, the “done” list, gives us a sense of accomplishment. Makes us feel good that we achieved our goals, regardless of how short term these daily goals might be. I always tell people that big goals are accomplished one small goal at a time.

We build our culture this way through acknowledging our clients’ accomplishments. I do it weekly in our newsletter by profiling a certain client each week. I have before and after pictures all all over our walls, to show others their success. We post daily on our Facebook pages, and on our members’ private Facebook page showing people accomplishing their goals. And it works. It makes people feel a sense of gratification, and that should be part of what life is about for all of us.

While I did this for my clients, but for the longest time I never did it for myself. I never look at what I have done, only what I needed to do. And it was killing me slowly. I never felt satisfied, and never felt accomplished or successful. I am still very far from my goals, but now I keep an accomplishment/gratification journal, and I feel better about things. I try to do it daily, and when I feel stressed about what needs to be done, I look back and say “ok, I did a lot last week”. Then I take a deep breath, and start a new to-do list.

Like I said in the past, and continue to say today, everyone needs a coach, or someone to provide direction. I do that for others on a fitness level, and I have a coach that does that for me on a business level. This week my coach sent all his coaching clients an email and I am going to share it with you. It helped me and I think it will help you too. Just take the message and make it yours….what my goals are in fitness – can be yours in life and in business. It’ll work. Enjoy:

“I want to talk to you about small victories. Sometimes we forget to celebrate the smallest of victories. We forget to celebrate when we get our first paying client, or when we get our 100th client. Sometimes everything is moving so fast that we just forget to stop and be grateful for the amazing life that we have.
You get to be your own boss.
You know that the harder you work the more money you’ll make.
You see firsthand the impact that you’re making in your community.
You get to employ good people who deliver great service to your clients.
You live the life that most could only dream of, and that is to become a self-employed business owner.
No one can ever fire you. You’re in charge of your own financial security.
Your clients love you. And they’re seeing results from your program.
There are a lot of wins here, but sometimes we forget to acknowledge them because we’re too busy trying figuring out what to fix next.
Listen, as an entrepreneur there will always be things to fix, improve, and systematize – that’s just the nature of what we do.
But I think you need to celebrate the small victories that you have more often.
Think about what you’ve done!
You are an agent of change!
You are an entrepreneur – the backbone of the economy.
Unlike everybody else who owns a job you own a business and you’re in charge of your income, not anyone else.
Celebrate the small victories my friends.
And let the celebration bleed into your team and to your clients.
Teach clients to celebrate the small victories like coming to boot camp for an entire week straight.
They should celebrate the fact that they were disciplined on their nutrition program for an entire day.
They should celebrate the small victory of losing their 1st pound and moving up to heavier dumbbells.
They should celebrate finally being able to squeeze into their favorite jeans.
Small victories lead to bigger victories!
So while I know you have a lot on your plate as an entrepreneur, I encourage you to take but 30 seconds every now and then and acknowledge and celebrate your small victories and wins.
And teach your staff and encourage your clients to do the same.
Here’s to YOU, the pioneer, the leader, and the agent of change!

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years.

Related Slideshow: The 7 Best Health and Fitness Apps

Here is a list of some of the most obsession worthy health apps.

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MapMyRun

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Made for iPhone, Android and Blackberry

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MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal seems to be the clear favorite amongst everyone polled. It is helpful not only for the fitness tracking aspect, but everyone polled mentioned how much they loved the food/diet aspect as well. From carb counting for diabetics to recipe ideas to complement your fitness goals, users love this app.

Made for iPhone and Android

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JeFit

JeFit is another fitness app that has rave reviews. It not only tracks progress for you, but offers a huge database of workouts. While many apps offer community support, JeFit allows you to sync workouts with friends who use the app, offering a (real) virtual buddy system.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Strava

Strava gets the highest mark of all the cycling apps. While it is also great for runners, the cyclers seem particularly inclined towards the fierce competition that can be ignited by this app. You can track all of your rides via GPS, then you can compare your efforts to those logged by others in the community on the same stretch of road. You can also join ongoing challenges that can net you great prizes (in addition to bragging rights).

Made for iPhone and Android

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YogaStudio

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Made for iPhone only

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SimplyBeing

SimplyBeing meditation app offers the best of both worlds. You can choose to run this app as a background for your meditation with soothing music or natural sounds that run for a set amount of time. Conversely, for those of you who have trouble focusing during meditation, you can choose a soothing voice-guided meditation.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Fooducate

Fooducate is an app all about educating people so that they make healthier food choices. Although not perfect, this app is easy to use (you can even take pictures of bar codes to instantly find foods in their database). It gives food a letter grade, tells you the pluses and minuses, and gives you better ranked alternatives. You can also use it as a weight loss tool by tracking your daily calories.

Made for iPhone and Android