Monday, Tuesday… Oneday! Stop putting things off

Looking at my calendar it’s easy to see Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, but nowhere do I see ‘Oneday’. Now, I am really confused because everybody talks about it. Everybody has all kinds of great things that they are going to do or have accomplished on that day: Oneday.

You’ve heard it before, “Oneday I’ll start that diet”, or  “Oneday I’ll start exercising”, or “Oneday I’ll go on that trip I always dreamed of taking”.

When I was in practice, I used to hear this all the time, especially when patients said that they were going to do something about their health and wellbeing. It is a form of procrastination. So just where is ‘Oneday’ on the calendar? Nowhere? It’s NOW here!

Oneday happens this moment and starts with taking the necessary action steps. Rather than using Oneday, ask the  question, “Why should I start that new eating regime that I have been talking about for months?” or, “What is the benefit of starting an exercise program today rather than leaving it for another month?”

In conjunction with Oneday, we often will say, “I’m not ready to start”. I liken this to the young couple who are contemplating starting a family and say, “We’re not ready yet”. Are most people ready for a baby? The pregnancy just happens and then people get on with planning their lives accordingly: buying the baby furniture, clothing and toys.

It all comes down to overcoming procrastination. So here is a suggestion as to how you may want to do it – we will use an example that you may relate to.

Let us say you are age 60 and 15 kilos overweight, with high blood pressure. You eat the wrong foods, drink a bit too much and are a couch potato. You realise that you need to go on a certain diet, which has been recommended, you need to join a gym or exercise class, and to find yourself a chiropractor for good spinal health.

Step 1: on a piece of paper, write down at least 20 benefits of making these changes. If you feel a sense of inspiration that you would love to get on with it, that’s great. If you still feel uninspired, keep going with more benefits.

Step 2: on another piece of paper, write 20 negatives or drawbacks of not commencing your new lifestyle program. Keep going until you appreciate that there are definitely negatives to not getting on with it.

Step 3: on another piece of paper, write down the specific date when you are starting your new lifestyle program, giving yourself the chance to buy the necessary food items, organise appointments and so on. Make sure that day is no later than 7 days from the time that you put pen to paper.

Step 4: visualise how you will look and feel after 2, 4 and 6 months of being on your new program.

Follow the steps so that you can go from a Oneday person to a, “Let’s do it” person. Keep in mind to see your health professional to make sure there are no issues which what you plan to do.