The Strategist

Time to give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve taken the plunge and set your goal. Whether you’re just starting out or are ready to kick things up a notch, is most definitely a ‘well-done-you’ moment.
But let’s be honest: staying focused on your action plan isn’t the only thing you’ve got on your plate over the next month, right? Because, life! And that means there may well be times where sticking with the plan becomes a challenge.
Don’t panic. There are other things you can do, as a Strategist, to help yourself stay on track, or get back on it if things start to slide.
Be specific about your goals
Hone in on your movement goal and make it nitty-gritty specific – as a Strategist whose comfort zone is precise detail, this will come naturally.
It works like this: goals are more achievable when they’re SMART goals – that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-related.
“Do 30 minutes of moderately intense cardio activity on five days this week,” is already measurable, achievable, realistic and time-related, but you can make it more specific by adding in some detail like, “Go for a 30-minute walk before breakfast every weekday this week.”
Avoid ‘shoulding’ yourself
You’re naturally conscientious and disciplined, and you have a strong sense of duty. Those attributes serve you well in some instances, but it may also mean you get trapped doing types of exercise you think you should be doing to achieve results.
Not only is that a thought process that promotes the belief that exercise needs to be hard in order to be valid, research shows it can lead to higher-than-average quit rates, too.
Prioritise the importance of choosing activities you genuinely enjoy doing rather than those you think you should be doing.
Maintain your motivation
Motivation plays a key role in helping you stay on track. Why? Long story short, motivation is the drive you need to achieve your goals. And luckily there are ways to maintain it that are specific to your Strategist’s personality.
5 planning and goal-setting tips for Strategists
These suggestions will help you stay the course as you work towards your movement goal.
1. Don’t overestimate your goal-kicking capacity
As a Strategist, it’s your natural tendency to expect a lot of yourself, so you might be tempted to try and tackle a few other health-related goals this month on top of your movement goal. Best not to be too ambitious – research proves the brain can’t handle working on too many changes at the same time.
2. Embrace your love of consistency
People who commit to exercising at roughly the same time each day wind up doing the most activity. So go with your natural tendency for organisation, planning and discipline as a strategist and make your love of routine and consistency work for you.
3. Track your activity
As you already know, you love detail, so anything which records that detail will be a natural fit for you. Using an activity tracker won’t guarantee that you’ll hit your exact exercise goal, but research does link their daily use to spending more time moving and less time being sedentary.
4. Write it where you can see it
As a Strategist, we know you’ll be all over writing down a schedule to make your planned activity more likely to happen. But to help you embed it even further in everyday life, write ‘MOVE MORE!’ on some sticky noes and place them in strategic spots: put one on your phone at work and one in your line of sight from the couch.
Research proves that mentally linking an action (like embracing opportunities to be active) with visual cues (hello, sticky notes!) equals performing that action more successfully.
5. Phone a friend
Goal-setting research proves that, regardless of personality, a little thing called accountability goes a long way. Share your goal, and the steps you’re taking to reach it with a friend and ask them to check in with you regularly for a progress update.