how to set Up Your Passion Planner to Reach Your Fitness Goals

I like planner and organizers. If 3-ring zip up binders were still a thing, I would certainly have one. I have lists all over the house: one for cleaning, one for projects, one for clients, one for freakin’ everything. So it’s not surprising the my Passion Planner is my favorite get-sh*t-done tool of all time.

I got my first Passion Planner 2 years ago and have since then bought them for myself, my mom, my husband, my clients, my friends…it’s the best! It gives me a space to plan out my long-term goals, my daily to-do list, my workouts and my business all in one place.

I rave about this Planner so much that a few people have asked me how I set mine up (and yes, one person suggested that I should host a class on how to run your life one Passion Planner page at a time). So here we are.

I am an affiliate with the company so if you click on a link and buy anything, I get a small compensation at no extra charge to you. If you do want 10% off your first order, use code JULIAG10 when you purchase an item or just follow any link in this article. I should also say that no matter what, I plan on buying a 2021 planner in the next few weeks no matter what!

HOW TO SET UP YOUR PASSION PLANNER TO REACH YOUR FITNESS GOALS

I use the Weekly Passion Planner so if you use the Daily or the Downloadable Planner your layout might look a bit different. Nevertheless, the strategies and basic attributes should be similar enough to be just as useful!

You want to start with the big picture. Always take a wide lens look first and then work your way in to the day-to-day details.

The Passion Roadmap

Every Passion Planner opens up with a Passion Roadmap. It’s essentially a guide to help you figure out what your big, life-changing goals are and what your path might look light to accomplish those goals. There’s space for big ambitions but since this is a fitness blog and a fitness post I’m going to focus on fitness goals.

Take 5 minutes to close your eyes, picture who your Best Self is – what does she look like? How does she feel? What’s her life like? That’s your Ultimate Goal.

Now, what can you accomplish in 3 years that will get you closer to that woman? What can you do in 1 year? Finally, what can you accomplish in the next 3 months that will secure your place on the path to success?

Visualizing your goals is essential to success. In fact, setting specific, measurable, realistic goals makes all the difference in whether you succeed or not.

How can setting goals make or break your success?

Goals make change feel possible. Once you can put words to who your Best Self is, you can start to see her. Can you imagine how she feels waking up every morning? You can picture her day and understand why she does what she does. You can actually start living that Best Life immediately!

Goals are motivating. When the going gets tough, the days get busy and you just don’t feel like it, your goals keep you going. The more real you can make your goals, the more detail you can envision for your journey, the more you realize how each step fits in the big picture.

Goals turn dreams into action. I believe in dreaming big. However, goals aren’t accomplished in your dreams. They’re accomplished in your actions. And those big, butterfly-in-your-chest-producing dreams? They’ll feel out of reach until you see how one action that you take today leads to another tomorrow, and another until down the road your miles closer to your goal.

The Monthly Layout

Every month in your Passion Planner begins with a two page calendar spread. Start to zoom in – what can you accomplish in one month? Specifically, what can you accomplish this month? Here’s how to use this space to reach your fitness goals:

Map out your month in exercise. If you set a 3-month goal to run a 5k, how many miles do you need to be able to run without stopping by the end of this month? If you set a 1-year goal of gaining 5 pounds of muscle, what does your strength training routine look like this month?

Scan for scheduling obstacles. Highlight any days or weeks that are going to be especially difficult. If you’re traveling for work one week, you know that you’re going to need an alternative plan there. If you have class every Thursday night, you might want to meal prep on Wednesdays.

Break down your nutrition goals. I’m a firm believer in habit-based goals and progress. Habits work because they take the thinking…the will power…out of the equation. Habits make consistently choosing the healthier road easier. Think about a 1-2 nutritional goals that could really make a difference in your life. They should be simple enough to do consistently for the month. For example: take a multi vitamin every morning, or drink 80 ounces of water daily.

The Weekly Breakdown

Now we’re talking! I’m going to tell you exactly how I use my Planner on a weekly basis.

First, I block off time every Sunday to plan the week. You’ll need a bit of extra time at first, but the planning will get easier.

This Week’s Focus. I use this space to write a mantra or positive affirmation. How do I want to approach each day? What do I want to bring to the table when I wake up in the morning?

Exercise. That monthly goal you decided on? Break it down further. What can you do this week to accomplish your monthly goal? I use the Today’s Focus space to plan my workouts so that I can balance strength training and cardio, work around my classes and make sure that I’m taking rest and recovery days when needed.

Daily Actions. Taking action consistently is the key to developing long term, healthy habits that will make healthy living your lifestyle. I use the Good Things That Happened space to track habit consistency. Come up with 4-6 daily actions in a variety of categories: nutrition, movement, mindfulness, wellness, career, etc. and track your daily success in this open space.

*Example goals: go to bed by 11pm, stretch for 5 minutes, drink your green juice, write in your gratitude journal, start each day with lemon water.

Block off fixed appointments. Dentist appointments, meetings, planned events – block off this time in your calendar so that you know that seat’s taken. To stick with it, your fitness and nutrition goals have to fit into your life so make sure that you think about the week as a whole.

Prioritize your health. So, now that all of those non-health and fitness related To Dos are in ink…put your health and wellness on paper. And highlight it! If you don’t prioritize your body, no one else will.

• First, schedule that workout into your day – does it fit in the morning, or at lunch or will it have to wait until work is done?
• Also, make sure you have time to grocery shop, and make healthy meals, and meal prep when you need to!
• Do you have down time built in? Can you take Saturdays “off”, or maybe you highlight the hours after 6 pm every night to remind yourself to shut your phone down.

You get an inspirational quote every week as well as some questions and thoughts to support your growth. It’s definitely a bonus!

Daily Use

My morning routine is pretty concrete: wake up, drink a giant glass of lemon water, write in my gratitude journal and sit down with my Passion Planner. I should be really clear…I hate being late. Hate it. It makes me anxious and grumpy and just nothing like the cool, smooth operator I usually am! My Passion Planner plays a big role in keeping my ducks in a row and making sure my days organized and full.

Do you ever have days that you just feel like you accomplished nothing?? You had 24 hours and you slide into bed thinking “waste of a day”. Not anymore.

Celebrate the small wins. Check off every to-do you accomplish, from finishing your workout to going to the eye doctor. Call me a nerd, it helps to acknowledge how much you get done. Mark off your Daily Actions as you complete them – record how many miles you ran to train for that 5k, whether you did leg day or core and whether or not you called your mother. I’m telling your – it’s a game changer!

Track water. This is a health goal I ask all of my clients focus on. I track it daily – and you should too! I use the 10:30 pm line to track glasses because really, who plans for anything at 10:30 pm?!

Color code it. I’m letting my Passion Planner nerd flag fly here. I use Mildliners to mark “done” and yes, I use a different color for different categories. Anything fitness related – blue. Anything client related – pink. Any appointments – yellow. You get it.

And as promised, click above to get 10% off your first Passion Planner order!