One thing that I have noticed lately is that my motivation really drops in the winter, it is definitely down to a mixture of reasons that my motivation drops but one of the main ones is that the cold weather sets in and it is usually awful up where I live so a lot of things get pushed back as I feel the cold far too much and really don't fancy working out or anything like that. Walking also gets pushed back as I don't fancy walking in the dark or cold and the idea of getting soaked in the rain doesn't sound too appealing to me neither does slipping if it is frosty or icy. I already suffer through the cold and wet for football so that is enough weekly for me. The dark mornings make waking up each day that bit more difficult, then getting home in the dark is even worse as I feel like I don't see any daylight which isn't too good for my brain. I know though I need to get out of these thoughts if I want to progress and achieve the goals I have set out for myself, I can't let the motivation/discipline drop due to the weather conditions, I need to be consistent all year round, so here is the plan to help me stay motivated and disciplined throughout the winter months...

Set an earlier alarm and gradually wake up

At the moment I am just setting an alarm getting up and getting on with my day however, I don't want to do this anymore. I want to start getting up and working out before I start my day to ensure I am getting all my workouts in for the week. The plan is to set the alarm for about 15 minutes before I need to be getting out of bed for a much earlier alarm than I am used to. Those 15 minutes should just help me come around and gradually wake up before smashing a workout and getting on with my day. Fingers crossed by doing this my mornings will flow a bit better and I can achieve everything I set out to achieve that week.

Meal Prep

Once maybe twice a week I will be setting time aside to meal prep, this will mainly be lunches I will be making as I have noticed the convenience options I go for are not the best and are part of the reason I am not hitting my goals. By meal prepping any laziness will be eliminated as I will have a nice healthy meal already waiting for me and those sausage rolls etc. will be cut back on. This will only take me a few hours if that to do and will be so beneficial in the long run and it will help keep the discipline of eating much better consistently. 

Plan workouts in advance

This is another one that is not helped by the weather, if it is cold I aren't going to want to workout if it isn't planned and scheduled in. I am determined to set those workout sessions in stone rather than having them super flexible as that has led to me skipping so many in the past. I know that if I set these in stone and have them written down where I can see them easily I won't want to deviate off track and I will want to be able to tick off each session as complete rather than skipping over them. I have a plan for doing this and having a more visual representation of scheduled workouts and the plan is to do a calendar page, schedule everything in and highlight when a session is done. I would want all sessions nicely highlighted so it should help me get them done.

Try get things done early 

I have mentioned this a bit in the setting an alarm section but the main reason I want to get things done early is so that I have free time on evenings and then I can have spontaneous trips out with the family without feeling guilty that I have had to miss a workout to do so. I know from past experience too that I have a much better day if I workout in the morning, I just feel much more energized and raring to go. I know if I get back into those 5.30 am starts that I will start to see the progress I am really hoping to make even in the cold weather. 

Get some warmer workout clothing

I have realised I don't have many items that fit me that are actually warm clothing items ready for the cold weather setting in. That is why I am going to treat myself to some new joggers and a new hoodie or long sleeved top just to keep me covered for those colder workouts especially if they are early in the morning. By having warmer clothing I am more likely going to want to work out as I know I shouldn't be feeling the cold. The plus side especially with a hoodie is if I get too warm I can always remove it to cool down a bit but if I never had one in the first place obviously that couldn't happen, I would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to staying warm so warm workout clothing purchases will be being made.  

Lay outfits out the evening before 

I did this during the lockdowns and it just worked so well, I would make sure that I had all my workout clothing laid out ready to jump straight into the next day and it ensured that I got those early morning sessions done. I wasn't spending half hour getting ready in a morning, in steady it was around 10 minutes and I wasn't fed up after having to search for the best outfit to wear. It was much more convenient so I plan on getting into this habit once more so that when my alarm goes off at half 5 I can be up and working out by 5.45 making the most of the early start and getting ahead of myself. 

Keep thinking of the long term goal

This is the biggest thing I plan on doing to make sure I stay motived and disciplined. I know if I want to achieve the big long term goal I set for myself I need to stay motivated and disciplined so I am trying to remind myself daily where I want to be this time next year and even 5 years down the line. By reminding myself daily I am never forgetting what I am actually working towards, I know that if I aren't disciplined the goal will take longer or not happen at all and we really don't want that. I have my goal written in many different places so I can always see it and I am hoping this really helps keep me on track.

So there you have it that is how I am planning on staying motivated and disciplined this winter period, I am really hoping that this works for me and I can have some really productive months where I wouldn't previously have had them due to lack of discipline and motivation due to the cold weather which is usually a big let down for me. It is time to start making some huge progress towards my goals and I have a feeling the last month of 2022 and the whole of 2023 is going to good to me, I just need to put that hard work in.