Getting Back on Track

It's never too late to restart fresh and change your life for the better

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So your New Year’s resolution fell on its face 10 days into January, and your habit tracker hasn’t seen any marks in a while. You’ve fallen off the horse, gotten off track, endured some setbacks, and you’re not feeling so great about it at the moment.

There’s only one thing to do. Get up, dust yourself off, and get back on track. It’s time for a fresh start, and it’s easier than you think.

Stop Beating Yourself Up

You aren’t a robot, and life has many ups and downs. Things aren’t always going to go according to plan. Everybody falls down sometimes. The most important thing to do when that happens is to get back up as quickly as possible.

Don’t wallow. Don’t lie there lamenting the fact that you’ve fallen. Don’t run that mental tape of insults and disgust that you tend to barrage yourself with in times such as this.

Get up. Be gentle with yourself. Put one foot in front of the other. It’s time to tidy the mess and get back on track. Take just a few days to walk through the following steps.

Physical Needs First

Follow the lead of famed psychologist Abraham Maslow outlined in his hierarchy of needs by focusing on your most basic needs first. Often, when we get off track, it’s because key aspects of life such as sleep, nutrition, and exercise have been neglected.

Grab some water and head to the kitchen. As you hydrate, look in the fridge, the freezer, the cupboards—and assess the situation. Clean out the processed, sugar-filled foods and order some fresh fruits and vegetables, quality meats, and healthy snack options to have on hand. Stock your kitchen with plenty of delicious and healthy options that will nourish and fuel you.

Next, either head out the door for a brisk walk or head to the bedroom for a much-needed nap. Either one will be an investment in your energy. If sleep has been an issue lately, choose the nap. If you’ve been oversleeping but neglecting to move your body, grab those sneakers and enjoy some fresh air, even if just for a few minutes.

Decide on a bedtime that you’ll stick to and an exercise schedule that you’ll commit to. Continue working toward your fresh start tomorrow.

Shape Up Your Environment

Next, assess your environment.

Unplug from digital devices and the onslaught of media messaging while you tidy up your home. Starting with just one thing, then another, put items away, wipe down surfaces, get a load of laundry going, and simply putter around making your personal space a bit tidier and cleaner.

Set a new policy for yourself that you never leave a room without improving it in some small way.

Dump Your Brain

As you admire your newly improved space, pour yourself a cup of coffee, tea, or water and sit down with a pen and paper. It’s time for a brain dump.

Jot down, in no particular order, the things weighing on your mind. From the abstract, such as “I want to have more fun,” to the minute, such as “I need to buy more tape.” There are no wrong answers, no inappropriate topics, and no grade at the end—just dump every big and small thing that’s been weighing on your mind until you can’t possibly think of another thing.

You’ll likely end up with a page or pages full of the most random assortment of chaos, and it’ll actually make you feel better. You’ve captured it, and your mind can take a rest from trying to remember it all. Step away from it for the day and enjoy the little bit of relief it brings. You’ll be back to it, don’t worry.

Inbox Zero

As you continue to care for your most basic needs, find time to tidy up the inputs that you’ve been receiving. Go through your email, your physical mail, and any other online or offline receptacles for communication.

Handle the bills, the responses, the calendar items, and toss or delete whatever you can. Close all open loops.

Prioritize

When you’re ready, and as you continue to take care of yourself and your personal space, return to your brain dump and set aside a few pens of varying colors.

On a new page, jot down the main roles you play in your life and in the lives of those around you. As you do, contemplate how you can best perform the duties of those roles.

Further, jot down what’s most important to you in life. What are your top priorities? What do you believe life is for? Why do you believe you’re here? This may lead you to some spiritual study or prayer. Take all the time you wish.

Return to your brain dump, and with one pen color, cross out all of the things on there that don’t really matter to you, that you simply do not want to do or pursue, or that you’ve decided are no longer important.

With another color, circle all of the things you wish to remember or get to eventually but that you won’t or can’t handle now. You just want to remember that you might do them sometime in the future.

The things left untouched on your list are your current concerns. Take another pen and circle the three that you deem the most important. Those three are to inform your to-do list for the next few days or longer, until they are complete.

Take Action

Take at least one small—even tiny—action toward the completion of one item on your new to-do list. Give yourself a high five.

Reflect

As you continue to take care of yourself, your environment, and your responsibilities, reflect on what led you to get off track and how much better you’re feeling now. Continue to take small actions toward making progress on your highest priorities.

Grow

Keep the momentum going by seeking out inspiration from good books and ideas that nourish your mind. Seek spiritual growth through your religious practice or personal study. Celebrate the fact that you’ve begun to turn this ship around. You’re getting back on track. Tend to your responsibilities with loving care like you would a garden. Keep at it.

The next time you feel like you’ve fallen off the horse, rinse and repeat.