Inquisitive.me

If I didn’t deliberately put training at the top of my to-do list, it would never happen.

Not because I’m lazy—but because I’m excellent at staying busy.

If I don’t want to do something, I’ll find one. Or ten. Especially when it comes to training. If I didn’t more or less force myself to go to the gym, it would always slide to the bottom of my to‑do list. And that list? Easily a hundred items long. There would never be time. Not today. Not tomorrow. Probably not this week.

I could fill every minute of my day with other things. My TBR list is so long I’d need a hundred years of lockdown to get through it. I could play video games all day, watch YouTube videos I saved four years ago, listen to podcasts I once enthusiastically added to my favorites. I could stay very busy doing everything except moving my body.

And yet, that’s not what happens.

Because training doesn’t live at the bottom of my to‑do list anymore. It lives at the top. And that changes everything.

I once read about a study on goal setting (I tried to find it again in my second brain—no luck yet,—good system, lol—I’ll add it once I do). Don’t quote me on the exact design, but this is the gist: participants were split into three groups. The first group kept a training journal. The second group kept a training journal and listened to a talk about the benefits of exercise. The third group did both—and in addition, they planned exactly when they would train in the coming week.

The result stuck with me. Group three had a success rate of over 90%. The other two groups hovered around 30%.

Same intention. Same knowledge. Completely different outcome.

Planning was the difference.

Think about it. If you make a coffee date with a friend, how likely are you to cancel it just because you “don’t feel like it”? Or remember those group classes you paid for upfront—ten sessions for 100 euros. How many did you skip? Probably not many.

So why do we treat ourselves as optional?

Do the same thing with you. Put an appointment with yourself in your calendar and treat it like a real meeting—one you don’t casually cancel. Write down how long you’ll train and what you’re going to do. I did this consistently for over two years until it became second nature.

I still do it.

When marathon prep starts, every session goes into my calendar. Long runs. Short runs. Speed sessions. Strength training. My half‑marathon and marathon dates are in there too. Those are my deadlines. I treat training like any other project: a clear goal, milestones every four weeks, fixed dates, clear tasks. There’s nothing left to decide.

And that’s the point.

The less clear I am with my training, the less likely it is to happen. If I tell myself I’ll “go for a run sometime this weekend,” that usually means Sunday evening, 8 p.m., freezing outside. Sometimes I still went. Sometimes I didn’t.

But when all the boxes are checked—date, time, plan—I rarely miss a workout. Not because I’m super disciplined or endlessly motivated. But because the decision was made long before I put on my shoes. Reversing it would cost more energy than just doing the thing. So my brain eventually gives up and cooperates.

Make time for your workouts. Make time for movement, wellness, and fitness. Because if you don’t make time for them now, you’ll have to make time for illness later.

I see this every day.

The way back is hard. The frustration. The fear. The helplessness of not being able to care for yourself, not being able to trust your body. That is much harder than a 30‑minute gym session.

And in over two years of practice, not a single patient—none—has ever said, while struggling to walk, move, or live independently: “I wish I had done less.”

Right now, you’re young. Or at least young enough to take your physical abilities for granted. Until one day, you can’t.

Fitness is like a bank account you’re not allowed to check. You don’t know exactly how much you have left. So you’d better be conservative with your spending. You wouldn’t gamble your savings away just because things are fine right now. Your body deserves the same care.

Make that appointment with yourself.

Stop choosing the easy way out—it doesn’t stay easy. It just postpones the hard part.

Helping people regain basic abilities—standing up, getting into a car, carrying groceries—is my everyday work. And none of them expected to need that kind of help when they were younger.

That’s the quiet truth no one tells you early enough.

🧪 Let’s Experiment

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Decide once, put it in your calendar, and let future-you follow through.

Motivation is unreliable. Discipline is exhausting. But decisions made in advance? Those are surprisingly powerful. You don’t need a new routine, a new app, or more willpower. You just need to stop negotiating with yourself every single time.

🎯 Try This:

Open your calendar.

1. Pick one movement session for the coming week. Not five. Not a whole new life. One.
2. Give it a specific time and date.
3. Write down exactly what you’ll do (for example: “30 minutes easy run” or “20 minutes strength training”). The more specific you are, the better.
4. Treat this entry like an appointment with another person. No rescheduling unless you’d cancel on a friend for the same reason.

That’s it. No tracking. No optimization. Just show up and do what you already decided.

🧠 Final Thought:

You don’t build consistency by trying harder. You build it by making fewer decisions. Decide once, early, and let that decision carry you forward. Your body will thank you later—even if your brain complains today.

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Keep it simple, stay curious, and keep learning—you’ve got this.

Take care,

Carina 🦊