At the beginning of the year, The Training Practice joined the #OneWord365 challenge: find one word that will help you set the tone for 2020. Back in January (was that six months or six years ago?) I aimed to bring more #consistency into my 2020.
I wanted to turn the quote "drop perfection, choose consistency" into my 2020 motto. My #OneWord challenge helped me set a target for the year (the competitor in me thrives from this).
At the time, this meant I wanted to have consistency in my delivery, to keep a consistent focus on my health, and to consistently make time for what's important to me. And then...2020 happened.
I wanted to have consistency in how I delivered; but I didn't expect our delivery pipeline to be completely wiped clean. I wanted consistency in my effort; but I didn't expect to be putting more effort into marketing than delivery. I wanted to have more consistency in my responses; but I didn't think I'd be responding to a global pandemic.
My 2020 run log
I set one physical target for 2020: run 1,000 kilometers. I don't love running (it's very much a means to an end), but I knew this goal would require me to maintain some consistency throughout the full year. The goal of 1,000 km averages out to 2.73 km per day, which takes less than 20 minutes a day. It's much more mental than physical.
I've been diligently keeping track of my progress in this document: Kristen's 2020 run log. You can see at one point in May I was 46 km's over my target pace. Now, I'm behind by 17 km. Safe to say June was not a consistent running month for me. And, now I'll pay the price for that.
If you've set a challenge for yourself, make sure to check in consistently: Are you consistently meeting this goal? What do you need to consistently do to make this happen?
Behavioural consistency
Consistency in behaviours is one way to build stability in your relationships. People know what to expect from you and your reactions. At work, I generally think of myself as an upbeat and positive person: where there's a will, there's a way.
Despite the disruption, I showed up consistently: with a smile and ready to try new things. While we went through a period of massive uncertainty during lockdown, my colleagues could be certain in my response. I'm proud of that.
Consistently not draining my bucket
How I spend my time was a big focus for me this year. After all, time is our most valuable resource. Once it's gone, we can never get it back. So, we should make it useful right?
Like many people, I know exactly what activities refuel and refresh my energy levels and which ones drain them. But, that doesn't always stop me from spending time on those draining activities. And throughout June endless social media scrolling on Instagram became an activity that was not adding much into my life; just draining my energy levels, bandwidth, and feelings of optimism.
Recently, I've channelled this #OneWord challenge to change how I'm approaching social media. The goal is for me to consistently spend time doing things that add to my bucket - something that my Instagram account is doing less and less of. When confronted with this reality, I made the change to limit, and almost eliminate, my time on the app.
Consistently adding to my basket
What adds to my bucket? My relationships with others. And one thing the Covid lockdown did help with was making time consistently for these relationships. Every day of lockdown my partner and I went on phoneless walks (locally, of course!) where we'd talk for ages.
And I've consistently used Zoom: which simultaneously seems to be everyone's favourite and least favourite tool of the moment. When I moved overseas, video calling with family became part of my weekly schedule. But, lockdown expanded my video calling from happening with family when we could to happening with everyone as much as possible.
We had a lot of Zoom calls in our household. Zoom meetings for work, Zoom siblings chats, Zoom date nights, Zoom hangouts with friends, Zoom parties for celebrations. There was a lovely shared empathy in these Zoom calls and a shared recognition that making time for each other was a priority. That's something I definitely want to remain consistent at.
How is it already July and only July at the same time?
We made it to July. Halfway through 2020. And, if the fact that Kanye West has now declared he's running for US President is any indication, we still have a lot of 2020 to go.
If I was reflecting on 2020 thus far, I'd give myself a solid C+. Some good work, but lots of areas I could bring consistency into (as my run log above shows).
Plenty of time for me to continue with quest for consistency. Maybe that starts with more consistent updates on how this #OneWord challenge is going!
Dinah has shared how her word, #enjoy, is going for her. How's your #OneWord going?
If you didn't choose one yet, it's never too late to set the tone for the rest of the year!