The last 100 days...

Every Saturday morning, while my family is all still fast asleep, I make myself a cup of coffee, then go back to bed where I make my to-do list for the weekend. 

It’s practically a ritual, one that even falling down the stairs and knocking out a tooth couldn’t stop.

Because, as my husband Chuck will be the first to tell you (not necessarily in a complimentary way), I LOVE to have a plan.

Usually by the time he finally wakes up, I’ve already spent hours thinking about all the projects and tasks I want to work on, most of which require his involvement in some way, and the instant I notice him stirring, I’ll talk his ear off telling him all the things I want to do.

I’ll admit it—I can be a lot sometimes.

After nearly 20 years of marriage, he’s learned to just go with it. 😂

But this past Saturday, as I was making my list, it suddenly occurred to me that we are closing in on the home stretch of 2024.

As of next Monday, September 23rd, there will be 100 days left in the year.

100 days left to accomplish whatever goals you set out to achieve.

100 days to give it your all.

100 days to make it count.

So I decided to revisit the 3 big goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the year, to see how I’m doing, and what still needs a little more focus. They were:

1. Lead my team to achieve our company revenue goals for 2024 

2. Enjoy the process of bringing our house vision to life and complete at least 100 tasks on our (massive) to-do list by the end of the year.

3. Look and feel my absolute best and bring my overall health from an 8 to a 10 on the Life Score Assessment.

And while I’ve definitely spent plenty of time leading my team to achieve our company goals, and while my husband and I have actually completed more than 100 tasks on our list already this year, the one area I haven’t been quite as diligent about is my health.

Don’t get me wrong–it’s not that I’ve gone totally off the rails. I still eat well most of the time, I walk outside with my dogs every morning, try to get enough sleep, and generally take pretty good care of myself. My weight has stayed steady, I don’t generally get sick, and I have plenty of energy.

All good things, especially considering that my business is based on helping women over 40 get healthy.

But what I haven’t done is be really intentional about leveling up in the way that I wanted to.

Things like…

• Getting back to regular HIIT + strength training workouts

• Actively working on improving my gut health with daily bone broth 

• Incorporating an evening wind-down routine to get higher quality sleep

• Reducing stress & lowering my cortisol in more intentional ways

So this past Saturday, instead of making a plan for the WEEKEND, I made myself a plan for the next 100 days—the last 100 days of 2024. A plan for how I want to finish the year strong.

It’s not a plan full of drastic changes, but small tweaks to my daily routine that I know I can actually implement.

• Instead of taking a leisurely walk around the property in the morning, I’ll go back to following guided outdoor workouts on the Peleton App, and add 10 minutes of strength training at the end. It won’t really take any additional time, and it’s an easy shift to make.

• Instead of making myself yet another cup of coffee after I’m done working out, I’ll sip a cup of bone broth.

• Instead of scrolling through my phone in the evening, I’ll read lighthearted novels and give my brain a break from the screen.

• I’ll try to be even more intentional with meal planning and weekend food prep, and instead of just prepping for dinners, which I already do, I’ll also prep healthy lunches for the week that I can just grab and go.

And I’m not telling you all of this say that any of these are things you should be doing too, but to show you a concrete example of how simple it can be to refocus your time and attention on your goals by making small changes to the things you’re already doing.

There’s actually a name for it—it’s called habit stacking. And it works!

Because there’s actually so much power in making small changes.

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear writes “Success is the product of daily habits, not once in a lifetime transformation.” He goes on to explain that “this is the meaning of the phrase ‘atomic habits’—a regular practice or routine that is not only easy to do, but also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.”

In other words? Big goals never happen all at once. They are only the result of small steps taken consistently over time.

You could say there are only 100 days left in 2024, so why bother?

Or you could realize that 100 days of small habits, implemented consistently, is actually enough time to have a huge impact on your life before the end of the year.

So what’s it going to be?

And I guess that’s my challenge for you this week. To decide, before next Monday, what you want these last 100 days of the year to look like for you. What are the small tweaks you could make to your daily routine? What tiny changes you could stack onto your already existing habits that would actually make a huge impact on your year?

Think about it, then hit reply to this email and let me know!

Live with purpose, friend, and have an amazing week!

xoxo, Ruth

P.S. If one of your goals is to lose weight and get healthy, you should know that our TAS program is based on this very concept! We help you add new healthy habits slowly, not all at once, so that you have the best possible chance of being successful. If you want to learn more, you can access my free training HERE.

This week’s podcast episode…

What’s cooking in my kitchen…

Here’s the recipe I shared this past week:

The latest from my Instagram…

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