Habits and routines can be interrupted by many variables, planned or unexpected. Illness, injury, work deadlines, travel, holidays, family or friend commitments or requests, birth of a child, oversleeping, and the death of someone we care about are just a few of the many things that can affect our daily activities. This has happened in my life a number of times.

It can be easy for interruptions to derail you from the activities you enjoy, or the routines that work for you.

Currently, I am in the process of reworking my exercise routine and working with the feelings that the change has brought up for me. A group training, I have been a part of for 2+ years — a regular part of my week, something I felt I could “count on” changed.

You see, I doubled down on exercise when the pandemic began. From walks to bike rides, I needed a way to burn energy and release stress energy.

Once things opened up, I joined a group strength training class at the urging of a friend (thanks, K!). Through this class I found a love for strength training that I didn't know I had, a kind and motivating trainer who gently pushed me to be my best and grow stronger and a group of wonderful accountability buddies/friends that I enjoyed seeing.

With that class no longer available I am working on finding another path forward. Read on for three actions you can take when your habits are interrupted.

Sit with the Ick

It’s ok to feel your feelings when it comes to a life change. Often times we just make room for the “big stuff,” i.e. death, job loss, etc. The thing is we have feelings about other things changing too. Recognizing and making space for those feelings (that won’t last forever) can help us process them and move forward.

I have acknowledged that I feel sad that the class, as I knew it, ended. I feel as if my efforts and strength are wasting away when I think about my habit being interrupted. I miss the camaraderie of the group and as an “obliger” the expectation of my attendance. I have also been down on myself for not replacing it with an “equal” activity quickly.

Interestingly enough, when I allow those feelings to be seen and heard other feelings arise too. I feel grateful that I was able to join the class in the first place. I feel a newfound appreciation for my body’s abilities and the strength that I gained. I feel happy that I shared time and laughs with others, including my trainer, in the name of health.

Lastly, in addition to feeling the feelings, I am working on being kind to myself through the process. Beating myself up about not starting an equivalent exercise routine fast enough will only make the situation worse.

Revisit your why

One of the foundations of forming any habit is knowing your “why” for engaging with it in the first place. Revisiting the why of an existing habit can be done periodically to help you stay on track. It’s also helpful to revisit your “why” when a habit is interrupted to ensure that it is still relevant to pursue (maybe in a different form) to your overall goals.

Check out this process to revisit your why via this written explanation or via this video. You may want a notebook and pen to capture what comes up, it may surprise you.

Make a Plan

You’ve identified that you still want this habit in your life because your “why” behind it is important, so how do you begin again?

1. First, take stock of where you are starting from. If you were training for a marathon and were interrupted by a life event that kept you away from your training you may not start back where you left off and that’s ok. Be honest with yourself on this, beating yourself up for not being at the same point is not usually motivational.
   

2. Make space and time in your day for your day for your habit. Research has show that if you set an implementation intention for you goal, it increases the odds of you engaging with it. To do so, simple complete the sentence, “I will do _________(activity) at _______ (day/time) in ___________(location).

   You can up the ante by attaching the behavior to an existing habit. For example, “I will drink a full glass of water at 7:30 am, every day in my kitchen, while my coffee brews.” Notice that I not only set the implementation intention but I attached it to my existing habit of making coffee.
   

3. Also, be sure you start small. If it’s too hard, it’s too big. Our brains are wired to avoid pain so by starting too big, even if you’ve had this habit before, you may find some resistance to engage in it. What’s the smallest action you can take?
   

4. Lastly, if you want to up your chance of success get an accountability buddy. Accountability is being held responsible for what you’ve said you will do. While we can certainly plan to hold ourselves accountable, your chances of doing what you committed to, dramatically increase when you are accountable to someone else.

Set Your Mindset

When it comes to resuming or refreshing a habit, self-criticism won’t be the most motivating. Try to embrace this change as a “fresh start.” I view life and the habits that add up to life as a series of iterations. Beginning a habit again gives me the opportunity to create a revised, upgraded version of that habit.

Stay tuned for an update on the reinvention of my exercise routine.

Has one of your habits been interrupted? What helped you begin again?