Happy New Year and best wishes for a healthy, hopeful winter! In my job as a senior health educator at Montefiore outpatient clinics, I help patients make health goals. The new year is a perfect time to try new habits and behaviors. Today, we are going to use a method I call “Goal ABCs” to make a small goal with a big impact. Please grab a paper, or an electronic device, to take notes.

 

Goal ABCs

A is for “Action.” First, choose an action you want to try this week or just one day this week. Pick something you can do in the next seven days or sooner. For example, if you are setting a healthy eating goal, you can start by saying; “I will eat two cups of vegetables with my dinner each day this week.” Or, if you are aiming for an exercise goal, you could say “I will ride my exercise bike at home on Wednesday.”

 

B is for “Be Specific.” Now, let’s choose the day and time you will do your action. Think about other actions you’ll need to do before the main action. So, if you chose a healthy eating goal, what specific foods will you need to buy and when? For your goal of eating two cups of vegetables with dinner each day this week, you will need to plan out when to buy the salad greens and dressing and for the exercise goal, pick the specific time you’ll start and the duration of time you’ll engage in the activity, like this:

• Action (A): I will ride my exercise bike at home on Wednesday.                                                                                   
• Be Specific (B): I will ride my bike for 15 minutes on Wednesday. I’ll start at 2 p.m.

 

C is for “Calendar and Cues. Take the notes you’ve written and mark them on your personal calendar. Do you use your phone’s calendar, a wall calendar, or a planner? A piece of paper works too! You are more likely to do the activity if you write it down. This is a small, but important way to commit to your goal. You can also set an alarm or several alarms on your phone as a loud reminder!

 

So, the example goals would look like this:

Healthy Eating

A: I will eat two cups of vegetables with my dinner each day this week.

B: I will buy salad greens and dressing tomorrow and add two cups of salad to my dinner each day this week.

C: I wrote “buy salad” on my phone calendar for tomorrow and “eat salad” every day this week at 6 pm, my normal dinner time.

 

Exercise

A: I will ride my exercise bike at home on Wednesday.

B: I will ride my bike for 15 minutes on Wednesday. I’ll start at 2pm.

C: I wrote “ride bike for 15 minutes” on my wall calendar on Wednesday at 2pm. I also set a phone alarm labeled “ride bike soon” for Wednesday at 1:30 pm.

 

Focus on what you want to do this week (or just one or two days) and choose your ABC details (Activities, Be specific, Calendar and Cues). Practicing new healthy behaviors takes time and intention. It is helpful to write down the steps and set reminders so we can get into the habit of these actions, until they become second nature.

 

Making changes can be difficult, but we are here to help! To learn more about healthy eating and exercise, ask your primary doctor to make an appointment with a health educator, or registered dietician.  We also have great programs and treatments for people who are having a hard time with cigarettes and alcohol and other drugs.  We are here to support you and help you to reach your health goals.

 

Claire Garon, MPH, CHES, is a senior health educator in the Office of Community & Population Health at Montefiore Health System.