The Busy Girl’s Guide to Staying Consistent When Life Gets Hectic
The Busy Girl’s Guide to Staying Consistent When Life Gets Hectic
Because motivation is cute, but habits get results.
Let’s cut to it.
Life can be relentless.
Some weeks you’re thriving, meal-prepping with jazz playing and gym selfies hitting the group chat.
Other weeks you’re stress-scrolling Uber Eats while promising yourself you’ll “get back on track Monday.”
Consistency isn’t about being perfect. It’s about having systems for the chaos.
So here’s your cheat sheet for staying consistent with your goals when life gets messy.
🥦 NUTRITION: Prepping for Your Future Tired Self
1. Meal prep doesn’t mean spending Sunday locked in the kitchen
Forget bulk-cooking 7 identical containers of bland chicken.
That’s a one-way ticket to burnout.
Instead, try one of my favourite hacks: the “One Category Per Day” Method:
🟠 Monday: Chop or roast veg
🟡 Tuesday: Batch 1-2 protein sources
🟢 Wednesday: Batch a grain or carb
🔵 Thursday: Chop or roast veg
🟣 Friday: Assemble 1–2 grab-and-go meals
🟤 Saturday: Batch a grain or carb
⚪ Sunday: Batch 1-2 protein sources
By the weekend, your fridge looks AMAZING, but you never spent more than 20 mins at a time.
🧠 Behavioural science tip: “Implementation intention” (aka pre-deciding when/what you’ll do) increases follow-through by 91%. Prepping one thing per day works with your brain, not against it.
2. Your brain’s lazy, so make healthy options the easiest option
Decision fatigue is real. By 4pm, your prefrontal cortex is cooked, and that’s when impulsive food choices strike.
✨ Solution: Have a “Nutrition Emergency Kit” that doesn’t require a single brain cell. Think:
Pre-cut veggie sticks + hummus
Protein shake + banana
Greek yoghurt + berries
Frozen stir-fry mix + tinned tuna
Protein oats + nut butter
Set it up so that making the better choice doesn’t require willpower, it’s just what’s there.
Bonus tip? Write it out and stick it on the outside of the fridge so that you don’t even have to think about it.
🏋️♀️ TRAINING: Micro-Wins Make Mega Progress
3. Stop waiting for perfect conditions to move your body
You don’t need a gym, an hour, or even a sports bra (though it helps if you have one of those). You just need movement momentum.
Instead of skipping your workout because you “don’t have time,” break your movement into micro-chunks:
Stretching while brushing teeth
15-minute walk on a lunch break
1 set of push-ups between at home zoom meetings
Stretching while watching your comfort movie
📚 Science says: NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) plays a huge role in metabolism. These small bursts of movement can add up to hundreds of extra calories burned per day, and better mood, mobility, and blood sugar regulation too.
4. Shrink the start line
If a full workout feels like a marathon, your brain will rebel. Instead, commit to just 5 minutes.
Open the app and hit play.
Do the warm-up only.
Tell yourself, “Just 1 set.”
⚡️ Why it works: This is called the “minimum viable habit.” It lowers the friction to getting started, and once you’ve begun, momentum tends to take over. Action breeds motivation, not the other way around.
🧠 MINDSET: It’s Not About Being Perfect, It’s About Being Relentless
5. Consistency beats perfection. Always.
Perfection is a trap. One missed workout doesn’t cancel your progress. One cookie doesn’t undo your plan.
What kills momentum is thinking you’ve failed because it wasn’t flawless.
Instead:
Missed a workout? Move tomorrow.
Ordered takeout? Make your next meal protein-rich.
Had a flat day? Hydrate and walk it out.
👩🔬 Research-backed truth: Self-compassion improves long-term adherence to health goals more than self-criticism. In other words: being kind to yourself keeps you consistent.
🌱 Feeling stuck, unmotivated, or like you keep self-sabotaging?
Before you try to fix your food or train harder, let’s work on the part of you that’s running the show, your mindset.
👉 Grab my FREE 5-Day Mindset Reset and start rewiring your thoughts so you can actually stick to your goals (without burning out or starting over every other week).
You’ll get:
✔️ A daily mindset prompt to help you get clear and calm
✔️ Bite-sized psychology-backed tools that take 5 minutes or less
✔️ The reset process I use with my 1:1 clients to shift from all-or-nothing thinking into real, sustainable change
✨ It’s free, zero fluff, and seriously effective.
Because when your mind’s aligned, your habits follow.
6. Anchor your habits to reality, not fantasy
Your Pinterest morning routine with green juice, journaling, and sunrise yoga is great.. in theory. But if you’ve got 6am meetings, ADHD time blindness, or toddler’s clinging to you, you need something grounded.
✨ Try habit loops:
Build a small sequence of 2-3 tasks that always follow each other
After coffee → take vitamins → drink water
After work → 10 deep breaths → 10 mins downtime to reset
While brushing teeth → stretch hamstrings and quads → take vitamins out
Make it automatic. Not aspirational.
7. Progress is built in the boring moments
No one sees you choose the oats over the muffin.
Or lace up for a walk when you’re tired.
Or pack your lunch again.
But that’s what builds a transformation. Not the big moments, the small consistent ones.
And that’s where you win.
Your life doesn’t need to slow down for you to succeed.
You just need to change how you move through it.
Drop the guilt.
Drop the all-or-nothing thinking.
And show up today in the way that’s most doable, not the most dramatic.
Small efforts, compounded daily, turn into big results.
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
Here I share healthy recipe ideas, training plans, and nutrition & wellness advice you need to know.
Check out my free 5 day mini mindset reset to design your own version of a healthy lifestyle so that you can feel energised and vibrant, or hire me to work my magic on your health through mindset, nutrition, and movement.
While we make every effort to make sure the information in this website is accurate and informative, the information does not take the place of medical advice.
