From a winding Interstate in the breathtaking state of Washington, I sit beside my husband on this Saturday morning. The views are nothing short of spectacular. The newsletter might be running a little "late" again, but oh, the choices! While the week isn't quite over, my commitment remains strong: to ensure this weekly update reaches your inbox.

Goals are goals, and I'm sticking to mine, even if it’s outside the bounds of the "ideal newsletter day,” which I’ve deemed as Thursday. Here's a curious tidbit about folks who consistently nail their routines: focus on achieving the task, not necessarily on hitting it on the statistically ideal day or time.

This is another situation where values are the ringer. You can break rules, but you can’t break your values. You’re bound to them. They’re your inner compass. So if you’re struggling a bit because you’re not checking the boxes you set for today, here are a few questions you can ask yourself:

• Is what I’ve prioritized for the rest of TODAY aligned with my core value(s)? 

• What can I say “no” to in order to say “yes” - as a vote for the accomplishing the ONE thing I committed to doing (e.g., moving often when I’m on the road, showing up to what I committed to, etc.)?

Schedules, structures, and systems are allies in establishing routines and driving consistency. But there's a fine line between making these tools work for you and becoming enslaved to them. When they take the spotlight over the task itself, things can feel rigid. This is where values step in, like a loyal best friend. Unlike rules that can be bent, values are your unbreakable inner compass. They're the foundation of your choices.

So if you find yourself wrestling with unchecked boxes on your to-do list, consider these questions:

1. Is what I've set out to prioritize for the rest of today in sync with my core value(s)?

2. What can I gracefully decline to pave the way for a resounding "yes" – a vote cast for the ONE thing I've committed to achieving?