Shaping your path is a must when trying to change your ways. The phrase “shape the path” comes from Chip and Dan Heath’s book How to Change When Change is Hard. The path is your environment. And right now, we’re talking about your kitchen.

We think motivation is supposed to last. If it doesn’t, it means the job or side hustle or workout routine or diet or whatever other thing you are no longer doing was just not right for you. Or it means we are flawed and incapable because we just can’t seem to stay motivated.

Here are three things to consider when working toward time mastery:

The parents would leave explicit instructions: Who eats what, when. Who works when and where and how. Any rewards that were and were not permitted. Who could and couldn’t watch TV or talk on the phone (pre-text era, mind you). When they had to start getting ready for bed. What the pre-bed ritual was. When they needed to be asleep. What to do in case of emergency. And so on.

It occurred to me, these operating instructions are what I help my clients figure out for themselves. We call it your owner’s manual or handling instructions. Your fancy phone has a manual…and it’s replaceable. You do not and are not.

So we have to develop the skills to write one, so you know how to care for yourself mentally and physically.