Episode 60 - Make Your Goals Stick With These Daily Habits (Your 2026 System)
Welcome to Episode 60 of the Time for Living Podcast!
TRANSCRIPT
show notes
You started strong on January 1st. Maybe even January 2nd. But by the 3rd? Life happened. The kid got sick, meetings stacked up, and that 15-minute action you committed to was the first thing to go.
Here's the problem: you're relying on motivation. And motivation is the worst fuel for building a business around family life.
This is Episode 60 in the goal-setting series. If you're just joining, start with Episode 57 where we identified your North Star feeling, then Episode 58 for process goals, and Episode 59 where you broke those goals into quarterly systems. Today, we're making those daily actions automatic so you show up even when you don't feel like it.
By the end of this episode, you'll discover:
Why motivation fails mom entrepreneurs (and what actually works instead when you're building in pockets of time)
The ONE Habit Rule that prevents overwhelm and makes consistency inevitable
How to use habit stacking to attach your new habit to something you already do automatically
The visual tracking method that makes breaking your streak psychologically painful (in a good way)
Three specific strategies for keeping habits alive when kids get sick, work explodes, or chaos hits
Your four-question commitment framework to start building your habit tomorrow (not Monday)o)
This is Week 4 of the five-episode goal-setting series for mom entrepreneurs.
FREE RESOURCE
Download the Dream Big Workbook at timeforliving.co/dreambig2 for habit tracker templates and the complete five-episode goal-setting system in one place.
Let’s Connect:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timeforlivingco/
• Email: hello@timeforliving.co
Final Thought:
You don't need more motivation. You need one habit so automatic you don't have to think about it.
TRANSCRIPT - Make Your Goals Stick With These Daily Habits (Your 2026 System)
INTRODUCTION
January 3rd.
You started strong on the 1st. You did your 15-minute action. You felt good.
January 2nd, same thing. You showed up. You're building momentum.
But now it's the 3rd. Your kid woke up sick. You have back-to-back meetings. Your partner needs you to handle something. And suddenly, that 15-minute action you committed to?
It's the first thing to go.
"I'll do it tomorrow," you tell yourself.
Tomorrow turns into next week. Next week turns into "I'll start fresh on Monday."
And by February, you're back where you started.
Here's the problem: you're relying on motivation. And motivation is hard.
Today, we're building something better than motivation. We're building a habit so automatic you don't have to think about it.
The ONE habit that makes your process goal inevitable.
SERIES CHECK-IN
Here's where we are in this journey.
Episode 57: You found your North Star feeling.
Episode 58: You created process goals—actions you control.
Episode 59: You broke those goals into quarterly systems and daily 15-minute actions.
Today, Episode 60: We're making those daily actions automatic. So you show up even when you don't feel like it.
This is Week 4 of my five-episode system.
And here's where it gets powerful: remember Episode 56? Fifteen minutes a day equals 91 hours a year.
That's enough to write a book. Build a business. Transform your health.
But only if you actually DO those 15 minutes every day.
That's what habits give you. The ability to show up no matter what.
WHY MOTIVATION FAILS (AND WHAT WORKS INSTEAD)
Let me tell you about January 2023.
I was SO motivated. I had big goals. I was going to work on my business every morning, work out every day, post on social media consistently.
Week 1: Crushed it. Felt amazing.
Week 2: Still going strong.
Week 3: My son got the flu. My routine fell apart.
Week 4: I kept meaning to get back to it, but I was exhausted.
By February, I'd done nothing for three weeks. And I felt like a failure.
But here's what I learned: I wasn't a failure. I was just using the wrong fuel.
Motivation is like gasoline. Burns bright, burns fast, runs out.
Habits are like electricity. Consistent, reliable, always there.
Some days you wake up motivated. Some days you're exhausted. Some days you're inspired. Some days you're just trying to survive.
If you rely on motivation, you only show up on the good days. And good days aren't enough to create real change.
Habits are different.
Habits don't ask how you feel. They don't wait for inspiration. They're automatic.
You brush your teeth every morning without debating it. You don't wait to feel motivated. You just do it.
That's what we're building with your process goals.
Here's the math again: 15 minutes a day = 91 hours a year.
If you consistently work on your business for 15 minutes a day, you will build a client base.
If you consistently create content for 15 minutes a day, you will grow an audience.
But only if you're CONSISTENT. And consistency comes from habits, not motivation.
THE ONE HABIT RULE
Here's where most people mess up.
They try to build five new habits at once.
"I'm going to work out, reach out to clients, create content, meal prep, journal, AND meditate."
Week 2: Exhausted and doing none of it.
Here's the truth: You can only build one habit at a time.
Your brain can only handle so much change. Try to change everything, you change nothing.
So you need to choose ONE habit. The one that matters most.
Ask yourself: "If I could only do ONE thing every day for 15 minutes, what would move the needle most on my process goals?"
Look at your process goals from Episode 58. Pick the most important one.
Maybe it's:
Reaching out to potential clients
Creating content
Moving your body
Pick ONE. The one that would make the biggest difference.
Then identify the daily habit that makes it happen.
Example 1: Process Goal → "I am reaching out to five potential clients every week"
Your ONE habit: 15 minutes of client outreach every weekday morning
That's it. Monday through Friday. Fifteen minutes. Reach out to people.
Some days you'll contact two people. Some days one. But you show up every day.
By week's end, you've easily hit five. Probably more.
Example 2: Process Goal → "I am moving my body for 20 minutes every day"
Your ONE habit: 20 minutes of movement every morning before breakfast
Not "when you have time." Every morning. Before you eat.
That's your habit.
The secret: Pick ONE. Not five. Just one.
Why this works:
You can't fail at 15-20 minutes. Even your worst day, you can do this.
Success breeds success. Nail one habit, you build confidence. Then add another.
You build identity. You become someone who shows up. That identity carries everywhere.
Last year, my ONE habit was 15 minutes of business work every morning before I drank my tea.
That's it. Just one thing.
And it worked because I wasn't trying to do ten other things.
Pick your ONE habit now. Write it down: "Every day, I will [action] for [time]."
That's your focus for the next 12 weeks.
HABIT STACKING - MAKE IT AUTOMATIC
Now let me show you the easiest way to make your habit stick.
Attach it to something you already do.
This is called habit stacking. And it's genius because you're not creating a brand new routine from scratch. You're adding to one that already exists.
The formula: "After I [current habit], I will [new habit]."
Your brain already has a pathway for your current habit. When you link your new habit to it, the new habit becomes automatic faster.
Let me show you:
Example 1: Client Outreach
"After I pour my morning coffee, I will spend 15 minutes on client outreach."
You already pour coffee automatically. That becomes the trigger.
Coffee → laptop → 15 minutes of outreach.
Within weeks, you can't have coffee without doing outreach. They're linked.
Example 2: Content Creation
"After I drop the kids at school, I will spend 15 minutes creating content."
You drop kids at school every day. That's automatic.
So: Drop-off → pull over or go to coffee shop → 15 minutes of content creation.
Example 3: Movement
"After I brush my teeth in the morning, I will move my body for 20 minutes."
You brush your teeth without thinking. That's the trigger.
Brush teeth → workout clothes → 20 minutes.
Here's my habit stack:
Every morning after I finish my tea, I spend 15 minutes on my most important business task.
Tea → work. One smooth action.
I don't think about it anymore. The tea triggers the work.
Your homework: Write your habit stack right now.
"After I [existing habit], I will [new habit] for [time]."
That's your formula.
THE CHAIN YOU DON'T WANT TO BREAK
You've chosen your ONE habit. You've stacked it onto an existing routine.
Now let's make sure you actually stick with it.
Get a calendar. Every day you do your habit, mark an X.
Your only job: Don't break the chain.
That's it. That's the whole method.
Why this is so powerful:
1. Visual progress motivates you. When you see a string of X's, you want to keep it going.
2. You don't want to break the streak. After five days, breaking the chain feels painful. After two weeks, you'll do anything to keep it alive.
3. It reinforces identity. Each X is proof: "I'm someone who does this."
Tools you can use:
Physical calendar on your wall (I love this—something about physically marking the X)
Habit tracker apps: Streaks, Habitica, Done
Simple notebook with checkboxes
Pick whatever works for YOUR brain. The tool doesn't matter. The consistency does.
Start with ONE habit. Not ten. Just one.
I learned this from Duolingo. I was learning Spanish. And you know what kept me going? The streak.
I hit 100 days. Then 200. Then 365.
By that point, I couldn't break it. The streak was more motivating than the learning.
That's the psychology we're using here. The chain becomes its own motivation.
And after about 66 days? It becomes automatic. You don't need the streak anymore. You just do it because that's who you are.
But the streak gets you there.
Set up your tracking system TODAY. Start your chain tomorrow. Day 1.
KEEPING HABITS ALIVE DURING CHAOS
Real talk: Life is going to happen.
Kids get sick. Work explodes. The holidays hit. Your schedule falls apart.
Most people think: "I can't do it perfectly, so I'll skip it."
Wrong.
Consistency over perfection. Always.
Here are three strategies for chaos:
Strategy 1: The Bare Minimum
Can't do 15 minutes? Do 5.
Can't do 20-minute workout? Do 5 pushups.
Can't write for 15 minutes? Write one sentence.
The point isn't the amount. The point is keeping the chain alive.
When you do the bare minimum on hard days, you prove you can still show up. That's the identity shift that makes habits permanent.
Strategy 2: Flexible Scheduling
Don't lock yourself into "8am every day."
Give yourself a window: "Sometime before noon."
You're still doing it daily. You just have room to adapt.
Strategy 3: Forgive and Restart
You'll miss a day. It happens.
Don't spiral. Don't quit. Just start again tomorrow.
One missed day doesn't erase your progress. Missing two is what creates the problem.
My January 2025 story:
My kids were sick for two weeks. I couldn't do my full 15-minute morning routine.
So I did 5 minutes. Some days just one paragraph.
But I kept the chain alive.
By January, when things settled, I went right back to 15 minutes. I didn't have to rebuild from scratch.
Progress isn't linear. Some weeks you crush it. Some weeks you barely survive. Both count.
YOUR ONE HABIT COMMITMENT
Homework time.
Pull out your process goals. Look at your daily actions.
Answer these four questions:
1. What's my most important process goal for Q1?
The one that would make the biggest difference.
2. What's the ONE daily habit that makes this inevitable?
Fifteen minutes. One action. What is it?
3. What existing habit can I stack this onto?
Write your formula: "After I [existing], I will [new habit] for [time]."
4. How will I track it?
Calendar? App? Notebook? Pick one.
Then start tomorrow. Not Monday. Tomorrow.
Do it for one week. Seven days. That's all.
Mark your X's. Build your chain. See what happens.
By Week 1, you'll feel different. You'll have proof you can show up.
And that proof carries you forward.
SUMMARY
Let's recap.
Motivation fades. Habits don't. If you want your process goals to stick, build systems, not rely on willpower.
Choose ONE habit. The daily action that makes your biggest process goal happen.
Use habit stacking. "After I [existing habit], I will [new habit]."
Track your chain. Mark an X every day. Don't break it.
Stay flexible during chaos. Do the bare minimum instead of nothing.
Here's the truth: 2026 will be different not because you set goals, but because you built habits.
Systems beat motivation every time.
Next week, Episode 61—the final episode: How to prepare NOW so you launch strong on January 1st. Your pre-holiday action plan so you're not starting from scratch.
The Dream Big Workbook has habit tracker templates and the complete system. Grab it at timeforliving.co/dreambig.
You just invested 20 minutes in building a system that works. That's the choice that changes everything.
Until next week, keep making time for living.