Last week, we talked about treating change as an experiment: choose something realistic, try it and pay attention to what happens.

So what happens next?

Ask a simple question: How did it go for you?

When we try to change something, it can be easy to think about the outcome in terms of success or failure. You followed through or you didn’t. The new routine worked or it didn’t. But an experiment doesn’t have to pass or fail. It gives you information you can use to decide what comes next.

Pay Attention to What Happened

Let’s go back to our lunch example from last week. You decided you wanted to eat lunch more consistently on busy days, so you experimented with making lunch the night before.

Maybe it worked really well. Having lunch ready meant you actually ate it, your afternoon energy felt better and you weren’t as ravenous when you got to dinner. That’s useful information you can use to decide what you want to continue.

Or maybe it didn’t go quite as planned. You made lunch ahead a couple of times, but other nights you had evening commitments or were too tired to do one more thing before bed. Maybe it worked when you were home, but not on days when you were out between appointments. That’s useful information, too.

Reflect, Then Adjust

Instead of deciding the experiment “didn’t work,” get curious about why and consider what you could change.

Maybe prepping lunch the night before isn’t realistic on certain days. You could make extra when you cook dinner so you have leftovers for lunch, order enough takeout to have lunch for the next day, assemble something in the morning or keep a few easy options available that require almost no preparation.

The goal hasn’t changed. You still want to eat lunch more consistently. You’re simply using what you learned to find another way to make that happen.

Keep The Experiment Going

Making a change doesn’t require coming up with the perfect plan or action and doing it forever.

Try something, pay attention to what happens and ask yourself, how did it go for me? Use what you learn to decide what comes next. Over time, those experiments can help you find actions that work for you and your life.

Our reflection worksheet can help you consider what you want to continue, change or refocus as you move forward.

And if you’d like support figuring out what works for you and your life, explore coaching with Nutrify Performance.