Over the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about what happens when you pause and get curious about what’s working and not working to support your health + performance. That reflection may uncover several things you’d like to change. Last week, we looked at how to prioritize what matters most rather than trying to address everything at once.

Once you’ve decided where you want to start, there’s another question to consider: How can you make it easier to follow through?

Let’s say you’ve noticed you’re regularly getting to dinner ravenous. You realize skipping lunch on busy days probably isn’t helping, and you decide that eating lunch more consistently is something you want to work on.

But what happens when your calendar is packed and suddenly it’s 3 p.m.?

Make the action easier

Instead of hoping tomorrow will be less busy, look at what tends to get in the way. If lunch disappears when your day gets packed, what would make eating it easier?

Maybe it’s having something you can put together in 10 minutes or making lunch the night before when you know the next day will be busy. The goal isn’t the perfect lunch routine. It’s making the action easier to do when life gets in the way.

Experiment with something simple

You don’t need to have the perfect solution before you start. Pick something that seems realistic, try it and pay attention to what happens.

For our lunch example, maybe you decide to make lunch the night before on days when you know your schedule will be packed. Our Turkey & Microgreen Sandwich recipe (below) is one simple option. It takes about 10 minutes to make, with turkey, microgreens and a mayo, mustard and chive spread on sourdough. Turkey not your thing? Swap in another protein you enjoy.

Then see what happens. Does having lunch ready make it easier to eat when the day gets busy? Are you less ravenous later in the afternoon or when you get to dinner? You’re experimenting with one practical action and learning whether it works for you.

Keep experimenting

The first thing you try may work well. Or it may show you that something needs to change and that’s ok.

Maybe prepping lunch the night before works beautifully. Maybe you discover you don’t want a sandwich that’s been sitting overnight, so you try keeping the ingredients ready and assembling it in the morning instead.

That’s the point of experimenting. You’re not committing to a new routine forever. You’re trying something, paying attention to what happens and using what you learn to decide what to continue or change.

The goal is to find actions that work for you and your life.

Want more simple ideas to experiment with? Nutrify News subscribers will receive our full Simple Fueling Ideas collection later this month. Not a subscriber? Join the Nutrify community