This is only my own experience , but the thing that helped me was realizing that I can always come in and out of habits or hobbies I enjoy. But above all: if I tried to integrate something into my life and it didn’t stick, that means I was going to hard. Radically chilling and making sure the changes I was trying to implement were easy, comfortable, gradual and sustainable is what allowed me to be a person who does stuff I want to do. And I still miss days, clusters of days or even weeks sometimes- that’s ok. Things I do are mainly “things I do much of the time”. Removing that feeling of failure and deciding to just shrug and get back to it at my leisure actually made me do the things I wanted to do more consistently.

I think maybe you might get bored with things and that’s normal and ok, but you want to stick with good habits right so here is a fix. Take the weightlifting, you want to do it to be in shape, right? Well, there are many ways to get in shape you might also like. For me for example I go through phases of being interested in one thing or another, like weightlifting, cycling, swimming, archery, sailing.

I used to feel guilty about not being consistent with one enough, but then realized screw it, just do what I’m in the mood for and don’t be hard on myself - but to do something. So, I have a selection to choose from depending on mood and motivation. Motivation is at the lowest? Just go for a walk.

Same can be for studying: I can read, watch courses, or do hands-on work depending on mood, etc.

I use an app that gamifies tasks to stay accountable. Habitica- you have a character (a mage or warrior etc) and you gain xp by ticking off the things on your list. You can join parties with other people and do quests, so if you don’t complete tasks on time it impacts the team.

I also force myself to do things in a way that I know will work for me. So for example I know that if I go home between work and an activity, I will definitely not go back out. So I will make myself stay outside, maybe treat myself to a coffee, so I make myself do the activity. 9 times out of 10 I’m glad I did.

I think it’s important not to beat yourself up too much though if you slip up and I know it’s much easier said than done. Everyone has off days, it’s ok if sometimes you don’t get everything done that you need to. Sometimes just getting to the next day is enough.

i have an account on Habitica. it’s a todo list with RPG mechanics (or an RPG game where you gain XP and level up by doing things in real life) and it’s really helped me keep on track. i’ll let my competitive instincts kick in and i’ll grind for gold or try and level up quickly or whatever, and i’ll get everything i need to do that day done within like the first two hours and i’ll be disappointed i have nothing else to do. never underestimate the power of gamification

For going to the gym it can help to have a gym buddy to go to the gym with because you can keep each other accountable and because going to the gym becomes a social obligation which can make it harder to flake out of than if you go alone. I have no problem disappointing myself I’ve done that plenty of times I’ll get over it, but I dont wanna leave my friends hanging. Perhaps a book club might help with reading as well?

Sometimes setting aside a time to do something can add structure and create routine. So if you have all week to go to the gym it might be easy to just not do it, but if you go to the gym every Weds or Saturday at time X then it can make things easier. If there is a book you want to read you can set time before bed to make sure you read at least one chapter(or half if the book does that annoying thing where they throw in a random chapter thats like 3 chapters long). For me the added structure gives me the priority of a deadline to make me have to do something, as well as the relief of knowing I can mess around or do something else after. Yes I HAVE to go to the gym before or after dinner on Wednesday, but then Im in the clear!

That said there is no magic bullet or special trick because at the end of the day the thing that makes you do or do not is you. If you want to go to the gym on your own then it’s up to you to keep going to the gym. If you want to read books it’s up to you to do it.

Everybody is built differently too which can be discouraging. I know for me I see people who are happy to work out and get into their routine while it’s all I can do to force myself to do some exercises at home using my pullup bar and some the dumbbells I have. Some people getting into exercising is easier there’s work to keep going and get started but once they build momentum they can keep coasting on their routine. Others it will be an uphill push the entire way. But you might have your own routines that keep easier. Like I enjoy cooking so it takes very little effort for me to go into the kitchen and make a meal.

For me it helps to consider these three things:

1.For some routine it will not always get easier so if I take my foot of the gas to coast through I will stop. I might build some momentum so that it’s easier to keep going, than it was to start from nothing, but its still work.

2.I might, and honestly probably will stop sometimes and that’s OK! If I break the routine and if I wind up falling back on my old habits then cool these things happen. It’s a continuous process and losing momentum is just a part of that.

3. Structure is good but it’s not a prison. You’re doing these things to make yourself or your life better not to punish yourself. I dont diet I calorie count and exercise and watch what I eat. I still enjoy beer and icecream and cake. It may not be great to eat these in excess but cutting out foods that you enjoy and living of steamed brocolli wont usually do the trick. The same goes for the structured time. Have a friend in town for the weekend? Maybe skip that gym session(unless they want to join). Is there something cool happening but it’s on the day that you do X? Then do the cool thing! Feeling genuinely under the weather and need a rest day? DO IT!

If you already have to force yourself to do certain things then it’s going to make you resent them and remove motivation to do them if they keep you from doing other things.

But yeah sorry for rambling there just my 2 cents and also my own form of procrastination/fast forwarding time while at work

You are what you do.

I find some things I wanted to do just didn’t fit in the way I was doing them.

For example journaling and meditation, two things you mentioned, weren’t great for me to be consistent about; I don’t get something out of them every time and they don’t build up for me. I practice meditation enough that its there when I need it to calm things down but not religiously. Journaling was just about reflection to me, just find some quiet time and think, no need to bring writing into it, and finding that time/looking for it/wanting it, I think helps keep over-stimulation in check.

For weightlifting, why bother? Because I see the consequences in others, it only gets harder the older you get. I liked the idea of “earning” the day by doing something hard to commit to my future and sometimes the hard thing is working out with a migraine or illness, I’m lucky to still be able to.

What do these things mean to you; what do you want out of them.

Sounds to me like you have learned some things. You’re just looking for encouragement, now, which is totally understandable and very very commendable.

Don’t ever let yourself question your progress as a static benchmark. You question your habits and wish to return to a more productive/happier state… do you see something wrong with that? It’s very human, and we all fall off the horse and have to recover, sometimes

Dust yourself off - take a breathe - keep going, when you can.

Follow your own drum beat and keep focus on those things you wrote about - improving yourself seemed to make you happy. Good luck - You don’t need it. ✌️