Momentum Is Easier to Keep Than to Build

September gave you your routine back. Term restarted, the fixed schedule returned, and if you stuck with two sessions a week from the start of the month you have been to the gym more than eight times.

You've built momentum. October is where you need to work harder to keep it. The diary fills. Half term arrives at the end of the month. It gets dark at six, then at five. Nothing major happens, it is just enough friction that causes you to start missing occasional sessions.

So your goal this month is to keep the regular sessions you already have.

To do this ensure that you first:

Book the week on Sunday evening, before anything else claims the time. Something concrete in the diary that you have to take action to remove sits more strongly than just an intention.

Secondly, when a slot goes — an inset day, a late meeting, a child sent home — move the session inside the same week rather than writing it off. Miss a Tuesday, wait for the next Tuesday, and before you know it you've missed a fortnight.

If the slot you have is an evening one, this is the month to check it still works when it is dark at five rather than light at eight. Some people move to a morning in October and stay there until March. Others find that going straight from work for the 6pm class is the only thing that keeps them off the sofa on a wet Tuesday.

Maintaining this routine is key. Restarting a habit in November, in the dark, against a changed structure, is a harder task than keeping one you already have.

If you have been meaning to get started and September went past without you, now is the time! Fifteen minutes on the phone with Jeremy or Beth will tell you whether this suits you. Free, no obligation, at crossfitchiltern.com.