Even those of us who aren't naturally organized and structured can benefit from writing down our goals and tracking our progress. Just keep in mind, that depending on your natural personality type, you may do it a little differently than your training partner or coach.

        If you are an S, you can expect your entries to be more detailed than if you are an N. Ts are more likely to track the objective than the subjective, focusing on accomplishments. They may "forget" to complete the log when they feel ashamed that they didn't perform as well as they wanted to do on that day. Fs tend to take things personally, and also may balk at completing their fitness journal on certain days. The solution? Add a column in your log book that says, "Prefer not to say!" and skip the detailed entry on that day. At least you'll have recorded that you were out there, doing your best on that day.

       Js are more likely to be consistent with tracking their progress than their fellow Ps -- Ps may have frequent gaps in their log book -- and that's okay! Also, Ps may be less structured and consistent with what they record, some days choosing facts and figures, other days choosing mood and insights.

       Ns may want to capture the general mood or keep track of the ideas that come into their mind while they are exercising. This will be more fun than worrying about tracking those pesky details of heart rates, weather conditions, and mileage, while still providing a written record of effort. Alternatively, create a check list chart to make your progress report easier to complete.

       As you may have guessed, Ps are often better at starting things than finishing them. The solution? Stop beating yourself up for the mistaken perception that you're not following through. Instead, honor your need for variety and change, and embrace your love of "new beginnings" by quitting the specific activity or approach that you're bored with and starting a new one. As long as you're doing something, you're following through.

       Need variety? See how many new skills you can learn! Change your workouts in synch with the seasons, starting a new form of fitness on the solstice of each season, or simply change them spontaneously as you become bored with them. Another way to add variety is to recruit a new friend to join you in your activity. It's one of the reasons I love triathlon. I can focus on swimming, biking or running on any given day, week or season. Within each discipline, I can vary my workouts from speed workouts to endurance training.

       Design your plan and goals to fit your natural way of doing things. Es may need to talk things out with someone, and Is may need to put things in writing first, then think them through for awhile. Ss usually need practical and measurable goals like time, distance, and speed. Ns often have to define the long term objectives before they can develop a step-by-step plan with more immediate goals. Js may want to have daily concrete goals, Ps often need the pressure of a deadline, such as entry in a particular event or race, to motivate them to consistently follow through.

       It took me a while to understand why I often didn't fit in well with "serious" runners, and why I was often criticized for accomplishing my goals (marathons and an ironman distance triathlon) without putting in the intense training effort that others needed to put in to reach similar goals. In my book, "Ice Cream for the Soul: Over 100 Playful Activities for Joy and Wisdom", I talk about some of my sports performance experiences. If you feel like you don't fit the stereotype of your group, or don't understand why some people get upset with your well-intentioned suggestions and advice, you might want to learn my perspective: