Wellness is based on three major pillars: eating patterns, rest & relaxation patterns, and activity patterns. Today’s post focuses on activity patterns. There’s no need to train for the Olympics. Your goal is simply to increase opportunities to move. And for that, you need a plan.

In many parts of the world, you need both a summer plan and a winter plan, and they’re not the same. You just can’t ride your bike to work every day when the roads are covered with ice and snow, and the wind chill makes it feel like it’s 10 degrees outside. So you need a plan.

Your plan can be simple, like moving your regular swim from the neighborhood outdoor pool to the indoor pool at a local women’s college. Or using the indoor walking track at the community center instead of the track at the high school. Or making sure you have a pair of seriously excellent waterproof walking shoes plus a good coat, hat, scarf and gloves. Or maybe you’re going to dance in the living room for 20 minutes every evening, in which case you probably want to make sure you’ve got your favorite dance tunes downloaded and ready to go.

These are all good plans, but they don’t just happen by themselves: They take a bit of advance planning. And that, dear readers, is why we call it a plan.

If you haven’t already done so, this is the time of year to start thinking about your winter plan. If you don’t already have one in mind, give it some thought this week.