The Great Lock-In: Week 3 Reflections, Week 4 Intentions

Lyx
Sep 20, 2025
2 min read

If Week 1 was about the excitement of beginning and Week 2 was about finding my footing, Week 3 has been my gentle reminder that true transformation isn’t about rushing — it’s about building sustainable change.

That phrase comes from Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich — a book that’s been guiding my financial glow-up. I’m not speed-running it, and honestly, I don’t want to. I’ve been moving slowly on purpose:

✅ Making sure my accounts were set up correctly
✅ Checking my credit score (finally!)
✅ Sitting down with Ramit’s Conscious Spending Plan form to see where my money actually wants to go
✅ Setting up YNAB to help me budget with clarity, not guilt (Get a FREE 34-day trial!)

This slower pace has been liberating. I’m not just fixing numbers on a spreadsheet — I’m reshaping the way I think about money.

"This idea of sustainable change is central to personal finance." — Ramit Sethi

And the same truth applies to my body. I’ll admit it: my body isn’t ready for heavy weight training right now. But that doesn’t mean I’m stuck. It just means I need a different lane for this season. Right now, that looks like cycling and Pilates — movement that strengthens me without breaking me. Like my finances, I’m building a foundation that can actually last.

Week two almost took me out, but I'm still pushing!

Re-Implementing & Reimagining

Sustainable change also means reintroducing habits that used to serve me — and tweaking them for where I’m at now.

From my original 90 Days to a Better Me, I’m bringing back:

⏳ Social media app timers (because mindless scrolling is the enemy of my glow-up)
📖 Consistent Bible study (grounding myself in faith before I reach for anything else)

And I’m adding a new tool: an old cell phone I found in a drawer. That little piece of tech is about to become my morning alarm clock. But here’s the twist — I’ll keep it in the living room. Which means when the alarm goes off, I’ll have to get out of bed. No snoozing. No excuses.

I’m even revamping my personal syllabus to make sure my Bible study is woven into my mornings, not just squeezed into the leftovers of my day.

Looking Ahead to Week 4

This final week of the first month of the Great Lock-In isn’t about adding more. It’s about cementing what I’ve already built — so that these routines don’t fizzle out once life gets busy again.

Financial clarity. A gentle but strengthening fitness routine. Spiritual discipline. Digital boundaries.

That’s my version of sustainable change. And as I round out this month, I’m also looking forward to refreshing my content and doing a much-needed declutter — of my home, my feeds, and maybe even my brand itself.

Because this isn’t about being a new me. It’s about being a me that lasts.

👉 Tell me: what’s one sustainable change you’re making this month?