Your Future Self Will Thank You

The 72-Hour Window—How Today Was Shaped Three Days Ago

Have you ever wondered why some mornings you wake up energized and focused, while other days feel heavy and unmotivated—even if nothing dramatic has changed overnight? The secret lies in the last 72 hours.

In this episode, Juli unpacks the science and strategy behind the 72-hour rhythm of your body and brain. You’ll discover why your sleep, food, stress, movement, and even your thoughts from the past three days are shaping the version of you showing up right now.

Juli shares her personal turning point—when she stopped saying “I’ll make up for it later” and started asking, “How will my future self thank me three days from now?” You’ll walk away with a practical framework using the Wheel of Life to make small, intentional choices that ripple forward, creating momentum for your health, energy, and purpose.

This episode is part inspiration, part neuroscience, and part practical coaching. If you’ve been looking for a way to make change feel lighter, easier, and more sustainable, this is for you.

👉 Download your free Wheel of Life Worksheet and start designing your own 72-hour rhythm today. https://coachingwithjuli.com/wholelifeaudit

Transcript

0:59

Welcome to another extraordinary week. you might notice the audio is a little different. I am a little mobile this week and doing things a little differently and it actually almost. Didn't record this. I had written my notes and planned it, and then decided that maybe I would just bring up another episode because I'm sure that if you're listening, you haven't heard every episode. But, I ran it by my coach. And got a, why would you do that? Why not just stick with the plan? Why not come up with a little bit of an option? So this is me pivoting a little bit based on my circumstances. And because I really, and I did really wanna talk about this topic, so I hope you are off to an extraordinary week, and we're gonna talk about the 72 hour window today and how that is, starting to shape the way I make decisions. And I guess, first of all, have you ever woken up and thought, why do I feel like this? Maybe your energy is low, or your mood feels heavy, or you're usually sharp and focused. And the truth is that how you feel today? Didn't start today. It started three days ago. The last 72 hours set the stage for you the way that your body, mind, and emotions are showing up right now. I've seen this play out in my life when I told myself, I'll eat this now and make up for it later, and the later was. Never quite enough to undo the ripple effects. But when I began making decisions for my future self, the me that would wake up three days from now, the journey towards health and purpose just got a lot easier. And I started, I guess one of the unintended consequences is that in all areas of my life, I started being able to think of my future self in a way that I hadn't before. That's a whole nother topic, but neuroscience and physiology tell us that our systems rarely respond instantly. And so this is why our culture tends to embrace those instant gratification and instant rewards. Those things like caffeine hits. Things like that, quick naps, and those are all obviously effective or we wouldn't be doing it, but are they effective in the way that we want them to be and in a deeper way, in a more sustainable fashion. Sleep cycles, hormone regulations, neurotransmitter balance, gut microbiome changes. They all play out on rhythms that stretch across days, not hours. So poor sleep. Debt compounds over two or three nights before cognitive decline is obvious. So if you wake up today, it's not, the question isn't, did I sleep well last night? Or if you're tired in the this afternoon, it's not really about how you slept, not necessarily about how you slept last night. So sleep debt compounds over two or three nights, nutrition. Plays out in blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation markers, those shift over 48 to 72 hours of eating patterns. And so having sugar or having a donut this morning is not necessarily your problem this afternoon. Not necessarily, it might be part of the problem, but you're gonna see that donut that, or whatever you. I don't know, donut. I'm not villainizing donuts, but you're gonna see that in a couple days. Not necessarily just today. Exercise, muscle recovery, adaptation and endorphin balance. Follow a two to three day cycle. And emotional regulation and stress, resilience, often lag as well. Meaning that stress management from three days ago impacts how you react. Today. So this isn't about guilt again, it's about awareness. And to me, this changed everything. Again, the unintended consequences being that I start to exercise that muscle of being able to make decisions for my future self instead of just in the moment where the, sometimes it's easy to justify or rationalize your decision. So what you did three days ago is your today and what you do today is your three days from now. Now this is really easy for me to process because I'm traveling a lot this month and I leave for Salt Lake City on Wednesday, which means I will not only get up early and travel and all the things that go with travel, but also there's an altitude change. I've been to Salt Lake City numerous times and it's always I've. I've really had to watch my my hydration and all of the things so that I don't get a little bit, get a headache or get a migraine day two into that. And so I've really had to pay attention to that. So this is what spurred this on and maybe design these strategies. Psychologists call this the future self continuity. And when you identify strongly with the person that you'll be in three days, you make choices that serve them. So just as you'd show up for a friend instead of I'll fix it later, you think, how can I love the me I'll meet on Friday. So I'm already thinking about. Thursday, right? Today I'm going to eat and drink and sleep and manage my emotional state as if for the person that I'm going to be on Thursday, and that's gonna benefit me today as well, obviously, but if making the right choices always is good in the moment as well. But on Thursday. The hope is that I will be able to optimize that self that is traveling and cha and experiencing altitude differences and and and an alternate schedule. So you can do this by try reframing. So before making a choice, ask How will Wednesday? Me? Thank Monday me and visualize your future self, not as a stranger, but as someone depending on your decisions right now. It's, if you've not ever done this, it's just a little experiment for you to try. So try it and then let me know. Click the voice recorder and let me know, or email me. I'd love to hear if you try this, let's. Make this a little practical. I use a wheel of life, so that is an assessment tool that I use on a regular basis. Imagine your life as that wheel with the key dimensions of wellbeing, being physical health, emotional health relations relationships, career, finances, spirituality, personal growth and fun. Every 72 hours you can check in and ask. Have I fueled my body in ways that sustain energy across the days, not just hours. And have I emotionally, have I given myself space for rest and connection and stress release? Spiritually? Have I tuned into purpose and gratitude or prayer to anchor my days and relationships? Have I nurtured meaningful connections or even in small ways? And growth have I invested in my learning and curiosity and creativity? We can scan these areas every three days and then also we prevent the drift then. So you're not just reacting to life, you're steering it you're navigating those things in intent with some intention. Now here's the good news. When you attend to, when you attend to your wellbeing in a 72 hour rhythm, life starts to feel lighter. That wheel starts to get balanced, and the journey is a little bit smoother. You don't have to make up for it later with drastic fixes, and you build that momentum a body and brain and spirit that will thank you in advance. This is all that training our brains, training ourselves and optimizing so that we can show up in the world in the way that we really want to. It's not about perfection, it's about rhythm and compassion and consistency. So here's your invitation. Download the Wheel of Life worksheet. If you need a little bit of a jumpstart on creating your own rhythm, I've created that for you. You can use it to customize a 72 hour plan that honors your future self. Map out those tiny, intentional actions across each dimension of your wellbeing and. Remember that the truth is that your life isn't built in a single day. It's shaped and sustained and steered in the last 72 hours, and the decisions you make today are already creating the you of three days ago. So download your worksheet. I'll put the link in the show notes and start designing that life that's easier and healthier and aligned with the future that you really want. If this is resonating with you, and if you're gonna go on this journey with me, I am gonna invite you to leave me a review to subscribe to this podcast, get on the email list so I can send you these episodes. And if you're already on the email list, you're gonna get this worksheet in the next email. And so I hope that this is helpful to you. I'd love to hear from you again. As you go out every day design that life that's easier, healthier, and aligned with the future that you really want as you go out every day and default to yes, your extraordinary self. I. Welcome to another extraordinary week. I am you might notice the audio is a little different. I am a little mobile this week and doing things a little differently and it actually almost. Didn't record this. I had written it out, written my notes and planned it, and then decided that maybe I would just bring up another episode because I'm sure that if you're listening, you haven't heard every episode. But I ran it by my coach. And got a, why would you do that? Why not just stick with the plan? Why not come up with a little bit of an option? So this is me pivoting a little bit based on my circumstances. And because I really, and I did really wanna talk about this topic, so I hope you are off to an extraordinary week, and we're gonna talk about the 72 hour window today and how that is, starting to shape the way I make decisions. And I guess, first of all, have you ever woken up and thought, why do I feel like this? Maybe your energy is low, or your mood feels heavy, or you're usually sharp and focused. And the truth is that how you feel today? Didn't start today. It started three days ago. The last 72 hours set the stage for you the way that your body, mind, and emotions are showing up right now. I've seen this play out in my life when I told myself, I'll eat this now and make up for it later, and the later was. Never quite enough to undo the ripple effects. But when I began making decisions for my future self, the me that would wake up three days from now, the journey towards health and purpose just got a lot easier. And I started, I guess one of the unintended consequences is that in all areas of my life, I started being able to think of my future self in a way that I hadn't before. That's a whole nother topic, but neuroscience and physiology tell us that our systems rarely respond instantly. And so this is why our culture tends to embrace those instant gratification and instant rewards. Those things like caffeine hits. Things like that, quick naps, and those are all obviously effective or we wouldn't be doing it, but are they effective in the way that we want them to be and in a deeper way, in a more sustainable fashion. Sleep cycles, hormone regulations, neurotransmitter balance, gut microbiome changes. They all play out on rhythms that stretch across days, not hours. So poor sleep. Debt compounds over two or three nights before cognitive decline is obvious. So if you wake up today, it's not, the question isn't, did I sleep well last night? Or if you're tired in the this afternoon, it's not really about how you slept, not necessarily about how you slept last night. So sleep debt compounds over two or three nights, nutrition. Plays out in blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, and inflammation markers, those shift over 48 to 72 hours of eating patterns. And so having sugar or having a donut this morning is not necessarily your problem this afternoon. Not necessarily, it might be part of the problem, but you're gonna see that donut that, or whatever you. I don't know, donut. I'm not villainizing donuts, but you're gonna see that in a couple days. Not necessarily just today. Exercise, muscle recovery, adaptation and endorphin balance. Follow a two to three day cycle. And emotional regulation and stress, resilience, often lag as well. Meaning that stress management from three days ago impacts how you react. Today. So this isn't about guilt again, it's about awareness. And to me, this changed everything. Again, the unintended consequences being that I start to exercise that muscle of being able to make decisions for my future self instead of just in the moment where the, sometimes it's easy to justify or rationalize your decision. So what you did three days ago is your today and what you do today is your three days from now. Now this is really easy for me to process because I'm traveling a lot this month and I leave for Salt Lake City on Wednesday, which means I will not only get up early and travel and all the things that go with travel, but also there's an altitude change. I've been to Salt Lake City numerous times and it's always I've. I've really had to watch my my hydration and all of the things so that I don't get a little bit, get a headache or get a migraine day two into that. And so I've really had to pay attention to that. So this is what spurred this on and maybe design these strategies. Psychologists call this the future self continuity. And when you identify strongly with the person that you'll be in three days, you make choices that serve them. So just as you'd show up for a friend instead of I'll fix it later, you think, how can I love the me I'll meet on Friday. So I'm already thinking about. Thursday, right? Today I'm going to eat and drink and sleep and manage my emotional state as if for the person that I'm going to be on Thursday, and that's gonna benefit me today as well, obviously, but if making the right choices always is good in the moment as well. But on Thursday. The hope is that I will be able to optimize that self that is traveling and cha and experiencing altitude differences and and and an alternate schedule. So you can do this by try reframing. So before making a choice, ask How will Wednesday? Me? Thank Monday me and visualize your future self, not as a stranger, but as someone depending on your decisions right now. It's, if you've not ever done this, it's just a little experiment for you to try. So try it and then let me know. Click the voice recorder and let me know, or email me. I'd love to hear if you try this, let's. Make this a little practical. I use a wheel of life, so that is an assessment tool that I use on a regular basis. Imagine your life as that wheel with the key dimensions of wellbeing, being physical health, emotional health relations relationships, career, finances, spirituality, personal growth and fun. Every 72 hours you can check in and ask. Have I fueled my body in ways that sustain energy across the days, not just hours. And have I emotionally, have I given myself space for rest and connection and stress release? Spiritually? Have I tuned into purpose and gratitude or prayer to anchor my days and relationships? Have I nurtured meaningful connections or even in small ways? And growth have I invested in my learning and curiosity and creativity? We can scan these areas every three days and then also we prevent the drift then. So you're not just reacting to life, you're steering it you're navigating those things in intent with some intention. Now here's the good news. When you attend to, when you attend to your wellbeing in a 72 hour rhythm, life starts to feel lighter. That wheel starts to get balanced, and the journey is a little bit smoother. You don't have to make up for it later with drastic fixes, and you build that momentum a body and brain and spirit that will thank you in advance. This is all that training our brains, training ourselves and optimizing so that we can show up in the world in the way that we really want to. It's not about perfection, it's about rhythm and compassion and consistency. So here's your invitation. Download the Wheel of Life worksheet. If you need a little bit of a jumpstart on creating your own rhythm, I've created that for you. You can use it to customize a 72 hour plan that honors your future self. Map out those tiny, intentional actions across each dimension of your wellbeing and. Remember that the truth is that your life isn't built in a single day. It's shaped and sustained and steered in the last 72 hours, and the decisions you make today are already creating the you of three days ago. So download your worksheet. I'll put the link in the show notes and start designing that life that's easier and healthier and aligned with the future that you really want. If this is resonating with you, and if you're gonna go on this journey with me, I invite you to leave me a review to subscribe to this podcast, get on the email list so I can send you these episodes. I hope that this is helpful to you. I'd love to hear from you again. As you go out every day design that life that's easier, healthier, and aligned with the future that you really want as you go out every day and default to yes, your extraordinary self.