Here is a great analogy I found. We all start out as acorns, so we all have the potential to be mighty oak trees. Some of us just think we can only be fatter and shinier acorns, but that is only of interest to pigs.
If we want to fulfill our potential and grow to be oak trees, what do we need to do? Well, we need to be patient, we need to work hard to fulfill our potential to become what we are capable of. And we also need to take care of ourselves. To enjoy the good soil, sunlight, and fresh clean water to enable us to grow strong and healthy. And above all, we need to let go of our indulgent acorn-like behavior. To avoid the overeating, overspending, and the time spent indulging our bad habits and hobbies at the expense of progress towards our goals.
1/13/09
1/11/09
Bookshelf Challenge
This is my bookshelf. Well, one of my bookshelves. I'm quite the book lover, so I have a couple of them. But this is where I keep my most favorite books. It looks a little nicer than usual because we're painting the basement and we just repainted this from yucky yellow-y off-white to a plain white. But this is basically how my bookshelf looks most of the time.
Because I love my books, I love an organized bookshelf. I have my books very carefully organized by type, by author, and even by size. This section is all books by my favorite Science Fiction author Anne McCaffrey, so that's why the shelves are double stacked, to fit them all in this section together. Up top are our Time-Life books and some of my mother's books.
The bottom shelves are my other Science Fiction paperbacks, all organized by size and by author. Yes, I know it's a little overkill, but it's worth it when I reach over and find exactly the book I want in seconds. And I get a big charge from seeing them all lined up and looking pretty. Yes, I know there's a bit of a gap there - my son's girlfriend and I are re-reading the Twilight series (again!), so there are a couple of books there.
From an organizational point of view, I did make one mistake. I didn't leave any room for expansion. When I rearrange my other shelf, I'm hoping I'll have some more room on that one and I can shift a few over. Yes I know I could declutter some of them, but I got rid of two big boxes just before we moved last year, so I'm mostly down to the ones I really love. If worse comes to worst and I don't find any extra room in the other shelf, I might be inclined to prune my movie shelf and put a category of books over there. That's one solution when you're really stuck in the decluttering system. If you really can't prune in one particular category, you can always cut back in a different category to compensate.
So, here's your challenge - take a look at your bookshelf (or bookshelves) and see what you need to do with it. Do you need to add more shelves? Weed out some books? Do you have your books organized in some kind of system that makes sense to you or are they just piled in there in every which way? If not, now would be a good time to add some organization to your bookshelf.
Now, here's how you DON'T organize your bookshelf. For the love of little kittens, DON'T take everything out of the bookshelf and dump it all on the floor! I know I did, but that was just because we were painting the shelves. Your best bet is to clear out just ONE shelf. Now pick a category such as business or self-help books. Comb through the rest of the shelves and find any and all books that match this category and shift them all to the clear shelf, weeding out any books that can be decluttered - of course you have a box or two handy to deal with them. Now smoosh the books around to fill up the empty gaps, which will create some space for the next category.
By doing it this way, you can do the change in small increments, a little bit at a time if need be. Even if you need to set it aside for a day or even a week, you can do so without having a huge mess to make you feel terrible about your area.
Because I love my books, I love an organized bookshelf. I have my books very carefully organized by type, by author, and even by size. This section is all books by my favorite Science Fiction author Anne McCaffrey, so that's why the shelves are double stacked, to fit them all in this section together. Up top are our Time-Life books and some of my mother's books.
The bottom shelves are my other Science Fiction paperbacks, all organized by size and by author. Yes, I know it's a little overkill, but it's worth it when I reach over and find exactly the book I want in seconds. And I get a big charge from seeing them all lined up and looking pretty. Yes, I know there's a bit of a gap there - my son's girlfriend and I are re-reading the Twilight series (again!), so there are a couple of books there.
From an organizational point of view, I did make one mistake. I didn't leave any room for expansion. When I rearrange my other shelf, I'm hoping I'll have some more room on that one and I can shift a few over. Yes I know I could declutter some of them, but I got rid of two big boxes just before we moved last year, so I'm mostly down to the ones I really love. If worse comes to worst and I don't find any extra room in the other shelf, I might be inclined to prune my movie shelf and put a category of books over there. That's one solution when you're really stuck in the decluttering system. If you really can't prune in one particular category, you can always cut back in a different category to compensate.
So, here's your challenge - take a look at your bookshelf (or bookshelves) and see what you need to do with it. Do you need to add more shelves? Weed out some books? Do you have your books organized in some kind of system that makes sense to you or are they just piled in there in every which way? If not, now would be a good time to add some organization to your bookshelf.
Now, here's how you DON'T organize your bookshelf. For the love of little kittens, DON'T take everything out of the bookshelf and dump it all on the floor! I know I did, but that was just because we were painting the shelves. Your best bet is to clear out just ONE shelf. Now pick a category such as business or self-help books. Comb through the rest of the shelves and find any and all books that match this category and shift them all to the clear shelf, weeding out any books that can be decluttered - of course you have a box or two handy to deal with them. Now smoosh the books around to fill up the empty gaps, which will create some space for the next category.
By doing it this way, you can do the change in small increments, a little bit at a time if need be. Even if you need to set it aside for a day or even a week, you can do so without having a huge mess to make you feel terrible about your area.
1/10/09
Planner Challenges
OK, I'm going to 'fess up. I am planner challenged. Seriously planner challenged. Over the years I have purchased numerous planners, calendars, electronic organizers, and the like and totally failed at every one of them. I can't figure out if I've got too much going on in my life or too little, but I just don't take well to writing things down on a little calendar and then remembering to check it every day. I've even been to the 2 day Franklin Covey classes that cost a bloody fortune, but I still fell off the wagon after a couple of months.
I think the problem is that my life in some ways is very routine. My job is basically Accounting, so I'm typically doing the same things over and over again month after month. Same thing at home - Scouts is on Thursdays, Karate is on Fridays, stamp class is the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Pretty routine stuff, so I mostly just keep it in my head. Of course that way isn't particularly foolproof, because anything out of the ordinary tends to leak right out of my head somehow. I mean, tomorrow I'm supposed to go to the church at 10:00 and help take down the decorations. Fortunately someone called to remind me tonight because it drifted right out of my head the minute I walked out the church door last Sunday.
I do have one thing that works for me. My Outlook calendar at work. I do love that and it pops up with these little reminders at 15 minutes and then 5 minutes before every meeting or event. Plus you can put recurring events, so if you need to pull a certain report every Friday, you just put in a reminder and it will pop up every Friday without fail. But, unfortunately, that only covers me for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The rest of the time, my poor brain is on it's own and it's too little to be out there alone....
So, what's a girl to do? Well, I've got a couple of things. One thing is to find a calendar that will fit easily into my purse. The problem with the Outlook calendar, and the calendar hanging on my wall at home is that I don't have them with me all the time. But if I got one of those dimestore calendars that fits neatly into my purse, I'll have it at work, home, and at church. Of course, a PDA or a Blackberry (Crackberry) would be even nicer, but that's out of my budget right now, so I'm sticking to the paper.
Here's the other thing I've found - my new To Do list. Look at this nifty little list I found while prowling the Franklin Covey store trying to get my nerve up to try yet another planner (I didn't!). I actually like To Do lists and I find them very effective, but I don't use them as often as I should. The problem is that I feel kind of weird putting my personal stuff on my work to do lists and vice-versa. This solves the problem quite nicely, I think. It has three separate sections, each with a little tear off pad with a pre-printed list, complete with check boxes. I think the check marks are half the fun of a To Do list anyway.
I've only had it for a couple of days, but already I think it's helping a lot. I had a very productive day at work. I remembered to do a couple of tasks at home that I've been putting off, and I put down several ideas for blog posts on the play section, so I'll be covered for most of next week on posts. I even put a few things on there for myself - like exercise, and leave work on time.
I think the problem is that my life in some ways is very routine. My job is basically Accounting, so I'm typically doing the same things over and over again month after month. Same thing at home - Scouts is on Thursdays, Karate is on Fridays, stamp class is the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Pretty routine stuff, so I mostly just keep it in my head. Of course that way isn't particularly foolproof, because anything out of the ordinary tends to leak right out of my head somehow. I mean, tomorrow I'm supposed to go to the church at 10:00 and help take down the decorations. Fortunately someone called to remind me tonight because it drifted right out of my head the minute I walked out the church door last Sunday.
I do have one thing that works for me. My Outlook calendar at work. I do love that and it pops up with these little reminders at 15 minutes and then 5 minutes before every meeting or event. Plus you can put recurring events, so if you need to pull a certain report every Friday, you just put in a reminder and it will pop up every Friday without fail. But, unfortunately, that only covers me for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. The rest of the time, my poor brain is on it's own and it's too little to be out there alone....
So, what's a girl to do? Well, I've got a couple of things. One thing is to find a calendar that will fit easily into my purse. The problem with the Outlook calendar, and the calendar hanging on my wall at home is that I don't have them with me all the time. But if I got one of those dimestore calendars that fits neatly into my purse, I'll have it at work, home, and at church. Of course, a PDA or a Blackberry (Crackberry) would be even nicer, but that's out of my budget right now, so I'm sticking to the paper.
Here's the other thing I've found - my new To Do list. Look at this nifty little list I found while prowling the Franklin Covey store trying to get my nerve up to try yet another planner (I didn't!). I actually like To Do lists and I find them very effective, but I don't use them as often as I should. The problem is that I feel kind of weird putting my personal stuff on my work to do lists and vice-versa. This solves the problem quite nicely, I think. It has three separate sections, each with a little tear off pad with a pre-printed list, complete with check boxes. I think the check marks are half the fun of a To Do list anyway.
I've only had it for a couple of days, but already I think it's helping a lot. I had a very productive day at work. I remembered to do a couple of tasks at home that I've been putting off, and I put down several ideas for blog posts on the play section, so I'll be covered for most of next week on posts. I even put a few things on there for myself - like exercise, and leave work on time.
What organizational tools do you like best?
1/7/09
Laundry Tips - Tackling Mount Washmore
Keeping on top of the laundry pile is one of the biggest challenges in managing a house. The problem is that it never stays done. Your family is generating new laundry every single day, so it can get away from you pretty quickly if you don't have a plan for dealing with it.
The first thing you need to look at is the room itself. If your laundry room is clean and attractive, you're going to dread going out there. Take a few minutes and look around to see what you can do to make it more comfortable, efficient, and attractive. If it's out in the garage, can you add some rugs so you don't have to walk over the cold concrete? Do you need some shelves to store your soap and other laundry supplies in a more convenient spot? Maybe a table or a counter to fold the laundry? Maybe you could add an under the cabinet radio or a small TV to entertain you while you are folding laundry. Use your imagination.
Maybe the solution is as simple as a coat of fresh paint, and some pretty pictures on the wall. I know you're thinking it's just a laundry room and you'll probably be the only one to see it, but you're just as important as anyone else, aren't you? Have fun with it. You could decorate it in frogs, or chickens, or whatever you like best. You're probably going to be spending more time in there than anyone else, so let it be a fun place for you to go.
Next you need to look at your laundry routine. You'll need to adjust this to suit the size of your family and your schedule. Some women prefer to do one or more loads a day, while others like to dedicate an entire day and get it all out of the way at once. Either one works as long as you keep some kind of regular schedule. What doesn't work is ignoring it until every laundry basket in the house is overflowing. That's what Flylady calls Mount Washmore! Avoid at all costs....
I try to do the one load a day schedule, but I get busy and fall down on the job sometimes. Also, I have my boys do their own laundry. I feel that any child over the age of six is old enough to do their own, but that's just my opinion. My son Blake is an expert at the art of Japanese T-shirt Folding - you can find videos of it on YouTube.
How you organize the laundry collection and sorting can make a big difference. If you're seeing clothes on the floor very frequently, you may not have enough baskets or may not have them in the correct places. I keep a basket is everyone's closet including a triple-sort basket in our bedroom - similar to this one. One section is for darks, one for towels and sheet and one for lights. I love this because I can just grab a section of laundry and pop it into the washer without sorting.
Side note: Our washer leaks - a lot! There's something wrong with the connection that goes into the wall and the hose comes out a lot. We've probably had five or six leaks in the year or so since we've lived in this house. So, I finally made my husband go out and buy one of these. I'll tell you, it's the BEST $15 we've ever spent! When you consider how much damage even a small water leak can do, I don't think any home should be without a water alarm.
Anyway, back to laundry. We've got the laundry sorted and into the washer. The washing and drying parts are pretty easy because the machines do all the work. It's the folding and putting away that is the challenge. I'll let you in on a secret - I HATE to put laundry away. It's probably my least favorite chore after mopping the floors. So, rather than be a martyr and do a job I hate, I trade it off to someone else who doesn't mind it so much - in this case, my husband. He doesn't mind it, so I do all the other steps if he just does this one. Hey, it works for us.
As for the folding, I like to do it in front of the TV, 3 or 4 loads at a time. I get on the coach with baskets spread all around me and just dump it all on the couch. I use one basket for each person and an extra one for sheets and towels.
Have you ever timed how long it takes to fold a load of laundry? You'd probably be surprised. I can fold a load in 3 to 5 minutes unless it's something like socks or dressy clothes that need to go on hangers. My philosophy is that if something takes less than 5 minutes to do, it's just not worth fussing about. Same thing with putting away. We spend more time dreading the task than it actually takes to do. Just do it and then treat yourself to a cookie or something for a reward.
Other bright ideas - keep a bag or box in your laundry room for give away or out of season items. Then as your kids outgrow their clothes, you can transition them to charity or to off-season storage.
Tide to Go Pens are the greatest invention known to man. Get a bunch of them and keep them around the house - in your purse, closet, bathroom, etc. for instant stain treatments.
Keep a delicates bag handy for bras and other delicate items and I post large notes on the dryer so my kids don't ever put them in the dryer. I also have a wardrobe rack to hang up sweaters or other items that are too delicate for the dryer.
I got this idea from MeckMom - put in a couple of hooks, either in your bathroom or laundry room for kids to hang up their wet bathing suits and towels. I don't know how many times I've found a nasty wet suit lying around somewhere - ugh!
The first thing you need to look at is the room itself. If your laundry room is clean and attractive, you're going to dread going out there. Take a few minutes and look around to see what you can do to make it more comfortable, efficient, and attractive. If it's out in the garage, can you add some rugs so you don't have to walk over the cold concrete? Do you need some shelves to store your soap and other laundry supplies in a more convenient spot? Maybe a table or a counter to fold the laundry? Maybe you could add an under the cabinet radio or a small TV to entertain you while you are folding laundry. Use your imagination.
Maybe the solution is as simple as a coat of fresh paint, and some pretty pictures on the wall. I know you're thinking it's just a laundry room and you'll probably be the only one to see it, but you're just as important as anyone else, aren't you? Have fun with it. You could decorate it in frogs, or chickens, or whatever you like best. You're probably going to be spending more time in there than anyone else, so let it be a fun place for you to go.
Next you need to look at your laundry routine. You'll need to adjust this to suit the size of your family and your schedule. Some women prefer to do one or more loads a day, while others like to dedicate an entire day and get it all out of the way at once. Either one works as long as you keep some kind of regular schedule. What doesn't work is ignoring it until every laundry basket in the house is overflowing. That's what Flylady calls Mount Washmore! Avoid at all costs....
I try to do the one load a day schedule, but I get busy and fall down on the job sometimes. Also, I have my boys do their own laundry. I feel that any child over the age of six is old enough to do their own, but that's just my opinion. My son Blake is an expert at the art of Japanese T-shirt Folding - you can find videos of it on YouTube.
How you organize the laundry collection and sorting can make a big difference. If you're seeing clothes on the floor very frequently, you may not have enough baskets or may not have them in the correct places. I keep a basket is everyone's closet including a triple-sort basket in our bedroom - similar to this one. One section is for darks, one for towels and sheet and one for lights. I love this because I can just grab a section of laundry and pop it into the washer without sorting.
Side note: Our washer leaks - a lot! There's something wrong with the connection that goes into the wall and the hose comes out a lot. We've probably had five or six leaks in the year or so since we've lived in this house. So, I finally made my husband go out and buy one of these. I'll tell you, it's the BEST $15 we've ever spent! When you consider how much damage even a small water leak can do, I don't think any home should be without a water alarm.
Anyway, back to laundry. We've got the laundry sorted and into the washer. The washing and drying parts are pretty easy because the machines do all the work. It's the folding and putting away that is the challenge. I'll let you in on a secret - I HATE to put laundry away. It's probably my least favorite chore after mopping the floors. So, rather than be a martyr and do a job I hate, I trade it off to someone else who doesn't mind it so much - in this case, my husband. He doesn't mind it, so I do all the other steps if he just does this one. Hey, it works for us.
As for the folding, I like to do it in front of the TV, 3 or 4 loads at a time. I get on the coach with baskets spread all around me and just dump it all on the couch. I use one basket for each person and an extra one for sheets and towels.
Have you ever timed how long it takes to fold a load of laundry? You'd probably be surprised. I can fold a load in 3 to 5 minutes unless it's something like socks or dressy clothes that need to go on hangers. My philosophy is that if something takes less than 5 minutes to do, it's just not worth fussing about. Same thing with putting away. We spend more time dreading the task than it actually takes to do. Just do it and then treat yourself to a cookie or something for a reward.
Other bright ideas - keep a bag or box in your laundry room for give away or out of season items. Then as your kids outgrow their clothes, you can transition them to charity or to off-season storage.
Tide to Go Pens are the greatest invention known to man. Get a bunch of them and keep them around the house - in your purse, closet, bathroom, etc. for instant stain treatments.
Keep a delicates bag handy for bras and other delicate items and I post large notes on the dryer so my kids don't ever put them in the dryer. I also have a wardrobe rack to hang up sweaters or other items that are too delicate for the dryer.
I got this idea from MeckMom - put in a couple of hooks, either in your bathroom or laundry room for kids to hang up their wet bathing suits and towels. I don't know how many times I've found a nasty wet suit lying around somewhere - ugh!
1/4/09
New Year's Resolutions Part II
As a follow-up to yesterday's post about engineering your life to support your new habits (or breaking old ones), I had a thought. I was thinking about one of the really brilliant ideas I'd heard of and thinking how it could be incorporated into your change mechanism.
Here is the brilliant idea - (and if you're the parent to a teenager, you're welcome!) One way to get your teenager to observe their night time curfew is to set an alarm clock for their curfew time. Then you can go to bed or go about enjoying your evening. If said teenager arrives home before the curfew time, they get to shut off the alarm clock. If they don't get there in time to turn off the alarm, they are automatically on restriction. The only drawback is that they might pay off their brother or sister to turn off the alarm for them, but of course, if they get caught doing that, they would also be on restriction and maybe be in a little more trouble besides...
Now, how could you incorporate this strategy into supporting your new habit? If your habit was to clean up the kitchen every night before bed, I would set an alarm for your normal bedtime. If you do the dishes, you get to turn off the alarm and go to bed. If you don't do the dishes, then you have to stay up late to finish them. Works the same with laundry or any other chore. It also gets you to go to bed on time - a twofer!
Here's another idea for you. I have a terrible memory - really! I have so many things going on in my life, I have a hard time remembering things from one minute to the next. I don't know how many times I have been at work and thought about something I needed to do on my way to the bathroom. Three minutes later when I'm back at my desk, I've forgotten it completely - sheesh! So I checked out a book from the library on improving your memory by a famous memory guy. You'll laugh, but I've forgotten his name. Kevin something or other.
One of the things he tells you to do in this book is to use funny pictures to jog your memory. For instance, to remember the Seven Dwarves, you picture them around your house doing funny things. For instance, Gumpy is in your kitchen, scowling into his coffee. Doc is peeking into your medicine cabinet. Sleepy is taking a nap on your couch, Bashful is hiding in your closet, Happy is watching a funny movie in your den, Sneezy is refilling your pepper shaker, & Dopey is standing in the mop bucket in the middle of your kitchen floor. See how easy that is?
When the idea for this post came to me, I was just drifting off to sleep and I didn't want to forget it. So I decided to tie the idea to something I knew I would see in the morning. Since this is a post about clever ideas, I wanted to think of something clever. This is my cat Buster. He's very clever. He likes to play hide and seek with us when we are trying to pick him up and he likes to slither into cupboards and try to open doors with his paws. So I decided to attach the idea to him.
However, I was afraid I would see him, remember the word clever, but forget what the clever idea was. So I took it a step further. See that collar around his neck? It has a bell on it, so I decided to replace the bell with the image of an alarm clock. Then I would remember the whole idea. Sure enough when I sat down to my computer this morning, Buster wandered over to investigate and I instantly remembered the information for this post.
Oh and and the other memory tip - you aren't supposed to say that you have a bad memory. It reinforces the thought that you have a bad memory. Whoops! I forgot!
So, how can you use this memory tip to help you keep your New Year's Resolutions? Well, let's say that your resolution is to start your daily routine with three tasks - make the bed, do a 15 minute tidy up, and start a load of laundry. To remember this, could you form a picture of making the bed and tripping over a laundry basket filled with timers all set to 15 minutes? Bet that would help you to remember what you need to do. Oh and don't forget to set that alarm clock too!
Here is the brilliant idea - (and if you're the parent to a teenager, you're welcome!) One way to get your teenager to observe their night time curfew is to set an alarm clock for their curfew time. Then you can go to bed or go about enjoying your evening. If said teenager arrives home before the curfew time, they get to shut off the alarm clock. If they don't get there in time to turn off the alarm, they are automatically on restriction. The only drawback is that they might pay off their brother or sister to turn off the alarm for them, but of course, if they get caught doing that, they would also be on restriction and maybe be in a little more trouble besides...
Now, how could you incorporate this strategy into supporting your new habit? If your habit was to clean up the kitchen every night before bed, I would set an alarm for your normal bedtime. If you do the dishes, you get to turn off the alarm and go to bed. If you don't do the dishes, then you have to stay up late to finish them. Works the same with laundry or any other chore. It also gets you to go to bed on time - a twofer!
Here's another idea for you. I have a terrible memory - really! I have so many things going on in my life, I have a hard time remembering things from one minute to the next. I don't know how many times I have been at work and thought about something I needed to do on my way to the bathroom. Three minutes later when I'm back at my desk, I've forgotten it completely - sheesh! So I checked out a book from the library on improving your memory by a famous memory guy. You'll laugh, but I've forgotten his name. Kevin something or other.
One of the things he tells you to do in this book is to use funny pictures to jog your memory. For instance, to remember the Seven Dwarves, you picture them around your house doing funny things. For instance, Gumpy is in your kitchen, scowling into his coffee. Doc is peeking into your medicine cabinet. Sleepy is taking a nap on your couch, Bashful is hiding in your closet, Happy is watching a funny movie in your den, Sneezy is refilling your pepper shaker, & Dopey is standing in the mop bucket in the middle of your kitchen floor. See how easy that is?
When the idea for this post came to me, I was just drifting off to sleep and I didn't want to forget it. So I decided to tie the idea to something I knew I would see in the morning. Since this is a post about clever ideas, I wanted to think of something clever. This is my cat Buster. He's very clever. He likes to play hide and seek with us when we are trying to pick him up and he likes to slither into cupboards and try to open doors with his paws. So I decided to attach the idea to him.
However, I was afraid I would see him, remember the word clever, but forget what the clever idea was. So I took it a step further. See that collar around his neck? It has a bell on it, so I decided to replace the bell with the image of an alarm clock. Then I would remember the whole idea. Sure enough when I sat down to my computer this morning, Buster wandered over to investigate and I instantly remembered the information for this post.
Oh and and the other memory tip - you aren't supposed to say that you have a bad memory. It reinforces the thought that you have a bad memory. Whoops! I forgot!
So, how can you use this memory tip to help you keep your New Year's Resolutions? Well, let's say that your resolution is to start your daily routine with three tasks - make the bed, do a 15 minute tidy up, and start a load of laundry. To remember this, could you form a picture of making the bed and tripping over a laundry basket filled with timers all set to 15 minutes? Bet that would help you to remember what you need to do. Oh and don't forget to set that alarm clock too!
1/2/09
A Little Help for your New Year's Resolutions
I've been scouring the Internet for good tips to help you with your New Year's resolutions and I thik I've found a really great one. This post from Zen Habits is a couple of years old, but it had such good information, I just had to share it with you.
Controlling my habits is probably the biggest challenge I've ever had to deal with, both breaking bad habits and creating good ones. And I'm not alone. I read somewhere that something like 90% of heart attack patients can't change their habits, even when it might cost them their lives. No wonder we struggle so when we make our little resolutions to lose weight, clean up our houses, and stop abusing our charge cards.
So, what's a girl to do? Well, actually this article has some excellent suggestions for building up your habits in a very deliberate way that will make your changes stick. It's called Engineering Your Life and if you do it properly, you will make it almost impossible for yourself to fail.
One technique that I have used is very similar to the ideas shown in the article. I am perpetually late for work, mainly because I like to dawdle in the shower. That's where I do my best thinking and it's not unusual for me to be in there for half an hour or more, which always makes me late for work. So I set up a plan with my youngest son Blake. When I go to get into the shower, I set out a load of laundry along with a timer set to 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, he goes down to start the washer. I'll tell you, that gets me out of the shower extra quick, when that water turns cold as ice! Plus I get a good start on a load of laundry for the day.
Click HERE to read the article.
Controlling my habits is probably the biggest challenge I've ever had to deal with, both breaking bad habits and creating good ones. And I'm not alone. I read somewhere that something like 90% of heart attack patients can't change their habits, even when it might cost them their lives. No wonder we struggle so when we make our little resolutions to lose weight, clean up our houses, and stop abusing our charge cards.
So, what's a girl to do? Well, actually this article has some excellent suggestions for building up your habits in a very deliberate way that will make your changes stick. It's called Engineering Your Life and if you do it properly, you will make it almost impossible for yourself to fail.
One technique that I have used is very similar to the ideas shown in the article. I am perpetually late for work, mainly because I like to dawdle in the shower. That's where I do my best thinking and it's not unusual for me to be in there for half an hour or more, which always makes me late for work. So I set up a plan with my youngest son Blake. When I go to get into the shower, I set out a load of laundry along with a timer set to 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, he goes down to start the washer. I'll tell you, that gets me out of the shower extra quick, when that water turns cold as ice! Plus I get a good start on a load of laundry for the day.
Click HERE to read the article.
1/1/09
Party was a great success!
Well, our New Year's Eve party last night was a great success! The house looked wonderful and even though I had worked until about 4:30, with a little help from my family, we had the food all prepared, the tables set up, and the plates and glasses all ready in record time. I even had time to sit down and read a magazine for a while before the party started.
We had about a dozen people and even though we had a couple of "oops" moments - one of my dishes leaked all over the oven and stank up the kitchen, and I totally forgot to fix my signature Red Beans and Rice, other than that, everything really went off quite well and we all had a fabulous time, including the kids who got to stay up until midnight playing the Wii and eating everything in sight.
It's such a shame when we deny ourselves and our family such a fun time with dear friends because our house isn't fit for company. Let's work on that in 2009.
We had about a dozen people and even though we had a couple of "oops" moments - one of my dishes leaked all over the oven and stank up the kitchen, and I totally forgot to fix my signature Red Beans and Rice, other than that, everything really went off quite well and we all had a fabulous time, including the kids who got to stay up until midnight playing the Wii and eating everything in sight.
It's such a shame when we deny ourselves and our family such a fun time with dear friends because our house isn't fit for company. Let's work on that in 2009.
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