Fair enough. #ROW80
tl;dr for A Round of Words in 80 Days participants –
My one word for 2016 is FOCUS and for the first round of ROW80 I am focusing on my routines. January’s focus in particular is on my morning routine.
Gold stars are raining.
The End.
During the first three weeks of January, I was regularly maintaining my morning routine (or at least a large portion thereof) three days per week.
But last week? I added an extra gold star.
For FOUR days last week I FOCUSED on taking care of myself, my home, and my family.
My morning routine?
- Drink water upon waking.
- Make bed.
- Eat breakfast.
- Yoga & shower.
- Brush & floss teeth.
- Do dishes.
- Plan dinner.
- Do laundry.
- Swish & swipe.
- Scoop litter box.
Fair enough.
Last week I stated,
My FOCUS for the rest of January is to not only complete my morning routine at least three times per week, but to get it done before noon.
Fair enough.
Yet, this is still something I’m struggling with. I spread out my morning routine over the course of the day, which means YEAH, I’m getting shit done, but it’s taking me forever.
That’s gonna make things really difficult next month when I add another routine. And I’m still debating over whether February should be afternoon routine or before-bed routing.
Originally I wanted to go with chronological order and just add to my days in logical fashion each month. But I’ve read more than once that a strong morning routine begins the night before. So I’m leaning toward an evening rather than daytime focus, because I really want to emphasize my morning routine as THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. If I do nothing else productive on any certain day, at least I will have done bare minimum at keeping the household running.
Small victories, yeah?
Someone asked me an interesting question about doing dishes, and why they are part of my morning routine. As in, shouldn’t they be done before I head off to bed?
Fair enough.
But the answer, for me, is NO. I have come to the realization that I don’t want to do housework in the evening, and moreover, that no amount of pushing myself is going to change that. When my hubz is home from work, I want to eat dinner with him and our daughter, and I want to chill. Evenings are for family time in Casa de Andi-Roo. I ain’t about dishes.
So I let ’em sit overnight and get ’em the next day.
Let FlyLady flog me.
I’m not trying to criticize anyone’s system {what works for someone else is awesome… for someone else} but what works for me is understanding who I am and what I want.
- Who I am is a lazy-ass in love with life and family time.
- What I want is to watch Netflix and play board games with my favorite people.
Doing dishes cuts into my time. Having a clean and organized home is *A* priority, but not *THE* priority. Grasping that concept is super-dee-duper important to me.
On a similar topic, someone asked me why I spent so much time making work for myself by messing around with a planner in such detailed fashion.
Fair enough.
But see… it’s not work. I mean, YOU might think it’s work. So, you know, don’t do it.
For me, using a planner is fun. Marking shit off my list is fun. Making a list in the first place is fun. Using stamps and stickers and markers and note cards and stationery and scrapbook papers is fun. Making plans is fun.
Recording important data into an online calendar is a dry, dull task which, while important, I never enjoyed. Now I’m keeping track of shit AND HAVING FUN.
Like I said, what works for me is understanding who I am and what I want.
- Who I am is a messy, artistic, disorganized, creative, unfocused, confused planner.
- What I want is a way to make the work of keeping on top of shit enjoyable.
Entering dates into my device is BORING. Tracking events is *A* priority, but not *THE* priority. By allowing room and providing space for my random-osity, I get the best of both worlds:
Black-and-white, but in full color.
