It occurs to me that my “Call” – (to write this blog and elevate Joy by creating structures that allow for it) – is driven by a drive to *figure things out* … and by *figure things out* I mean:
Create systems that help make every day life easier and thus not feel bogged down and left with no room for Joy (and a FREE head when I am out on the boat or playing a round of golf with my husband, or snowboarding the slopes of the White Mountains!)
I have always liked “systems” … I waited tables for many years [started right out of 8th grade (1986) and worked in a restaurant as recently as 2007 (when, still single, I wanted cash to buy furniture for my newly purchased condo]. My second restaurant job (c.1991) was at the Good Earth in Isla Vista, CA where Heidi taught me how to do recon for my entire station every time I was in it. (Recon provided a complete mental list of actionable items for my trips back to the kitchen where-by I would collect what I needed, print checks, enter orders, and essentially treat my station as one big table.)
I wish I had a Heidi for everything in my life… sometimes I feel hopeless … like I am the only one struggling to get through the work-week, feeling like nothing is getting done well! And then I read books like David Allen’s, Getting Things Done, Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz’s, Power of Full Engagement, and my latest, the FlyLady’s, Sink Reflections, and I realize No, I am NOT the only one…
I learned about the FlyLady at my awesome Wednesday Weight Watchers (WW) meeting… five hours after said meeting, I sought out FlyLady on my train ride home and was immediately intrigued by:
- polishing my sink (WT??)
- creating a bedtime routine (happens to be WW routine for the month of August)
- creating a “Control Journal” (I kinda already have this – Exhibit A & A1- and am jazzed to see how someone else has set theirs up)
Exhibit A: “Control Journal”?
Exhibit A1: “Control Journal”
So, I thought it would be interesting and on theme to chronicle my adoption of some of FlyLady’s (FL) routines here at LivingBluPrints!!
Bedtime Routine – Night 1:
Last night, I set my alarm for 9:15 *PM* so that I would know it was time to begin my bedtime routine. For Night 1, I started with the basics – brushing teeth and washing face, and would have “laid out clothes for tomorrow” but was working from home the next day, so did not. The fact that I was in bed by 9:30 was a big win and will definitely lay out clothes on days where I go into the office (including shoes and accessories!) – I already started this several weeks ago, although have not been 100% consistent, and am LOVING the effects of this!
When I got up this morning, I did “get dressed to shoes” right away, which is something else FL recommends. After getting some laundry going, making lunch for hubbo, and having a mini-breakfast and tea myself, I proceeded with FL’s 1st Beginner Baby Step – “Shine Your Sink”!
Truth be told, we have a brand new sink, so this was not a major wow-y moment for me, but it was gratifying none-the-less. The sink does look amazing, and how revolutionary to *dry* the sink?! [And if you haven’t read her stuff, she starts with shining the sink more as symbol (of taking control) and as something small that you can build from every day – and hey, who doesn’t like a clean sink?!] – Exhibit B
Exhibit B: REALLY Clean Sink
Reflection: ya know, I’ve heard the message (STRONGLY) that as working women, we should not have June Cleaver expectations of ourselves (I’ve even told my husband more than once, that I am NO June Cleaver; that I don’t want to be; and that I certainly did not sign up to be!!). However, I don’t think this means that we can’t have homes in which we take pride, are relaxed, and enjoy life’s best moments. I think from the ’50s and Home Ec and housewives to today’s world (where, in most cases, two are working full-time), we have lost working solutions for a fulfilling life, absent major household chaos.
My mom was at home when we were little (and cleaned toilets and dusted EVERY day). She didn’t go into full-time work until after the four of us were older and pretty self-sufficient. Many of us don’t have sufficient, relevant models to follow.
I am enormously grateful for for people like David Allen, Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz, and the FlyLady for their commitment to share their *sufficient, relevant models* with us all!
Now, let’s see where the FlyLady takes me!! Already the effects are being felt and surely I will share more in coming posts…
Post Script: I know there are plenty of folks (like my husband) who do not at all identify with the need for systems and for guidance in *figuring things out* – there are several reasons for such “differences” – and this (LivingBluPrints) probably won’t be a forum for me to argue them. Overall, I am always working towards a more rewarding & fulfilling life, and KNOW that many others are too!
Very cool stuff. You have a great future.
Dad
Thanks! I trust some *unbiased* readers feel the same! lol