Ok, so I can give advice about what to do on a perfect day when everything goes as planned… but I also want to pause the “ideal” advice and give you some tips on how to handle days like today.
I had PLANNED to go to the grocery store this morning and clean up the house before going to pick up Cody at the airport (this after changing the original plan that included him getting home last night…), but then that plan changed. I need to meet the central vacuum installation guys out at the house at 9:30, and will probably go straight from there to pick up Cody, so I needed to for-go my morning workout to clean up around here.
The truth is – life throws you curveballs. This is a small one. Sometimes they are big ones like the illness of a family member or yourself or heaven forbid the death of a family member.. or there are even happy curveballs – like my friend Michelle faced last summer when her son’s baseball team made it to the Little League World Series and she had to change plans she’d made to make sure and be there to watch him. There are births of babies and vacations… not every curveball is a bad one – if you know how to handle it.
SO you’ve started organizing your life, and setting up a schedule. Then a curveball comes, and you have to handle it with grace and flexibility. After all, that’s how we mother-types are supposed to be, right? If there’s one thing I learned from teaching, it’s that ANY schedule can and WILL be broken. Flexibility is the name of the game – as a teacher, as a wife, as a mom, as a business woman.
The challenge of being flexible with your schedule is figuring out what you can do later because you’ve got to do something different now. If making the bed isn’t a big deal to you, there’s two minutes you’ve saved – go do something else that’s more important – or just pull up the covers instead of arranging the pillows. If the laundry basket isn’t overflowing onto the floor, do it tomorrow. BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t put EVERYTHING off until tomorrow or your schedule will be blown. Figure out the things that are least important, but do the big things!
For example, I HATE deep cleaning (I’ll get into that on another day), but I know the bathroom really needed cleaning, so when I first got up before I even got in the shower, I took the time to clean the countertop and Windex the mirror. I’m not going to put off the things that I hate doing because then it’s easy to put them off every day and then they never get done.
Also – don’t put off new habits you are trying to start. That’s why I’m here writing even though others might put it off til tomorrow. I’ve tried blogging before unsuccessfully, and I know that if for one day I put it off until tomorrow, it will be easy for me to leave it behind. That’s how I was when I first started working out, too. I never missed a day because I wanted to start the habit, and I knew that if I didn’t, I never would keep it up. Now if I miss a day here or there now and then it’s ok because I’m not breaking the habit – I’m still going to go back and work out because I love it. I love how I feel when I’m done, and I love the friends I’ve made while I’m there. I also love the results I’m seeing.
SO – when you need to be flexible, figure out what you can be flexible with. Prioritize. And then the very next day, GET BACK TO YOUR SCHEDULE. Try not to let two days go together without your schedule. Even if, like today, it’s Friday. Have a weekend routine, and jump right into it tomorrow. Then Monday you are back on a week-day schedule. If there are things you have to put off one day, then try your very best to do them the next day so that they don’t go without being done forever.
When you get sick, it’s hard to do this because you are feeling like crap and can’t do anything. But you can do some things. Do what you can. If you are stuck in bed, use that time to clean up your computer files (a later blog), or go through your magazines and newspapers and clean them up (also a later blog). If you don’t have a spouse or significant other to help pick up the slack while you are sick, make to do lists for when you are better. Just remember – a long list is NOT the way to accomplish things. Prioritize by day for a week after you are well, and divide up the chores throughout that week. When you are getting over being sick is NOT when you need to fly in and fix the world, although it’s easy to feel that way – esp if you’ve been down and out for a while. Your ME time is more important than ever when you’ve been sick. This is the thing I often forget, and then I end up being sick again because I’ve worked too hard and worn myself out. In your week after an illness, schedule more breaks and drink more water, and instead of three things in each section on your Nothing Else Pad, MAKE YOURSELF only plan one or two. Trust me, you will feel better about yourself at the end of the day because you will have had the energy to complete the list rather than being exhausted and having to move things to the next day!
While the name of the game is organization, and a key to that is your daily schedule, don’t forget that in order to be truly successful, you HAVE to be flexible. You have to be able to take the curveballs that life throws you and turn them into a home run. It’s NOT always easy – especially when those curveballs are negative ones. But you can also figure out who you can lean on in those times – whether your spouse, significant other, or even just a really good friend. Then when you get through those times, pick back up and carry on. You’ll be a stronger, more self-confident person when you do.
You CAN do it. You CAN be organized AND flexible. Do you believe in you? I do!
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