Year 2, Day 193: maybe I should use this...

Here is a fascinating article about habits that highly productive people do every day. The article is written for the working class, but it has me intrigued on how to apply it in my personal life.

For example, one of the habits is giving yourself 80-90 minutes every morning. The article talked about doing uninterrupted work - me? I see it as a great time to exercise or read my scriptures or whatever I need. The trick is basically to do the same thing every single day.

If I choose to make that time exercise - I do not have to do the same exercise every day (like walking), but I do have to exercise each day.

I guess what appeals to me, as a stay at home mom and a home schooler, is that I constantly feel as if my time is not my own. As if I wake up each day reacting instead of acting.

Exercise right now only gets done if my day goes "perfect". I would rather have my day not be perfect, but still get my exercise in.

This morning is a great example of this:

I normally wake up at 5:30 to start my day. Today I woke up at 6:30....already an hour behind! By 7am, I was on the phone with a dear friend who was in the midst of a family emergency and needed someone to talk to - I like being that person. I like being available for friends and family when they need me. By the time I got off the phone with my friend, had breakfast, got dressed, stretched and did my toiletries....well, it was well after 9am.

Sadly, the children  by this point had a little too much unsupervised time and fighting broke out. Instead of attempting to clean or do school, instead, I took the time to create a new "consequence" jar (which is another needed post).

Then it was lunch and time to go to swim class.

See how nothing got done? Nothing in the house, not my exercise, not school....nothing.

I like the idea of just putting in some subtle changes - not checking email first thing in the morning, giving myself 80-90 minutes each morning, planning the night before, etc. should give me time to accomplish the truly important things - like exercise.

Sure, there will still be days like this when I am needed first thing in the morning or children fight or some other emergency comes up, but then it should feel like a "once in a while' thing instead of my daily life.

My health is worth the time and effort.

Happy Walking!