4 days to go

I told myself when I started this blog that the main purpose was to "be real" in an effort to encourage others along the way (and also myself). Part of that encouragement is sharing not only the ideas, but also the highs and the lows.

Today, I was listening to Focus on the Family, which featured a speaker who shared ideas on finances. Initially, I was pretty excited to learn the topic, but as he went on in the half-hour show, I got more and more discouraged, to the point of thinking that this whole idea of mine is truly too much. The only thing that's keeping me going at this point is my promise to myself to follow through.

I'm overwhelmed today, and that's pretty scary, considering the fact that I haven't even begun my sixty day experiment! As I drove home from taking the kids to school, I told myself to take a deep breath and break it all down into five things that I must change.

I'm not much of an organizer. I'm a free spirit all the way, creative, but not necessarily productive. It is against my nature to create lists and follow them, but I realize that's exactly what I need to do. I do believe that if I follow the maps I am laying out for myself, at the end of sixty days, the lists will be secondary and the good habits will be in place for a lifetime. Well, it makes sense on paper, anyway :)

So today, I'm creating my five areas of lifestyle overhaul:

1. My physical health. Research says that we are to exercise a minimum of 20 minutes a day. Eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day. Drink 8 eight ounce glasses of water a day. Sleeping on the back creates good posture and fights aches and pains. Eight hours of sleep is essential. Cut back on unhealthy fats and sugar. Eat six small meals a day. On to the next point before I overwhelm myself with too many details!

2. My emotional health. Once again, there is research out there that shows we benefit from helping others. That's a little vague for me, because I am constantly helping my kids, and want to do more in other areas. I want to write a snail-mail letter to someone a week. I also want to keep my frustration in check by setting some limits on the things I do. I have a hard time saying no when I should. One goal I have is to grow a backbone. Seriously. I want to etch out a specific time to pray each day, and get myself to church more often than I do now. Research also shows that we can do so much more when we have close friends. I want to make time for my friends. Just a thought...I know I'm saying "research shows", thinking that we are all familiar with the broadest terms of a healthy lifestyle. Do I need to find and quote the research on these things? Let me know.

3. Finances. This is a tough one. I could be a poster child for the effects of a difficult economy on a single mother. I love working with the elderly and disabled population, yet there were only about 12 hours a week available for what I do. Yesterday, those hours were cut to six a week. Why create a budget for my piggy bank income? Because it will set the groundwork for me later, when I have more money to work with.

4. My environment. Yesterday, I showed what a typical day might be like for many of us. It is not a picture of all my days, but obviously, I'm writing from experience. I need to begin with a very clean, orderly house, including one that's dusted, the corners of the rooms vacuumed, empty laundry baskets, etc. Once I begin there, I need to come up with a way to efficiently (and quickly) maintain it on a daily basis. The fifth point will be crucial for this all to happen. Read on.

5. My time management. I realize that points 1 - 4 won't be accomplished if I do not manage my time better. The most frightening thing in all of this is that I am in the process of trying to get up to a work week of forty hours. Doing all of this "scheduling" is fine when you are only committed to working six hours a week outside the home. I need to remember that the time I have to work with will constantly be fluctuating, so I have to be smart and not shrink back from this commitment when I have to go back to square one over and over again.

I still feel overwhelmed, but not as much now that I created my five points of change. The most important thing for me will be to initially create a step by step (minute by minute?) plan for my day. Again, when this all becomes second nature, I won't need to plan every moment. Does this seem too rigid? It does, and if I'm not perfect every day of this experiment, I know it is important to just go on from there. I'm not embarking on this journey with the belief that I will find some sort of mortal perfection in my life. I won't. I'm not perfect, and never will be. If "perfect" is my goal, I will fail, then give up and resolve myself to unsuccessful mediocrity once again. I just want to hold myself to higher standards, to try to do my best in all areas of my life. It's all about the attitude.

This experiment is like an architect's version of a small model on a table top. The real thing is the beautiful skyscraper that will be built on a city block. This experiment is only for sixty days. Life is for as long as we draw breath into our bodies.

I know I said yesterday that I would write about the scenario of a day in which the experiment is implemented. I still need to think on that one. Maybe I shouldn't make any promises about what I'm going to write. Or maybe I should - and then stick with it!

Until Tomorrow~~~Elizabeth