Duh Duh DUHHH.
Well, it’s here. The end of January. The end of the 3 in 30 Challenge. The end of my rope of excuses. Ding! Time is up.
How did we do?
Wellllll,… not so good. It should have already been obvious if you read this post.
The beginning of the month was great. The 2nd week in brought a host of challenges (illnesses and such) that threw our sleeping schedule out of whack & I’ve spent the entire month trying to get that back on track.
- I didn’t get up early or even on time and didn’t start the day with prayer & bible reading (except a very few times.)
- I didn’t start using my home management binder during the day
- And I didn’t get caught up ALL THE WAY on the laundry and dishes, not even once, so that I could keep them at bay by getting them done each night before going to bed.
The idea was to spend January getting back into a good routine around here so that our day would run more smoothly and I could work on other goals in upcoming months. It didn’t quite work that way. =\
BUT.
- I have been getting up earlier and not sleeping in so late, I just need to get up even EARLIER to get quiet time before the kids wake up.
- I have *almost* caught up on all the laundry and all the dishes ever single day. One good push on a fruitful Saturday could get me there.
- I did, in lieu of the binder, write up a daily routine and post it in the hallway – and even though we haven’t completely adopted the new routine yet, we’ve been following it as best as we could. And the whole bedtime routine things we’ve had going on the past couple weeks has been AWESOME. So there’s that. That rocks.
So. January didn’t look at all like I thought it should. At least there are signs of improvement. We’ve still gotten school done. We’ve still had supper pretty close to on time (most nights.) We’ve been making progress.
I’d like to see that progress continue for February.
Considering that our mornings right now are the proverbial THORN IN MY SIDE, I say we start there. Ya think?
So how about, goal number one for February:
1.) Get up at 7 a.m.
Shocking, right? Yeah, I thought so, too.
And goal number two? Hmm… how about…
2.) Start my day off on the right foot – Read & Pray first.
Wellll, starting the coffee pot is allowed. So aside from starting the coffee pot, no opening the laptop, no turning on the tv,.. I need to take the time to show where my priorities lay. I say it, I need to act like it.
And finally, a third one.. I’m going to get really crazy here..
3.) Breakfast on time.
Crazy, right? I mean, absolutely absurd. I’ve gone bonkers.
Ok, all kidding aside.. I’m going on the assumption here that if we can get the first hour of our day off on the right foot then, well, the rest of the day has a better chance of going a lot smoother. Makes sense. So I’m going with that.
The challenges will be that:
- I like staying up late, which makes it hard to get up early, so I need to change those habits.
- My two younger kids get up and turn the tv on which can suck us in way too easy if we’re not careful.
Yeah, so there will be that. But I’m gonna give it a go. Those are 3 teeny tiny steps that are going to hopefully help me keep a little bit of sanity around here. I have a WHOLE LOT of OTHER STUFF on MY PLATE for the MONTH of FEBRUARY. That’s not me yelling.. that’s me trying to avoid hyperventilating. ; )
I’m cool. Really. And I’m looking forward to giving this challenge another go. If you feel the urge to join the craziness with me just click on over to www.thetuckerstaketennessee.com and check it out!
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We do the same things – stay up too late, and the Star Trek DVDs just suck up way too much time-space continuum during breakfast and later at night. I was just reviewing my/our last few weeks as well. We have co-op classes on M, T, W, and Thurs&Fri just fall by the wayside. My resolutions have been similar – up earlier for time with the Lord (rather than at bed time where I fall asleep on the Word). I’ve also been trying to get all my co-op teacher homework done/and have my kids have their co-op homework done before… Read more »
Mrs. B, do go ahead and check it out! I have a tendency to try to do too many things at once, I’m trying to focus on just 3 so I can actually get something done. =)
I have a hard time with mornings too. What do you mean when you say “breakfast on time” ?? ugh!!
Handcuffed Heart – I know, right? The challenge for me is that if I’m not careful I can easily skip breakfast. But I need to eat breakfast as much as the kids do, and I’m trying to keep our meal times regular, so “breakfast on time” it is. 😉
You can do it girl I totally understand.
Alyssa, THANK YOU! You joining in for February? (Guess I need to head over to your blog and see if you’ve got it up yet.) 😉
Baby steps… don’t get down on yourself for not making all your goals to the T. The fact that you’re getting up earlier is a good start. Sometimes we need to make changes slowly and we definitely need to give ourselves some grace. 🙂
Sisterlisa: You’re right – and I said at the beginning of January that I seem to take *at least* a month to develop a habit. I’m a bit stubborn that way, I guess. 😉
progress NOT perfection!! You’re doing a GREAT job……keeping it {the goals} top of mind is HUGE and you’re doing that, YOU will have a GREAT February, I can tell. =)
Keeping it Personal,
Teri Johnson
Thank you, Teri! Baby steps, right? =)
Hi Amber, I’ve clicked on over from 3 in 30; this is my first month trying it! I so understand how hard it is to do some of those things that *seem* like they should be easy, but just plain aren’t. I think it is awesome that you are focusing on your morning routine… it makes all the difference to the day. I started really working on it last fall with the help of Kat at Inspired to Action. She is starting up a new challenge, this time with accountability leaders. It seems like this might be a good fit… Read more »
Thanks for the link, Patti! I’m checking it out. It looks interesting, I’m kinda skeered to take on something else I have to check in with, participate with or blog about! I think the blogs posts and Twitter parties are getting to me. 😉 I’m hoping our morning routine makes all the difference to our day, too. =)
We must be related. We all are night owls, so it is hard to get up in the morning. My excuse is that’s just the way we are. We stay up when other people are going to sleep. But I know it is not a good habit for my girls to establish, especially if they are going to work at a public job when they are older. And what is breakfast? Sometimes we don’t…. wait a minute; Most of the time we don’t even eat breakfast. AND THE TV……I have learned not to turn it on in the morning, but… Read more »
“January didn’t look at all like I thought it should.” Yup – totally understand that one! 🙂 But at least you saw progress… that in and of itself is success!
I like your goals for February. Starting the day on the right foot is KEY!
Sounds like although you didn’t actually *achieve* your January goals, you DID make progress, which is what this is about!! Way to go! I think you’ve picked great goals for February as well…I didn’t use it as my 3in30 goals, but I am working on getting up in the mornings to have some quiet time with the Lord as well. I really notice a difference in my day when I’m up and going before I start dealing with ‘mommy’ stuff!
Progress is progress…baby steps! it sounds like you’re headed in the right direction! 🙂
[…] it seem like just last week we were setting our goals for February? February already has the short end of the stick when it comes to days on the calendar, but really, […]