Dear Friends,

None of us like change. We are such control freaks and when we are not the ones implementing the change, we go bonkers. This is why gradual changes work so well for us. Our reminders help us to make these changes.

Reminders were ignored because we had gotten used them; the same ole same ole. This is why I want us to change things up a bit. Instead of becoming immune, we are going to focus on building and using our own Control Journals. I didn’t have reminders in my email when I started getting rid of the CHAOS in my life. All I had was my Post-it notes and checklists in my Control Journal.

Have you written down your Before Bed Routine? We still need reminders; this is why Post-it notes are so good; A couple of colorful reminders on your bathroom mirror to get you ready for bed and then to greet you in the morning with how to start your day, Morning Routine.

These will be the things you are practicing. When I was getting my home in order I also had a checklist that would help me to remember all the things that I had to do each day. This checklist in combination with the habits I was establishing, made amazing changes in my life and home.

My habits were the babysteps that are my foundation. My checklist is just that; a list of things that could be done if needed. The idea was to actually think about them. Our minds were so busy that without the list we forget. Part of our habits is to remember to check our list and our calendars.

You can do this too. It is as simple as practicing a dance step.

Here is the part of my morning routine that is automatic;

Get up
Make my bed
Weigh
Shower
Get dressed to shoes
Fix my hair and face
Swish and swipe my bathroom
Put a load of Laundry in the washer
Make coffee
Eat breakfast

All of these did not happen at once.

Getting up and making my bed was paired together
Getting dressed and swishing and swiping was paired together
Laundry got me headed toward the kitchen to making coffee and eating breakfast.

They were not established habits immediately. I had to practice them. I like to call it piggybacking. When I got one section established I could easily sandwich another simple habit into the already learned dance step.

The year we published Body Clutter; I needed to address my health issues; I added weighing to my getting up and getting dressed. It fit in nicely and has become one of those babysteps that have changed my life.

Are you ready to FLY? This is your year to shine; 15 minutes at a time!

FlyLady

Do you have a  Control Journal? It is just a notebook with your simple
routine written down. All the directions are on our website. Don’t get obsessive about this.

I have made a  Control Journal for you because I know how easy it is to allow perfectionism to take over and make something hard that is not that difficult.