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Sunday night we got home from a pool party and if I'm being honest, I was beat. Jeff was traveling, we had a packed weekend and I was just ready to curl up on the couch with my book. But it was Sunday night which means we now have school so there was still stuff to get ready. Lunches, backpacks, do we even have clean clothes?
But I decided to say "whatever" and no matter how much I tried to convince myself to go ahead and do it, I just couldn't muster up the energy for it. So I left it all undone.
Monday morning came bright and early and guess what? I was mad at myself for not having prepped earlier. Of course I was, I knew I would be, but I still couldn't convince myself to do it!
Maybe I'm the only one who has this problem, and ironically I was already in the middle of writing this article. I have run into this little issue of mine so often that I developed a philosophy a few years ago I like to call "The Do It Now Method."
The Do It Now Method came about when we were living with our best friends for a few weeks. We all had the same thought process : that this could either be great or we would end up never speaking again. It would only go one way or the other. It was summer time so we were home. A lot. And they have kids, we have kids. It was going to be a full house.
We took turns cooking dinner, fixing lunch and breakfast. We divided up house chores and all that, but I was very aware of being in someone else's home. I didn't want to be a burden (the unfortunate story of my life) and I also wanted to contribute. So I found myself doing everything that needed to be done right away. There were no dishes in the sink because they were either immediately washed or put in the dishwasher. There was no laundry that hung around in the dryer for three or four days because I made sure to take it out as soon as it went off.
When I got back home after a fabulous few weeks playing sister wives (it went so great that we made a repeat appearance), I found that things were going much smoother at my home. Why? Because I had gotten in the habit of doing everything NOW. I wish I could say I keep up with this method all the time, but unfortunately life happens and things don't always get done. But when our home is operating with this method, things really do go so much smoother.
Do you struggle with this too? I have a tendency - especially toward the end of the day - to just let things lie. I decide that whatever it is that is waiting on me to finish it can hold off until tomorrow.
I can register for that event tomorrow.
I can pay for the field trip tomorrow.
I can write that blog post tomorrow.
At some point, though, tomorrow becomes today.
The problem is it all adds up and I wake up with not only a thousand things to do but a thousand PLUS one because I pushed things off. I am not the mom that does all the things. I don't go up to school every day, I don't have homemade snacks prepared or go on every field trip. But things that I am saying yes to and don't take care of add up! And I have a hunch that you might feel the same way too!
It's not about how much you do or how many lists you make, we can all agree that it's about getting it DONE. And the best way I've found to get it done is to do it now.
So what's on your list today?
Laundry? Start it now.
Grocery shopping? Make your list now.
Grab school supplies? (bless) Get it done now.
Don't leave your stuff undone today, waiting for tomorrow. Be realistic about what you CAN accomplish so that you don't set yourself up for disappointment. Speaking of, put this blog post down and start now!