You Only Have 24 Hours, Right?

When I shared my 6-tiered resolution plan with all of you, I got quite the response, both on and offline. Everyone was supportive, but all were a bit skeptical, I think. And with good reason. Most people who make resolutions don't keep them. Which brings me to this question: if we don't keep them, why do we make them?

Well, my dear bloggy friend Sparky doesn't bother. "I don't bother with resolutions anymore. Can't keep them anyways." That's keepin' it real, wouldn't you say?

Others don't call them resolutions, but goals.

I call them what-I-should-be-doing-all-along. My goals..er, resolutions..aren't way out there. I don't want to climb Mount Everest on my birthday. I don't want to go to Europe. No, my goals are simple: be healthy - both physically and spiritually, be financially sound, be a better mama, wife and friend, and take a little time out each day for me (writing, sewing, blogging, etc). And honestly, with the exception of the last one, these are all things that should have already been in the game plan all along.

When people take a look at my 52 Weeks of Resolutions, I'm sure the first thing that crosses their mind is, "Whoa, that's allotta resolutions!" The second, "How is she going to do it all?"

Well, Ann, over at Holy Experience explains it so well. Our life is a jar. We have things that we have to put in our jar; big things and little things. The Big Things are the important things - time with the Father, being a good and caring mother, etc. Then there's the little things - dishes, laundry, blah, blah, blah (this list really is so much longer - and so repetitive! Don't we do the little things over and over again; day after day?)

Ann explains that if we don't take time out to do the Big Things first, our jar will be filled up with the little things and there won't be any room in our jar for the Big Things. (Anyone who has crashed into bed at the end of the day only to discover that she hasn't prayed, or worked out, or bathed knows what I'm talking about).

So...how do you get the Big Things in your jar while still having time for all the little things?

Ann calls it Back-to-Basics Discipline. Number One: Get up Early. And as she states, getting up early starts the night before. You need to get to bed early, too. Before you go to bed, however, you'll need to plan for the morning: set out clothes, pack lunches, make sure shoes and backpacks can be found...

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Yes, we all have 24 hours in a day. Most of us (hopefully) spend around 8 hours of those days sleeping. That leaves us 16 hours in a day to do what we need to do. For those of us who work, it leaves around 8. If we learned anything from the Time Challenge back in July, it was that when it's not planned, a lot of time is wasted.

So, to get back to Thought #2 - How is she going to do it all - I'm going to plan. I'm going to stop wasting so much time. I'm going to enlist in the help of the other three lifeforms that reside in the turtle house. I'm going to stop thinking about doing the things on my list and I'm going to just do them.

For some inexplicable reason, I am easily fooled into thinking most jobs are serious undertakings--so I avoid beginning. But 15 minutes is the way every job begins.
Ann, Holy Experience

In the next coming weeks (52, to be exact - ha!), I'll be revisiting old posts and old ideas. What you'll be reading won't be new information. You've seen it time and time again. But hopefully, the way I present it will provide motivation to those of you who have set goals and resolutions...and those of you who haven't.

Getting it all done is a challenge we all face. Just do a Google search for 'organization', and you'll get tons of websites (both free and not), who want to teach you how to get organized. Like weight loss (eat less energy than you exert), they all have the same basic principals - get up early, make lists, use time effectively - but it's all presented differently. I hope that I'm able to bring information to you in such a way that 'clicks' and works for you.

Here is to a productive 2009!

Until next time...