FROM CHAOS TO CALM
An Easy to Follow Plan to Destroy the Chaos!
How did I go from Chaos to Calm? So, I was climbing into bed around 11:30 pm last night and realized I had an early morning appointment. Like, I need to be walking out the door at 6:00 am early – with my special-needs son in tow – early. As I stumbled back towards the kitchen, I saw the dinner dishes piled on the counter, dinner still in the pan on the stove. Clothes piled on the couch. Shoes piled by the door. And I had no idea where my purse was, much less my keys. I grumbled as I dug through the pile of clothes, complaining about the state of my house. How could I turn this chaos into calm?
Why couldn’t anyone pick up after themselves? Why was I the only one able to… yeah, even I wasn’t buying it!
I mean, I was the one who made dinner. I was the one who had washed the clothes and dumped them on the table after yelling at everyone to come get their stuff. And I was the one who told them not to worry about the dishes, I’d get to them. Truth is, I was setting a bad example. Because after all, my favorite quote is, “Your actions speak so loud I can’t hear what you’re saying.” And telling everyone to pick up after themselves when even I didn’t do it, wasn’t sending a very clear message. That’s the day I started on a journey to go from chaos to calm.
Are you with me?
Why am I telling all this? If I can overcome the abundance of laziness in my habits, as well as the hoarder tendencies in my family genes, I’m hoping you can gain inspiration and motivation to do the same. After all, when the house is clean and organized and you have a plan to get stuff done (and you can stick to it), life really is easier. You really will have time to play and relax on the weekends. Your family will thank you, too. And it just plain feels good to wake up to a clean house!
Okay down to business. How, exactly, am I going to get this place calm again? I’m going to do it one week at a time, one step at a time, one goal at a time. Cause that’s how I work. And this week is all about where to start.
As I’m sure you can guess, I’ve gotten off the organization bandwagon and trudged a path on my own. It’s time to return to the way of the order. The planning order, that is. I’ve gotten good at forgetting, too. Forgetting appointments, forgetting plans, forgetting errands, forgetting to forget. That’s another story, back to the point. Whether it’s forgetting to plan for dinner, staying up late to catch up on a blog post, or running into that meeting completely unprepared, at some point, we all find ourselves in a spot that could have been avoided if we had only planned better.
Welcome to my new series – From Chaos to Calm
Crushing the chaos to find calm
Unfortunately, for some of us, that is the norm. We go through life remembering a birthday too late. Getting the call about an event we missed. And sadly, we struggle with finding time to get in all the things that need to be done in a day. Then we start to agonize over the things we forgot. Or failed to do. It isn’t that we’re lazy. It’s not that those things don’t matter to us. It’s just the way our life is. The good news is, that we can reclaim our lives. We can celebrate, plan for, and find joy and calm. Even if we don’t get it all under control and perfect (by the way, no such thing as perfect (that post is coming in a few weeks))
Time management is something many of us struggle with. And I’m one of the many who struggle with it every, single day. It’s not an easy thing for me, although I’m getting better. I have tried, over the years, to find a system that works for me. And I wanted to share with you some of those that have worked, and how you can find your workable system, too. (Notice I didn’t say ‘perfect’)
For the next few weeks, I’m going to share with you some nuggets of wisdom that have helped me go from crazy to calm, from jumbled to joyous. Know that you are not going to be doing this alone, I’m walking right beside you, cleaning, purging, putting away, organizing, and relaxing. Yup, time for yourself and days off are important. So hang in there.
Now, I wish this was a one-and-done situation. Or a magic formula that will solve everybody’s organization and time management problems. But it’s not. I will tell you, though, that once you figure out what your basic foundation, or routine, is that works for you, it does become easier each time. What I have discovered for me took hard work, effort, and a little blood, too. However, it is what I fall back on when I get out of order and transitions show up.
What’s the downside to all this? Is it worth going from chaos to calm?
- It is going to take time.
- You will have to work at it.
- It is going to take one step.
- Followed by another step.
- And then another step.
- And then another step.
- Then repeating the process routinely!
Will it be worth it?
ABSOLUTELY!! When you build a strong foundation all the other routines will be so much easier to build on top of it. Like a pyramid, only it’s your life, and your house, and your daily routine. And your time management.
What happens next? I’m going to be sharing with you strategies, goals, and projects to get you calm and on your way to a more organized life. And I’m going to share with you my struggles, too. You won’t be walking this path alone. Get ready for:
- Glimpses into my jumbled, crazy life
- Tutorials and how-to’s
- Pics of my crazy face
- Motivation, inspiration, and accountability
- Printables
- Recipes
- Lonely sock pics (just wanted to make sure you’re still with me)
My goal is to bring you to a point where you can discover and create your own system that brings confidence, peace, calm, and joy back to your life. What has worked for me may not work for you, but maybe you can use what I’ve learned and apply it to your life, your time management, and come out ahead.
And remember, you’re not alone. Stop asking those heartbreaking questions; “What’s wrong with me?” “Why can’t I get it together?” “Why?” My answer to you – There’s NOTHING wrong with you. NOTHING is wrong with any of us. We just need to learn what makes us tick. What plan, or plans, work for our way of living. For our way of thinking. We’re in this together.
See you next week! We’re going to talk about the importance of building that foundation.
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