Money Saving Mom®

Some of you may be feeling overwhelmed as we’re nearing the end of this 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life Challenge. It might seem disheartening that we’ve spent three weeks on one habit and you still have a mile long list of dozens upon dozens of other habits you want to incorporate, too.

Don’t lose heart! Just because you feel so far behind or so far from where you want to be, look at how far you’ve come.

As you know the habit I’ve been working on for this 21-Day Challenge was getting up earlier every day. I’ve not had a perfect track record and there were one or two days I did sleep in a little past my goal waking up time. But I’m so happy to be nearing the end of the challenge and feeling like this waking up early thing is becoming a true habit, not just a good idea or something I did for a few days in a row and then fell off the bandwagon again.

It’s not been easy. There have been days when I really, really, really wanted to go back to sleep. But I made myself get up. There have been many times when I came up with a long list of excuses why it was okay for me to sleep in. But I made myself get up. Knowing that you all were with me in this challenge served as an enormous motivation to not slack off when I really wanted to.

And you know what’s been a bonus? Committing to get up early every morning has set so many other good habits in motion:

::Because I’m getting up earlier, I’m having more lengthy and meaningful time reading God’s Word every morning.

::Because I’m getting up earlier, I’m finding time to exercise almost every single day.

::Because I’m getting up earlier, I’m getting a jumpstart on my day and this has enabled me to get a lot more done and be more efficient.

::Because I’m getting up earlier, I’m getting a lot of stuff done before the children wake up. So by the time they wake up, I can give them my undivided attention and focused.

::Because I’m getting up earlier, I’m going to bed earlier and this has allowed me to be get more consistent and restful sleep at night.

That’s the beauty of intentionally working on developing discipline: Discipline begets discipline. When I am disciplined in one area, that resolve spills over into other areas. As I’ve experienced in getting up earlier, intentionally making one consistent habit change can slowly lead to amazing transformation in many areas of your life.

So stick with developing your one habit, don’t give up, and keep with it even when you don’t feel like it. One day soon, you may wake up and realize you’ve changed your whole life… just by beginning with one simple habit!

What about you? How has focusing on making one habit a priority spilled over into other areas of your life? I’d love to hear!

Oh the irony! I’m writing a post after 10 p.m. that was supposed to be finished much earlier today… and the post is on nothing other than getting it done early. As you can see, this is one of those areas of discipline I sorely need to work on. 🙂

I read a post on Simple Mom back in July that rocked my world. It was by one of my favorite people — Mandi Ehman — and it was on The Secret of Success for a Work-At-Home Mom. Here’s a snippet:

So what’s the key to success? Simply put: Get it done early.

This principle applies to your home and family life as well as your business. Whenever possible, get it — whatever it may be — done early and eliminate the stress and frustration of being pulled in a million directions.

Avoid the guilt of shushing your teething baby because of looming deadlines or groaning in frustration when the school nurse calls, or saying no — yet again — to a fun activity with your kids.

Now obviously, since I’m writing this post after 10 p.m., I’ve still got a long way to go in actually practicing this getting-it-done-early principle. But ever since reading this post, I’ve been consciously thinking about how implementing this principle would revolutionize my life–and cut down on a lot of stress!

You see, I’ve always been a late person. I was born 17 days late and it seems I’ve been late ever since. Whether it’s getting to an appointment or getting an article done, I’m almost always running behind–usually either just under the wire or late. Sometimes, really, really late.

In my lifetime, I’ve made a lot of excuses for my tardiness, but most all of them boil down to procrastination, improper prioritization, and a lack of planning ahead:

::Instead of planning to leave 30 minutes before I need to be out the door, I wait until 30 minutes before I need to leave to take my shower, get everyone dressed, gather up all the things we need for the outing, and get everyone out the door.

::Instead of looking at my calendar two or three weeks in advance, planning out articles I need to write, and writing them a week or two in advance, I often wait until the day they are due to even begin outlining them.

…And on and on it goes. No wonder there are many times I run around like a chicken with my head cut off! 🙂

Knowing the problem is good, but that doesn’t fix anything. I actually have to make changes if I want to experience any benefits. So I’m resolving to not just recognize the problem, but actually come up with a solution. Or at least begin working diligently in that direction!

In the next 24 hours, I’m going to sit down and map out a specific plan of action for a few of the areas where I especially struggle with getting things done on time. I’ll let you know my plan of action tomorrow.

Practical Application

1. Read Mandi’s fantastic article, The Secret of Success for a Work-At-Home Mom. Even if you’re not a work-at-home mom or not even a mom, you’ll find some great encouragement in it.

2. Choose one area that you especially struggle with being behind in or running late for.

2. Write down a simple plan for how you are going to stop procrastinating, start planning ahead, and begin getting things done early. Come back and share your plan with us so we can be inspired!

And if you’re one of those amazing people who is always on time or early and always has projects projects done before the deadline, would you do me a favor and share your secrets in the comments? I’d love to learn from you! Seriously. I need all the help I can get in this area!

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Missed the first posts in this 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life series? Read them here.

I’ve noticed a number of comments from you all about my resolve to get up by 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday. Many of you have wondered how I’m pulling it off or how I manage. And I’ve gotten vibes from some of you that you’ve felt guilty that you get up later than me.

Please, please, please do not feel guilty if you get up later than me. Seriously.

While I think getting up early can be a fantastic way to get your day off to a great start and I certainly don’t want to encourage you to sleep in out of laziness, I want you to remember that you need to do what is best for you in whatever life season you’re in. I don’t have a baby, I’m not pregnant, and I only have three children who all sleep soundly through the night (most nights, at least!). I also can go to bed early and I have a husband who is supporting and joining me in my early-to-bed, early-to-rise challenge.

Do What Works for You

There have been many seasons in my life when getting up early was not wise or healthy. Maybe you’re in one of those seasons. Or maybe you just plain weren’t created to rise early. What works for me won’t necessarily work for you. Don’t feel that you need to get up early just because I am or because it’s really making a difference in my life.

Consider what your family’s needs are. Consider your own strengths and weaknesses. And then choose goals that work for your family–even if they are almost the exact opposite of what works well for someone else.

Embrace Your Own Uniqueness

You can spend all of your life trying to measure up to someone else. You can fritter away hours of time wishing you had her hair or her figure or her energy or her gifts.

But you are not her, you are you. You have unique gifts, talents, and abilities. You can improve upon what God has given you, you can wisely steward what He has given you, but you cannot change who He has created you to be.

So instead of living life wishing you were someone else, embrace your own uniqueness. Don’t feel guilty if you can’t get up when she gets up, or decorate your home like she decorates hers, or fit into the size of jeans she does, or juggle all the activities and responsibilities she does.

Be Free From Guilt

Your life and goals are going to look different from others–and that is completely okay. In fact, if everyone were a carbon copy of each other, wouldn’t life be dull and colorless?

Do the best you can with the energy, gifts, talents, and resources you have in the season of life you are in. And then be free from guilt!

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