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FLYing Habits - Part 4
Have you picked a new habit to practice for the month of
March?
FlyLady asked for you to send in your new habits and here they are!!
- Dear FlyLady & Crew,
The habit I want isn't new, it needs to be re-newed. The habit is laying out my clothes the night before. I had done it faithfully since I began Flying about 31/2 years ago. My DH & I moved from TX to DE in Dec, just us, no DDs ( they're grown now) and I felt like I had much more time in the mornings. Well, I do have some extra time - 5 minutes to work instead of 45 - but I prefer to have that little item done "for me" when I get up. It makes the day start so much easier!
Flying in New Castle, not Fort Worth,
- Dear FlyLady and crew:
I am having serious dental surgery on Tuesday, February 8, 2005. During "Round One" beginning October 15, 2004, I was very sick for 3 weeks after. The dentists said I would be fine in a few days. Hah!
Anyway, during the recovery period for Round One, I couldn't work (I'm self-employed and semi-retired) and could hardly drive or walk. So since I had to stay home anyway, I quietly de-cluttered my basement. And transformed a junque-ridden dungeon into The Library. I got rid of at least 500 books; dusted everything (25 years of dust); and arranged the remaining 600 books (I know 'cuz I counted!) in beautiful order. There were books that hadn't been opened since my university days (I found slips going back to 1970!). I 'transformed' my recovery period of pain and frustration into an epxerience of renewal and creativity.
What do I plan for Round Two? Well, that's the hard part. I have no idea what is waiting for me. So.....I want to work on THIS ONE NEW HABIT. I want to be OPEN to the ADVENTURE of ......MY LIFE......to accept in a spirit of patience and perseverance the Reality of Each NEW DAY: to say "Thy Will Be Done" every day. No matter what.
Maybe others will post something more tangible and practical. I am not able to do this at this time. I would like my Daily Mantra for February to be "Thy Will Be Done".
- I have been putting off taking calcium for 4 years now. It interferes with another medication I take so I have to take it at lunch and supper...and it just won't register in my head. But I'm going to make a calendar and do the stars. I'll do it!
My bones thank you!
Flybaby in OH
- For the month of February I am going to deal with each day's mail as it comes in -- pay every bill (even if I don't mail it just then), make every phone call, RSVP, etc. No more opening mail in the car, then inevitably losing some under the seat. That goes for the papers in the kid's backpacks too! It's much better to deal with them as they come in and forget about it, rather than walking around with an uneasy feeling that you've forgotten something. Here's to February!
- Hi there!
I attended a meeting yesterday that was geared to teach how to be a better home-party planner. Anyway, I learned a unique way of keeping track of my daily to-do list and I plan on implementing it right away! So, my new habit will be a better way to keep track of daily errands.
- Being a Newbie - It has to be "Clean Sink" . I've been doing it since
Friday - and it's amazing the glow it gives me. Somehow it makes me
want to do one more little thing, like clean :the END/SIDE of the
counter top EDGE.. I hadn't even noticed it before. Last night I had
to leave a pan in my sink to soak - IT JUST ABOUT KILLED ME.
A new month - A new beginning - A new LIFE.
FlyBaby in Green, OH
- I struggle with 5 minute room rescues at home and at work. Room rescues will be my focus this month. For years all by myself I have had the sink and counters down pat as well as the bathroom and laundry. I'm going to buy some gold stars. The bathroom calendar is an inspired idea. I'll be able to see how well I am doing keeping things picked up.
My son-in-law laughed the other night as I wiped his toddler son's face with a soft yellow wash cloth. He told him that before she went to bed Grammy would have the same washcloth as well as the tablecloth and napkins all washed, dried, folded and put away. That was a slight overstatement but I am ok with laundry and am finally understanding that if I don't take care of myself there won't be enough of me left to take care of anyone else. Keeping off the computer in the morning is also another fine maxim.
From a grateful middle-aged Maine Grammy
- Hello,
I'm new to Flyladies. And the new habit that I will focus on is shining my sink. I will also do the 15 minute decluttering exercise - but right now, the main focus is shining my sink.
- I started my new habit yesterday. I picked out my clothes
for the whole week. I remember reading a testimonial
recently about a lady who did that on Sunday afternoon. So
I tried it. Boy does that feel good. Everything I need is
on one hanger in the closet. In the mornings, I just have
to grab the hanger and go. Of course, none of this could
have happened if I hadn't caught up with my laundry last
week!
Thanks for the inspiration!
- Hello everyone,
The new habit that I am going to institute in February is making the beds. We are a household of six people. Myself, DH, DD, DM, and DB and DS-in-law. Mom lives with us after my Dad's death is Sept of 2004. My brother and sister-in-law are living with us temporarily while building their new home two towns over.
Dear Mom and Dear Sister-in-law make their beds each day. My Dear Daughter is learning (6 yoa) and loving it, but does "Mom and Dad's" bed get made...NO, because I obsess and worry if everyone else's is done and getting them ready for their day. So each night I and hubby come in to a messy, wrinkled bed. DH would, if he was the last one out. (He leaves very early in the morning) So as my sink shines and brightens up my kitchen each morning, I will make my bed each day for the month of February so it can brighten up my room each night.
It makes sense, morning happiness with the sink (the first thing you use in the day) and evening happiness with the bed (the last thing you use in the day).
I'm taking my baby steps with a lot of things. Are we going to do a new habit each month? Good, I need it. I've been flying since September (just after Dear Dad's death). It has been uplifting and putting a whole lot of life style and home style changes into prespective.
Keep on flying....
Fly Baby in Central NY
- Good morning!
I have been FLYing with you for about 6 months now. It seems that the one thing I haven't been able to get a handle on is taking care of my paperwork. I have most of my bills set up for automatic debit, as well as automatic deposit of DHs paycheck. I also use Microsoft Money to keep track of it all. So, I don't worry about bills being paid late, but I still need to do that maintenance. It's not much, but I always seem to let it pile up and then have hours of work to do.
I have a nice office in the basement, and have been doing a great job of keeping my kitchen counter hotspot free of papers. But now it's just ended up in my office! So my new habit will be to spend 15 minutes a day in my basement office.
FLYing in MI,
- Dear Fly Lady,
I'm going to devote this months new habit to me because
I deserve it. I am going to
WASH & MOISTURIZE MY SMILING FACE 2X A DAY!
Thank you for sharing your God given gifts!!
Flying in Carnegie,
- Hello,
I know you asked for one new habit, but I have a few. They are ones I've been working on and need to "tweek" to improve on them. First one is using my timer! I loved the timer testimonial! I thought I was the only one!! I even ordered a "Flylady" timer and encourage my kids to use it, but most of the time I just look at the clock as I'm doing my task, and guess what................................... I get side-tracked!!! (by the way, the timer is really a nice one!)
The next habit is trying a little harder to shine my kitchen "SINKS"! I say SINKS because I consider making my bed as my shiny sink as well! When I do both of those sinks, my day goes so much better!!!!!!
Love you Flylady and crew!
Praying for you and all the other flybabies out there!
Flybaby S in PA
- This month I am resolved to meet my work goals. I am an at-home medical transcriptionist and I am paid by the line. The more lines I type, the more money I make. Thus, I can always give myself a raise. However, it is too easy to become distracted, and I also just get plain sick and tired of the work.
However, meeting my line count is essential to all of the other goals I want to achieve, including paying off debts.
Thus, in February, I am going to make it a habit to do 2,000 lines every day. I will not get distracted by surfing the Internet, watching home decorating TV shows, or doing house cleaning.
- Hello. I am new at this. Four days new actually, but I really need to create a new habit for February, in fact it is do or die for me. I am taking a correspondence course and am having difficulty keeping up and dedicating time to it, so my new habit for February is to "study" one hour every second day or half hour every day.
- My new habit is going to be to go to bed at a decent hour. Things are starting to shape up around here and it's time for me to take care of myself. Rather than try to stay up "just a little bit longer" to get things done, I am going to impose a bedtime for myself. What can't be completed before bed can be tackled tomorrow. My three DDs have bedtimes and I am good about making sure they get to bed on time, with their tasks completed. There is no reason why I can't have the same rules and routines.
Mom deserves some TLC too!
- I want to take care of the cat litter on a daily basis! I have two cats and I don't take care of the litter as I should.
- Thank you for all you do!!
I don't read the Sunday reminders until Monday.
Imagine my surprise this morning (Monday) when I read about new habits and shining our sinks. Somehow I'd already heard this message...
Yesterday (Sunday) I clraned out the filter in our shop vac. It's winter, so this was at the basement laundry sink (not outdoors). After, I wiped out sink (newly in use again after installing pump in drain line) then filled up to rim with hot water, added bleach-you know what is coming! It's shiny now.
Trying really hard now not to fix that typo up there. Say no to perfection, yes to 'good enough' and peace of mind!
Thanks again
Baby stepping in ct
- I just went to the dentist this past month and for the millionth time I was told that I need to floss. Dental cleanings are so painful for me and so for this new month I have put a note on my mirror to floss. All I need is 30 days for it to become a habit and part of my morning routine.
- I read one of your testimonials a few months ago about charting your progress with a sticker. The lady in the testimonial said she felt great seeing all the stars and "great Jobs" adding up.
I have a special calendar that wasn't big enough for my flylady information so I got one for that and plan on using my special calendar ( Saint Bernards, I collect them, not the real ones) and I bought stickers a few weeks ago but had yet to start.
That will be my new habit. . Not only to chart my flylady success but because I plan to use so much of the information and inspiration from you to fling the fat, I want to thrive in 2005 to not declutter my body from obesity.
Thanks for all the inspiration!
- Evening routine - three things -
Check my calendar
Shine my sink
Put out my clothes
- I’ve been an off and on Flybaby for a year. My hubbie always comments when I’m following the Flylady path. He notices the clean house, planned meals and a happier me. My new habit for this month is to wear my shoes. I’ve always been a barefoot person. Yesterday, I wore my tie-up, soft tennies and I did get a lot more done. I must admit I had to take them off after dinner (baby steps), but I’ll keep trying every day.
A Flybaby in PA
- My new habit for the month of February is to NOT get back in bed when the alarm goes off, but to get directly into the shower.
Quite a while ago, I started putting my alarm clock in the bathroom so I had to get out of bed to turn it off. I found that I just turned it off and went right back to sleep when it was on my bedside table. When it is in the bathroom, I’ll hop out of bed to turn it off quickly before it bothers DH. But lately, I’ve been getting up, turning off the alarm and climbing back in bed “just for a few minutes”. A few minutes stretched to 15 then 20 then 30…before I knew it, I didn’t have enough time to do what I needed to do in the morning and my whole day was off kilter. On days when I got up and got started on my morning routine right away, my entire day went better. The light bulb in my head finally turned on: those few moments between the alarm and when I got into the shower (the first step in my morning routine – DH is still asleep) were the most important 5 minutes of my entire day. (It takes me about 5 minutes of stumbling around before I am awake enough to get myself in the showerJ) Once I got under the water, my whole day seemed to go better.
One thing I’ve learned from FLyLady is that somewhere out there, there is at least one other person struggling with the very same issue I am battling. So I offer my new habit as an incentive for my FlySister.
Fluttering in Raleigh,
- My new habit is not eating sugar or flour. I have done this in the past and I feel so much better and my complexion looks so much better! I have a special little calendar and some smiley face and star stickers to chart my progress. I can't wait to get to the end of the month and see all those smiling faces on my calendar!
- My new habit for february is if I use it, I put it away as soon as I'm done with it. No leaving stuff around to put away later. 3 seconds of put away now, saves 15 to 30 minutes extra clean up during the day.
Flying in PA
- The habit I'll be working on this month is daily exercise.
I would like to honor my sister, who has lost both breasts to cancer, by participating in the Avon Walk April 30-May 1 in Washington, DC. The first day is a 26+ mile walk (marathon) and day two is a half marathon. Many, if not most, walk participants have already worked up to 10 miles at a time, and here I am just starting.
My goal is to walk every day for a minimum of 30 minutes. (To train for the Avon Walk, I'll do longer walks 3 days a week and add more miles each time.) I figure that even if I'm not ready to do justice to the marathon by the end of April, at least I'll be honoring my sister by reducing my own risk of breast cancer through weight loss and physical fitness.
- I am going to exercise a little every day. I will set the timer for 15 minutes, and do something/anything to bless my heart. I have tried several times before to start exercising, but have always done the "crash and burn"-thing. This time I will limit myself to just 15 minutes this month, and maybe I´ll add another five minutes in March?
Flying in Norway
- I'm going to make a consistent number of phone calls for my legal services business, starting TODAY. The person in our company who makes THE most money could be a Flyperson, from the way he talks! He says that he made his big money through his steady habit of making two new prospecting calls every day, and going to a weekly business meeting. He made those phone calls (or in-person calls) EVERY day, without fail. He's a billionaire now! The other top moneymakers agree with Dave that this simple, proven system is paramount for success, but he's the one they quote with "two a day; every day; and one meeting a week." An interesting fact is that many of this business' most successful salesfolks have at one time been in the military. What two qualities are most observable in military trainnees? Discipline and unquestioning obedience to "the system." Sound familiar?
- really checking my control journal... I am a 4 year
flybaby and just getting to this...
- I am going to practice getting up a half hour earlier (this will mean 6AM). My morning routine flows pretty well although I am usually right down to the last minute in order to leave for work on time. This drives my DH crazy. We drive together most days and he would like me to be ready 10 minutes before we have to leave so that we can sit down and have a cup of coffee together (isn't that SWEET!). So I'm going to try to embrace my DH's wishes. Also, we are getting a puppy and soon I will have to add feeding and piddling the puppy to my morning routine. So an extra 15 minutes for the puppy and an extra 15 minutes to have quite coffee with my DH. But, thanks to you FlyLady, I know the power of 15 minute changes!!
Fly Tot in MD
- Hi. I am a month old flybaby.... my habit last month was laying out my clothes every night.. this included my 2yo dd and 4 month ds.... this month i will swish and swipe every morning in addition to laying out my clothes...
- Dear Flylady,
I have been slowing flying since October 2004. I am a SAH mom, homeschool mom (DD 10, DS8), with one small business and a part-time, tax season job (handled at home). I instantly clicked with all of your routines and slowly started. On vacation in October, I read The Book and typed my control journal in the car (laptop). Then on to implementation....again, slowly!
My biggest challenge has been the ironing. I can get the clothes washed and folded and put away (teaching the children to do their own), but the ironing is never caught up. So, on Saturday, I started to attack the problem. I didn't get to do the daily laundry routine this past week because my home business was active (I work 4 full weeks a year handling an in-home "show"). I started out doing the one daily load, but that only lasted two days and I was too pooped to do the whole thing. So on Saturday, I washed all the remaining dirty clothes. This time, when the clothes came out of the dryer, I immediately folded, etc., but added a new step...I ironed just those things that came of the dryer. I did every load! And I made it a game to see if I could finish and do something else before the next load stopped.
Now, I still have 3 feet of unironed clean laundry, but I can work on that in 15 minute "boogies", and it is all hanging in a closet waiting for its turn.
Thank you for your encouragement! The ironing will be done!
Maybe this will help another struggling ironer somewhere. You have really changed life here in our little town...and so has Leanne.
- I finally feel like I have a little control over my
first routines. I even took a little break this
weekend and was able to set everything right in 15
mins this morning.
So to reward myself I am adding 3 new habits to my
rountine that are good for me and my children.
In the morniing I plan to do at least 10 couch
crunches befor I go to work.
And every evening I plan to do 15 mins of Hooked on
Phonics with my 7yr old DS and read for 15min with my
3yr old DS and spend 15 min with my DD at bedtime to
talk about our day. This is something she desparately
wishes for and I am usually way too tired to do.
This is the first time I have been brave enough to
write anything. I am afraid if I acknowledge that is
working that it will all fall apart.
Thank you for blessing our home.
feeling like a flybaby in Maryland
- Dear Flycrew,
The new habit I plan to aquire in February is a tiny baby step. I plan to
keep my bedroom closet doors shut. This means I can't hang too many things
on the hooks inside the doors or stuff things on the shelves and floor or
the doors won't stay shut. I hope this will help me to do a better job of
picking up after myself in the bedroom, boogying the closet, and less stash
n' dash. Thank you so much for your system and encouragement!
- Every night before I go to bed. I'm going to check around the house for all dirty dishes and put them in the dishwasher and get it started if needed. Also make sure sink is empty and shined and counters and table cleared off.
- Dear FlyLady,
My new habit for this month is following my "first hour for me" weekday routine. This involves a 30 minute walk every day as soon as I drop the kids off at school followed by a quick shower-and-dress to hair, make-up, and work shoes. Bonus: putting on workout clothes to take kids to school allows me to focus on the kids needs in the AM. Potential pitfall: getting stuck staying in workout clothes all day...but at least I've got those walking shoes! This new habit actualizes my efforts to take care of myself - my health - so that
I can take even better care of others than I already do.
Another tip: Since I am a slowly developing FLYbaby, it helps me to think in terms of "what am I doing that works well and what one thing could make it even better?"
- Dear FlyCrew,
I have found, as I age, that my posture suffers! So, my new habit for February is to be conscious of my posture and pull in my stomach!
Flying in Florida
- I actually have TWO new habits that I plan to start Feb. 1st (they go together):
To start my Yoga on a daily basis AND to Drink the right amount of water (no less than 64oz daily)
Flybaby in FL
- Dear Flycrew.
Thank you for inspiring us to unknown heights! For the new month, which is my birth month, I am renewing my yoga practice and including my 12 yr old son. They were introduced to yoga in PE and he recognized how inflexible he was...and asked for help. SO we started today, getting up a little bit before the rest of our crew and had a lovely pre-adolescent son and mom moment (which for those of you with 12 year old sons know is a bit rare). Thank you for the encouragement and challenge to take that leap, and the birthday gift to myself.
Flying that feels like SOARING
- Dear Fly Crew,
I have been working on my new habit for February...it is walking. I am not
a fancy writer nor do I have any cleaver way of saying what my new habit is.
I am walking for my health and training for the health of others. I have
already registered for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, which is in June. I
am also fund raising my habit for February. So if you know of any one that
would like to help out with this great cause please have them email me at
datapp@pcisys.net.
Thank you for your great website. I have been flying for a little over a
year now. I do have to tell you that since my flying with baby steps, both
of my children have ended up on Honor Roll at school. I do contribute it to
the fact that I now have time to help my DD (age 14) and my DS (age almost
13) stay organized and on top of the homework.
- Ok....it is meal planning with FlyLady instead of buying on a whim.
- Shower BEFORE going downstairs!!! (This is basically "get dressed to shoes.") For some reason I have been backsliding in this area, even as other aspects of my life and home improve. Maybe committing in writing, to FL, will help keep me on track.
- My new habit is to teach my children to wait to eat until everyone is served, and to say a blessing together before we start eating.
- I bought a treadmill yesterday. My new habit is exercise. I figure if
I can get in 15 minutes in the a.m. and 15 in the evening, I'll have in
30 minutes a day. I need to loose 40 pounds and not having any luck.
I pray this will be help and motivation.
Thanks for all you do.
- I am famous for taking things out and not putting them away.I just leave them where I may be standing by or walking by. The habit I am going to work on is that when I take something out I am going to put it back where I got it from or where it belongs.
Flybaby,Thunder Bay
- Dear FlyCrew,
My new habit is to wash our towels every Thursday. I always thought it
strange that people would get a clean towel after every shower, but we
tend to wait until our towel smells bad before getting a clean one!
So... I think I can handle one extra load each Thursday. I have it
marked on my calendar and I have my star stickers ready to go!
- I just want at this time to work on keeping the master bathroom clean. We have a special need child and all his care is in this room along with my dh and I.
So..................here goes.
- Hi Flylady & friends,
My habit that I'm working on this February is getting rid of the mounds of paper that comes into my home.
I'm finding duplicates and triplicates of things that I HAD to save... NO MORE.
My credit/debit card was recently "compromised" (aka stolen!) so I'm more careful about getting rid of confidential stuff. So like a true perfectionist, if I couldn't do it right, I wouldn't do it at all!
This weekend, I bought a shredder for all those mounds of private stuff. I put a boxful at a time next to the shredder and every time I pass it, I shred for about 1 minute....
Yes, 1 minute at a time this February, and my mounds of paper will be gone to shreds for the recycle bin.
Thanks for the push! You do great work.
Flyin' a minute at a time!
- Dear FLyCrew
Although I've been (trying to) FLY since August 2003, we've just had our third child and so I've had to start again with the routines to accommodate her. Our beautiful DD is now 8 weeks old and I've spent January practising just doing ANY routine - breastfeeding a tiny baby and keeping up with her brothers (DS1 aged 3 and a half and DS2 aged one and three quarters) and looking after DH was a bit complicated to start with - and now I'm adding swishing and swiping the bathrooms to my routines. I'm doing ours in the morning and the main bathroom in the evening. Hopefully after a month it will stick!
Having this child has been easier than ever because of the skills FLYLady has taught me, and because I've learnt not to beat myself up if things don't get done (and that routines make sure they do. This morning I went back up to make our bed, only to find I'd already done it and not noticed. And yes, I checked that DH hadn't done it for me (he often does)).
Thank you so much for all you do to help us.
Flapping madly in the UK.
- Dear Flylady and crew,
I decided that my new year's resolution list was too long, and that resulted in the inevitable feeling of failure by February 1st. Well, not this year! I decided to do one thing for myself, and one thing for my house every month! A whole month should be enough to build a habit, even for stubborn me! In January, I started drinking 8 glasses of water a day (my one thing for myself) and decluttering my study/office (one thing for my house)
In February, I will start taking the stairs to my 6th floor office (one thing for myself) and after much thought, I decided that I will FINALLY shine my sink. Let me explain. My DH does most of the dishes and kitchen cleaning in our house. We both work, and since I cook, he cleans. (Yes I have to say I still feel guilty about letting him do that what kind of wife am I anyway?) Well, I have worked hard on letting it go. HE doesn’t wash dishes the way I would (read: the way Mommy would) but it all gets clean. So since he takes care of the kitchen, I hardly feel the need to shine the sink. And then I get those little reminders, and in my mind’s eye I can see my sink with a soap ring around the sides, some soap and crumbs drying in the bottom… and I feel like I’m failing as a flybaby (even though my house is never more than 15 minutes worth of messy, I have a marvelous control journal that I use all the time, and I have slayed the laundry monster at least 6 months ago…) So in February, I will do my flybaby basics and shine the sink before I leave for work in the morning.
Thanks Flylady, and maybe I can finally be a true flybaby now!
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