Day 3: The How

So yesterday was Day 3, and I only did one out of the three daily tasks I've committed to doing.

Day 1 was about the "what."
Day 2 was about the "why."

Those were easy.

Day 3 was about the "how." Clearly, I need Day 3. I need to figure out how to fit it all into the day.

I looked at my daily schedule, and the bottom line is that there are simply not enough hours to get everything done.

So something has to go. After factoring in my energy levels throughout the day, I realized that by 7pm each day, regardless of what is still left to do, I am pretty much done.

Kids go to bed at 7pm, and my body and mind are worn out by that point in the day. Still, I usually stay up for AT LEAST 3.5 more hours: watching TV, surfing Pinterest, or (if I'm feeling really ambitious) reading a book.

Because I am an introvert and will implode without some downtime each evening, I cannot "schedule" all of that time. But I don't need 3.5 hours to get in the Word, move for 30 minutes, and blog. I only need about 1.5 hours.

So my new plan is this: I am going to go to bed early so that I can wake up 1.5 hours earlier and do my three things, first thing in the morning.

That's 5:30 in the morning. Ugh. 

I hate it. Really. Because I looooove my sleep, and I am not a fan of getting up early.

But I have known for a while that this needs to happen. I like to ease into my day. A cup of coffee and Jesus, a little morning yoga, a few minutes surfing the news and blogs, a little writing or planning. This is hard to do when a four-year-old wakes me up with an "I'm hungy RIGHT NOW!" or a baby wakes me up with a leaky diaper or a seven-year-old wakes me up with a bloody mouth due to a pulled tooth. (That really happened.)

So that's the new new plan. Wake up early, knock out the three things, first thing, and go on with my day.

Having said that, here are a few observations from the past three days:

1. Exercise is boring when I'm worried about what I'm "supposed" to be doing (legs, arms, cardio, resistance, etc.). When I pick what I "want" to do, it's a whole lot more fun. And at least I'm moving, which is better than not moving. It is.

2. Getting in the Word is easy and makes a difference in my day. I just finished reading The Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordeiro (highly recommended), and he broke it down in such a simple format. I am loving my quiet time, and felt the lack when I wasn't able to do it yesterday.

3. Blogging is boring when I do it every day. My posts are boring. My writing is boring. My heart is not in it. I'm going to finish out the 30 days (only 27 days left!), but I may gain something unexpected in the process: the realization that daily writing is not for me. We shall see.

That's it. That's the end. I told you it's boring. But sneak peak to Day 4: it's all about some fun!