I've been thinking about discipline lately, the discipline of getting things done in a timely manner, not the discipline of my children. Mrs. Darling had a good post last week about it at the same time I was thinking of writing one. However, I have just now gotten around to the actual writing of the post. I guess that's a lack of discipline, or maybe I can blame it on the fact that I'm too disciplined in getting other things done. I think I'll let you choose.
When I've read books about becoming more organized, the authors always point out that you have to have a reason behind getting organized. You don't want to get more organized just to be more organized; you will probably fail because your motivation is not good enough to encourage you. Anyway, I've realized that discipline is similar: there needs to be a good, underlying reason behind increasing discipline. Do you want to arrive places five minutes before the activities start instead of being late? Do you want to have your husband's work clothes clean for him before he needs them? Do you want to make only one trip to the grocery store a week, saving time and money? These are just a few of my motivators. But I've come up with a new one lately: my Christmas stars.
The pattern for my Christmas stars is fairly simple, but it is complicated enough that I cannot work on it when my children are around. It takes about ten minutes to make each motif, and the red one I'm working on now has 151 motifs plus a border, so you can see there is a lot of work involved. And I have a deadline; it's no good getting these things done on December 26.
About a month ago, I started making some changes to free up more time for me to crochet. I started setting my alarm clock a little earlier, so I can get my shower and have my quiet time before the children get up instead of during nap time. I was unable to do this earlier, I confess, because I felt so poorly during my first trimester that I just couldn't get out of bed without the extra motivation of a child awake. I used to wait to fold clothes during nap time, but now I try to get them done when my children are otherwise occupied, or as soon as they come out of the dryer. I also limit my time on the computer. I was doing this already when my children were around, but now I keep an eye on the time during nap time, too, so I don't "waste" too much time surfing. Little changes like these give me so much more time in the afternoon and at night after Daniel and Sarah Beth are in bed that I am able to get a lot of crocheting done.
Because it is taking so long to get these stars done, I think I will have formed a couple of new, good habits. (Don't they say it takes 30 days or six weeks to form a new habit?) I'm excited about this because I am not nearly as disciplined (or organized) as I would like to be. I've decided, though, that it is a work in progress; it is not something to be accomplished all at once.
I'm curious: what motivates you to increase your level of organization and/or discipline?
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