The last few days have been a bit of a roller coaster in the Marshall house. Wednesday I was busy with kiddos, school, getting things prepared for the new semester and general house stuff. Yesterday I came down with what can only be described as the plague. I’m talking chills, body aches, sore throat, cough, and a headache so bad I couldn’t even sleep it off. Thank goodness I managed to find some pain reliever here in the house so I was finally able to get some sleep. The headache is gone but I am still not feeling 100%. That means I am taking a day off from “Making over my Mornings” but I am going to update you on what happened on days 3 and 4. So, here we go.
Day 3’s focus was on “Putting the big rocks in the jar first”
If you haven’t heard of this analogy you can watch about it right here.
The whole point was to make sure that you are scheduling out your time to ensure the most important things happen each day. For some that is daily Bible Study and exercising, for others it might be a specific house hold chore. Either way, you put the “must do” things in first. Then the “important but not dire” situations can go in; those are represented as the little pebbles. After that the sand can go in; the other little things that don’t necessarily have to get done but if there is a bit of extra time then use it productively.
So the big rocks for me, my non-negotiables are by daily Bible study/quiet time, 30 minutes of some type of physical activity, getting school for the kids accomplished, and family dinners at the table at least 4 days a week.
After that, my daily chores and laundry and my homework have to get done. The rest of the day can be filled with extra things that don’t necessarily need to be done but can be.
Day 4’s focus was on Motivation
Day 4 focused on finding motivation to get up in the morning. While getting a good start to the day should, in theory, be a good motivation for getting up early that in itself is not always the best form of motivation.
Finding both internal and external motivation, something to look forward to when the alarm goes off in the morning.
For me the external motivators are my one daily cup of hot tea, getting my Bible study done in quiet, and having the opportunity to see Dusty off to work.
The internal motivator is the feeling that I am getting my day started off on the right foot. I like the feeling I have when I am able to get my bearings before anyone else is up in the mornings. I feel more in control and less like the world is caving in around me.
The last 2 days, while feeling under the weather I can absolutely 100% tell you the difference just a few days has made. Getting up and having the kitchen and livingroom straightened up and organized compared to the mess I woke up to this morning is a night and day difference. I know I am sick and that give me some sort of leniency but I can tell you once I’m feeling better I will never go to bed without having the kitchen cleaned up again!
A Wise Woman in Progress 