Now that a heavy time commitment — a volunteer leadership role I had — has ended (besides the wrapping up that’s always involved), I’m finally able to return to some things that I’ve, well, neglected.
Exercise (I’ve resumed daily morning walks).
Down time (what’s that?)
And — Our House.
You know. The place where we live, that I haven’t cleaned in a while. The mail, the laundry, the purging, the boxes that need to be sent, the filing, my writing project drafts everywhere, the kids’ stuff, the Goodwill pile.
All THAT stuff.
So I’ve been taking it a bit at a time. I’ve told myself that each day (or most days) I will do a One a Day. Like the vitamins we know so well.
Here’s what One a Day can look like.
One a Day (cleaning):
- One cabinet a day
- One drawer a day
- One pile a day
Or with writing:
- One paragraph a day
- One chapter a day
- One research topic a day
The point? Manageable daily goals.
We grew up with our Dad often paraphrasing an Albert Einstein quote about how we can master anything if we do it fifteen minutes a day. We often took that in the context of learning something — a musical instrument, a new skill or hobby.
But it can also apply to accomplishing any project or discipline, like cleaning or spiritual reflection time, or writing, or exercising, or organizing. We’ll master anything to which we devote consistent time.
Anything that we give fifteen minutes a day to will flourish, whether reading with our kids, praying for a specific area of our life, or cleaning that pile that stares us in the face as we pass it each day.
My first week ‘back’ to normal, post-commitment, I was proud of what I was able to do, Monday-Friday:
- I cleaned out four cabinets
- Took four walks
- Cleared two Rubbermaid bins
- Took one trip to Goodwill with three giveaway bags
- Did four loads of laundry
- Started prepping our daughter’s room for painting
Then all the unhelpful talk crept in my head:
But you still have so much to do! This didn’t even make a dent! Everything is still everywhere — awful!
Then I tried to tell myself that I can’t make up for two years in one week. It was still progress. That’s all that matters. Progress. Forward motion. One bit at a time.
One a Day.
What One a Days are you going to attempt this week?
Onward!
Lisa Kirazian 