As I’ve written before, I’m a huge fan of Flylady. Marla Cilley at Flylady.net emails daily reminders to keep housekeeping chores and life management on track.
I’m not totally “flywashed,” which is the label taken by those who follow her system fully, but I’ve adopted certain outlooks that help me through life.
Do it now! Even chores that are done imperfectly bless our household. In practice, I take this to mean that it is better to quickly wipe up a spill in the refrigerator than to wait until we have time to pull out every shelf and “do it right.”
And “you can do anything for 15 minutes.” So start something you have been putting off with a mere 15 minutes of work.
One of my favorites graces the bottom of every email she sends out: You are not behind! Don’t try to catch up; just jump in where you are.
In part, this advice is sensible because the Flylady system is cyclical. Every chore comes back around to be completed again. Some chores are daily, like starting a load of laundry (if needed) or reviewing your calendar for the day. Others are weekly, such as vacuuming the central part of the living room or assembling a list for the grocery. And some tasks, such as tossing mismatched leftover containers or cleaning out a drawer, are even less frequent.
However, even for (career) work, this advice is a sigh of relief. Instead of carrying the past with us, accumulating an ever greater list of work we need to accomplish, release yesterday’s unfinished chores. Don’t try to add them to today.
Today, it’s enough to jump in where we are and put forth one day’s effort.
Originally posted 4-25-10
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