21 Days to a More Disciplined Life - A Review

I have been a Money Saving Mom reader pretty much since I started blogging 6 years ago. It was around that time she started the blog. I learned how to shop at CVS from her. I think I still have some of the things I got for free from 6 years ago. 2 children later, I don't have time for that anymore, but she remains as one of the people who inspire me. I love reading her different series on the blog, so when I got a chance to review her e-book, 31 Days to a More Disciplined Life, I was glad to do it.

I am technically a "SAHM" and if possible I like to Stay At Home AT ALL TIMES. I never used to be like this, but now the thought of going anywhere out with a 3 yr old and a 6 month old spitter-upper gives me as much enjoyment as going to the dentist. (Unless, I am going alone to the dentist. Then I totally like it) In addition, to two kids, I help run a business with my husband, have an occasional teaching job, one rental house that I manage, and a BSF study that I attend. With all this, I feel very much overwhelmed and disorganized most of the time. I am perpetually late to anything I attempt to go to, things get pushed to the very possible last minute, so that I have one crazy week, and then to recover from that week, I take 2 weeks off and then lather, rinse, repeat. I need to be motivated and inspired.

The book came to me during one of the craziest weeks of my life. If there was ever a time I needed to read about discipline, it was then. I started the book, and I started having computer issues. It took me 3 days to fix it, and today I read it in one shot. It is short, but packs a good punch. It has a lot of practical tips to help you get more disciplined. I am actually excited to read it together with my husband, one chapter a day and see if we can develop good habits.

Some of the things that stood out in the book for me which I am planning on practicing right away are Focusing on one task at a time, creating realistic goals and not giving up in frustration when my plans go a little awry. Unfortunately, my personality is an all or nothing kind, so I tend to give up completely once the smallest hitch happens. That is the story of most of my days with little ones.

I recommend this book if you are looking to be more disciplined in your life. It is graciously written, without judgement, and would be a good 21 days experiment to do. I like it that it is not preachy, but makes you actually want to do it. If you would like to buy the book, you can do so at 31 Days to a More Disciplined Life.

I received a pre-release copy to review the book, but was not required to do a positive review.

Day 14- the 5 month post edition

I was trying to get this post up for a few hours. The iPad was not cooperating, the Mac is dead and frankly, I am not feeling the love for Apple. Now I have borrowed hubby's trusty old PC and typing away.

Today Niya turned 5 months old. The days are flying by so fast, I just can't believe it. In just one month, she will be half way to an year old. Right now, she is lying down quietly, so close to me. Earlier, she was so antsy and hyper and making so much noise. Now, she completely calmed down and is flashing me the sweetest smiles. Dear Lord, I could just eat her with a spoon.

She rolled over from back to front Oct 2. She has been doing the tummy to back since 2 months. So she is getting mobile now. I am so not ready for that. At her 4 month appointment, she was 14 lbs. I think she is smaller than Neil was at this age. 

She is super interactive though and I love that. She smiles and laughs a lot and is very pleasant most of the time. She doesn't care for the car seat and makes a mighty noise when we go anywhere. She loves to sleep on her tummy and that scares me a little. She gets a little less attention now that the grandparents are not here. I hate that, but it is what it is.

If she could talk, I am sure she would tell me she loves Neil the best. She sleeps through the nights mostly, but does get up every once in a while. She still sleeps on our bed, and I don't think I am yet ready for her to be sleeping in her own room. Bath time is the absolute favorite time of her day and as soon as we walk to the door, she starts laughing loudly.

Precious girl, you are the apple of my eye and I am so glad God sent us you. You are the sweetest thing and just looking at you every morning and seeing your bed head and beautiful smile is enough to make my heart explode with love.

Today I didn't do any procrastinated tasks. I started making a list of many times postponed tasks to make it easier to get them done. I didn't get through the list. I hope to finish that tomorrow.

Day 13

Today was Bible conference at the church and I went with both kids. Neil was in his class and I took Niya with me. Out of the three sessions, I must have heard 10 minutes of 1 message. She was out to kill me. She didn't sleep at all since morning and that made her super cranky. She finally slept in the evening and I am sure she is going to be up in the night as she hasn't eaten enough.

I was tired by evening and managed to sneak in a 20 minute nap. I wanted to sleep a little earlier tonight, tomorrow being Sunday and all, so I will keep this short and sweet.

The task I got to today was putting some plastic bags together in an empty Kleenex box and putting in the car. I managed to do that AND took it when I went shopping. I have always wanted to reuse the bags since we have way too many plastic bags. Hopefully, once we run out of them, I want to shift completely to cloth bags. I had wanted to do this for the longest time and I am so glad I remembered!

Days 5-12

I fell of the 31 days wagon, but the good thing about falling off is that I can get on again. I was in a bit of a slump. My parents who were with us for nearly 5 months left last Monday. I was just finding my way back again being a family of 4. I thought I would miss the help (and I do), but more than that I really miss having them home. I am getting back into our new normal with 2 small ones in the house again and no delicious lunch waiting when I come back from BSF :)

I updated last Thursday. Friday we went to get my parents back from the cruise and after that we went to Kennedy Space Center. It was really nice, but honest-to-goodness, such a hassle going anywhere with two kids! We didn't get to see some of the stuff. I especially missed the memorial and I wanted to see Kalpana Chawla. Niya's middle name is Kalpana which is a namesake of her.

Saturday, we went to an IFly place which was a birthday gift from Rajiv. After having done real sky diving, it wasn't too much of an adventure, but I did feel like throwing up afterward. I didn't though. Sunday was church, and family photos. Monday was the big feast I prepared as a thank you for my parents especially my mom who provided pretty much a feast for us every day of the last 5 months. I have never cooked so many dishes for one meal before in my life. We ate on a traditional banana leaf and I actually had fun doing it. Mom did help a lot, so it didn't end up being something we completely did for them, but I know they loved it. Here is a picture. There were 14 side dishes to the rice.

After that we went shopping before they left for their flight. We have one more month before my in-laws get here.

The week went slowly for me, unlike how I felt it usually flies. Thursday was a very interesting day, and I will write about that tomorrow. Although I am not sure in what order I did these, I did do some procrastinated tasks over the last week.

Cleaned out car and van: That should count as 2 tasks. Come to think of it, it should count as 4 tasks. I am just so glad now that when people sit in these vehicles that their feet touch the floor. I had a big bag full of trash after my cleaning. Actually, I need to vacuum both as there are stray almonds, cheerios, crumbled gold fish, sticky juice and all sorts of loveliness in there. Neil was my "helper." He gets really really upset if he doesn't help with EVERYTHING. I used to be annoyed with that because I don't deal well with 'help' from 3 year olds, but he looks so cute, I allow it. Plus, he is not going to want to tag along with mama soon. As an aside, it is so funny, he looks like R, but he is totally my personality and super attached to me. He has my love of reading, my memory, and love of numbers and best of all, the total inability to concentrate on what is going on in the tv. Niya looks like me and we don't know her personality yet, but she loves the tv and that is totally R. But right now, she is just a round ball who smiles and laughs all the time.

Found receipts and put together all things for return: We had a party recently and I over bought everything, and now we have a bunch of returns to do. I thankfully found a receipt for everything, and put it all in the van to do when we are out and about next.

Swept family room: Yeah, I totally should do it everyday, but I don't, and I did it after almost a week. So it counts.

Threw away stale flowers: If you ever visit, please don't bring me live flowers. I can't keep them alive, and I feel real guilty when they die an early death. I have enough of mom guilt, and I would appreciate if you didn't add to that.

Cleaned out paper clutter

And that was what I accomplished in the week I was gone. I hope to continue getting things done and hopefully blogging about it.

Day 4

I feel pretty terrible today as I managed to waste quite a bit if time during the day. It started out great, but somehow I lost steam and ended up wasting time. Ugh. Still, I am committed to doing this thing, so I did one small thing. After the party on Saturday, the furniture was all over the house. Today, I put it all back where it was supposed to be. And that is all I did.

It is not usually I have some "free" time when both kids are sleeping. Yesterday, for a wonder Niya slept through the night and I wasn't even feeling tired by the afternoon. I could have done stuff. I could kick myself. And I am afraid, today the 31 day challenge was only name sake.

Tomorrow we are going out for the day and meeting my parents after their cruise, so it is going to be a busy day. I should be asleep as my day is going to start very early.

Day 3

Wednesdays are our most busy days. We have BSF in the morning, then a quick nap, and speech therapy in the evening for Neil. Yesterday night, I stayed up way too late just wasting time on the net. I hate when I do that. I then have to wake up with Niya at least once. Especially today, when I knew I had to be out the door at 8:30 am with both kids, that was a pretty stupid thing to do. Well, I woke up totally behind, tired, and almost wondering if I should go. I did go, but was dreadfully late, and half the discussion was over. Niya was good for both trips back and that was a huge relief.

Came back, fed Neil some rice, fed Niya, had lunch and for a miracle, both kids went for naps at the same time. R and I were supposed to use that time to sync up on some work and get it done. Well, by the time we both were ready, Niya started waking up. I had started getting a headache by now, and I figured I would sleep with her a little bit to calm her down. Next thing I know, all three of us were sleeping. I woke up at 4, started running around to wake both kids up and dressed and go for therapy. Somehow managed to be out the door by 4:40 and go there on time. Niya was good on the way there and while we were there. Coming back was a different story. It was peak traffic time, and a 20 minute drive took me 1 HOUR. Niya was screaming her head off. Since grandma was with us till now, she is always used to someone picking her up at the slightest pout. Well, the good times are over, baby. I can't do a thing when I am driving by myself. I did stop once and soothed her. She stopped crying as soon as I picked her up and I knew that the crying was just to be picked up and not for hunger, clean diapers, burps etc. I sat with her for some time and then started driving again. The wailing started again and this time Neil also started. He hates to hear her cry. Fun times.

Somehow, we reached home and 30 seconds before we got home, she stopped crying and went to sleep. R and I made some dinner together and watched both kids and he also caught a show at the same time. It was a simple dinner.

While I was typing up this post, Neil came and sat with me. Once it is night, it is only mama. He will not leave my side. Well, he used to when Appacha and Ammachy were here, but now it is back to my side. He wasn't very mischievous, so I could actually write.

Day 3 of the challenge

Task: Put a dresser we do not use on craigslist
Delayed by: 11 days
Took me: 5 minutes

Day 2

It is with a heavy heart I am writing today's post. A friend of ours who used to worship with us passed away this afternoon. She had a long battle with cancer and for her sake, I am glad she is no longer in pain. She is with her Savior whole and happy. I have only seen her once since she moved. She was a bubbly personality and loved to talk enthusiastically about everything. We moved to the other side of town 9 months ago, and actually she just lived 20 minutes from us. On Sunday, when a mutual friend was telling me she was nearing the end and had only like a month left, I thought of going with the whole family and seeing her. She loves kids and I figured she would be happy to see us (she was ok with visitors). I didn't end up going as the kids were cranky and screaming. It seems like a feeble excuse now. I regret not doing that. I regret being all wrapped up in my little stuff that I couldn't take out time for visiting. I am trying not to dwell on that, but instead pray for peace for the bereft family.

My friend was saying she had gone downhill a lot and was in really bad shape when she saw her yesterday. In a way, I can always remember her the way I do now. Healthy, bubbly, full of life. Her excited scream when I announced I was pregnant with Neil, at the baby shower for Neil, patting my tummy and being all excited telling me how fast nails grow during pregnancy, at my house for Ladies Tea.

STUPID CANCER.

She is healed and happy and resting with the Lord she loved.

I hardly feel like writing about procrastination, but I have committed to it, so here is what I did today.

I cleaned out the car. It was full of junk and the floor was not to be seen. But now there is a floor and we can put our feet there.

Task: Clean out car
Delayed by: 2 months
Took me: 12 minutes.

It is good to remind ourselves to do the important things in life as sometimes it gets just darn too late.

31 days of fighting procrastination

I have trouble with procrastination. I feel silly when I actually do the things I have procrastinated for YEARS. It usually takes me anywhere from 5 minutes to 1 day. The chinese couple who had been gracing the engraved anniversary photo frame that my husband gave me for our fifth anniversary? I finally did that yesterday. (We have been married 7 years now!) Took me 20 minutes to find a good picture, put it in the usb, and get it printed at Walmart while I was shopping there.

Then there was the garage to clean. That took me a day. But what a relief and joy to be finally able to park the cars there as the good Lord intended it. I did all this because we had a housewarming party on Saturday and I was inspired to do these things. But I want to intentionally spend the next 31 days focusing on things I have been putting off for years or months and just GET IT DONE.

I do suffer a lot and struggle with self inflicted stress because I keep putting off things I find disagreeable. I help my husband with our business. At the end of the month, there is a day of reckoning. Now, this day can be a lot smoother if I do a bit every week. I just keep postponing it until the end of the month when I get into this mode of snapping at everyone, oh-for-the-love-of-God-why-is-it-taking-so-long wailing. I am a perfectly lovely person to be with at that time as you can imagine.

I will try and write a post everyday with things I have accomplished, if not I will at least update with one line.

I am linking with Nester on this.