Back in the Box

Back in the 80's and 90's before Flylady, there were the Sidetracked Home Executives, these two wonderful, friendly, down-to-earth sisters who wrote a great book about getting organized one step at a time. They were Flylady's inspiration, actually, and they really inspired me. Instead of email alerts, I used a little box full of index cards, color coded with my jobs for the day, week, month, year, etc. More important that that for me though, was the book. It was like having my own personal cheerleader. I read it till my copy was tattered and falling apart. I used the system faithfully and it was a huge part of helping me establish my habits as a homemaker. Sometimes though, I would get off track and stop using the system for whatever reason-sickness, new baby, stress, whatever. The book had a chapter for that called "Back in the Box." It might sound limiting when considered with how the term "box" is used in the current vernacular, but for someone like me, it is not always productive to "think outside the box" or resist being "boxed in." I'm like an electric current and without a "box" I'm more like a lightening bolt-interesting but uncontrolled. Anyway, this chapter in the book, it was actually all about looking forward instead of backward and jumping back into the system wherever you are. That was huge for me because I often feel like if I get behind, I can't move ahead until I go back and catch up everything that I missed. It really grinds my progress to a halt sometimes. For example, with my goal to empty out 3 boxes a day from the storage unit, my mind would think, "Holy Cow, I've missed 11 days of sorting. Today I have to get through 33 boxes!" Seriously. And then I don't do anything because the thought of 33 is impossible, but doing only 3, my goal in the first place, seems too small because I've lost so much ground. So I'm Totally Stuck. So, today, after vacation and being sick and having two car situations with kids (*am had a fender bender a week before the garage door thing) and lots of other stuff, today I'm getting back in the box. I'm starting where I am instead of trying to catch up. My list is what it would be on a normal day, and if that's all I get done in the house today, then it is enough. I'll catch up eventually.