you how she lives her life now. You will be amazed by the change. The tools and strategies work if you incorporate them into your daily life. Daily action creates results. So let’s begin.
Before we dig into the 7 Strategies, it is important to briefly discuss the process we go through when making changes in our lives. The topic of change is discussed in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3 we will discuss making excuses. Admit it, ladies, we all make them. Excuses are the source of obstacles and barriers that prevent us from creating successful change. After learning about the change process and excuses, we will dive into the strategies. Enjoy your journey!
Living Life Beyond the Laundry = Balancing Life
“The essential question is not how busy are you?
But what are your busy at?” ~Oprah Winfrey
Chapter 2
Understanding Change
“To change one’s life: Start immediately, Do it flamboyantly, no exceptions.” ~William Jones, Philosopher
Before we begin learning and applying the 7 Strategies to shift life from chaos to calm, it is important to understand the different stages of change. The change created by applying the strategies and tools in Live Life Beyond the Laundry is more than a New Year’s resolution. If done correctly, it’s a sustainable lifestyle change!
Many of the coaching clients I work with want change to happen overnight. I’m sorry to tell you it doesn’t happen that fast. Successful, positive change takes time and work. You really have to want the end result of the change to make the change happen. Consistent daily action sustained over a period of time creates results. During the change process, you are basically reprogramming your brain.
Scientists believe that 90 percent of our day-to-day activities are spent in routine. This is a good thing. This means we just know how to brush our teeth, turn on the shower, make a bowl of cereal or even read a book. You have practiced these activities with such consistency and frequency that you have created pathways in your brain to repeat the sequences without even thinking about them.
This is also a bad thing. You have developed unhealthy, destruc-tive routines as well—for example, creating unrealistic expectations, telling yourself you are so busy, multi-tasking, and telling yourself you don’t have the time.
My coaching clients who have successfully implemented even some of the tools and strategies in this book reap benefits for a lifetime. The strategies work. I challenge you to make a few small changes. The strategies in this book are something you will gradually implement into your life. If you try to tackle all 7 Strategies, you will become overwhelmed and will not sustain the lifestyle changes. So pick three areas you need the most work on and start there.
According to James Prochaska and a team of scientists from the University of Rhode Island, there are five stages to the change process. These scientists developed a model for change called the Transtheoretical Model. To successfully achieve your dreams and goals, you will progress through each of the following stages.
1.Pre-contemplation (Not Ready)—People don’t even know they need or want to change.
2.Contemplation (Getting Ready)—People begin to recognize they need to change a behavior and start to look at the pros and cons. They say, “Someday I will do that.”
3.Preparation (Ready)—People intend to take action soon and may begin taking small steps toward making changes.
4.Action (Making progress)—People take specific actions and make modifications.
5.Maintenance (Keep going and celebrate success)—People are able to sustain the actions and modifications for a period of time.
By understanding the five stages of change, you will increase your probability of success to Live Life Beyond the Laundry. Since you have purchased this book, you are likely somewhere between the stages of contemplation and preparation.
You can work through the book from Strategy #1 to Strategy #7, or you can identify the areas creating the biggest challenges in your life and start there. Either will be effective, since all 7 Strategies are important to your ability to Live Life Beyond the Laundry. If you are reading this book with an e-reader, purchase a cute journal or use a notepad to complete the activities. The following activity will help you determine the starting point for your journey of change and success.
Where Are You Now in Your Continuum?
The purpose of this activity is to identify which of the 7 Strategies you excel at and which need some improvement. It is crucial to get an understanding of what is creating the chaos and frustration in your life. This activity will guide you through a self-analysis to determine where to begin to shift life from chaos to calm.
Step 1: Rate yourself from 1 (clueless) to 10 (kickin’ butt) for each of the 7 Strategies. When you rank yourself, be brutally honest because, if you are not, the only person you hurt is you. It is your starting point. (I have provided a short explanation of each strategy below to create understanding as you rank yourself.)
(Clueless) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (Kickin’ Butt)
___ Strategy #1: “Me” Time—Time spent each day doing something you enjoy. “Me” Time recharges your battery and allows you to operate throughout your day fully charged.
___ Strategy #2: Ask for help—As busy women, we think we can do it all, and all by ourselves. We power through the day, task after task, then collapse into bed at the end of the day. Learn to incorporate asking for help into your daily routine without feeling guilty about it.
___ Strategy #3: NO is not a four-letter word—If the words, “Yes, I can help with that” or “Sure, I can make that work” are part of your daily vocabulary, this strategy will transform your life. As busy women, we tend to over-commit and spread ourselves so thin we don’t have time for our families, let alone ourselves.
___ Strategy #4: Balancing act—In essence, this strategy discusses effective time management. It is a commonly known fact that there are only 24 hours in a day; once you use those hours, they are gone. Strategy #4 focuses on tools for planning, dividing and conquering the day for success.
___ Strategy #5: Stop procrastinating NOW—We all procrastinate to some degree or another. Procrastination wastes time, decreases productivity and causes chaos. How much time do you spend procrastinating?
___ Strategy #6: Busy Mind Syndrome—Are you always thinking about too many things? This is Busy Mind Syndrome, otherwise known as BMS, which makes it difficult to sleep and to focus on your daily schedules and responsibilities.
___ Strategy #7: Don’t reinvent the laundry basket—Everyone has tips, strategies and tools to make the day run smoother. Do you ask friends and family what works for them? Ask; you might be amazed at what you learn.
Step 2: Note the two highest scores. Now, use your notepad to make a list of everything you do well in these areas of your life. It is important to give yourself credit for what you already do well. Take a moment and reread this list. Celebrate and congratulate yourself on every single one of the things you already do to control the chaos in your life. If your list is short, that’s okay. If your list is empty, that’s okay.
