The 100 Day Challenge: Day 1- The 11 O'Clock Rule

   One day down, 99 to go.

   Yesterday went well. I did a few chores I’d been putting off and then took a long walk and worked in my sketchbook for about an hour. It wasn’t anything too life-changing, but at the same time, it’s much better than what I’ve been doing.

Sketchbook piece finished yesterday. Rub-on letters are the BEST. Drawn from a photo in a Greek life newspaper.

   One thing I’ve decided to do is something I’ve had in my head for a while but haven’t been good about implementing: The 11 O’clock Rule. I’m naturally a bit messy, but I find that I can’t concentrate on doing anything until my space is clear and organized. If I put off my cleaning and chores, it’s a great excuse to lie around and not do anything productive. So, the 11 O’clock Rule is as follows: all basic chores must be done by 11 am. This is includes general straightening-up, morning dishes, making the bed. I found this to be a very helpful strategy yesterday. I had a pile of dishes from the night before and had also done laundry the other day, which I’d dumped into a pile on the bed once it was clean and then pushed off onto the floor before going to sleep. (There are very few things I hate more than folding laundry, and I will put it off forever.) Trying to get everything done by a certain time got me moving more quickly than usual and got everything out of the way. My mom always says that a task will expand to fit the time you have, and this is important for me to remember, because it’s true. It’s bad enough to waste my whole day before work, and even worse on a day off. I’m not working today and I’m glad that I have everything done and can now focus on things that are actually important. It’s also kind of a good cop-out. Maybe you want to wash all the floors, scrub the bathroom, and clean out the refrigerator, but if it’s not going to happen by 11, something can be pushed off ‘til tomorrow.  Obviously, there are little things that need to be done the rest of the day, and my goal is to keep up with those things so I have less to do the next day and can focus on a bigger weekly chore. Even though I have years of procrastination under my belt, I have to admit that pretty much everything is easier when you don’t put it off. I’m doing my best not to leave any dishes in the sink overnight, leave my dirty clothes on the floor when I take them off at night, or leave stuff out of place when I could easily put it back where it goes.

   Today’s focus will be on making more art since I have the day off and also making note of some info for the start of this challenge: starting weight, starting credit card debt and money in savings. 

   Anyway, it’s noon, time for real life.