Wow actualy reading the flylady digest e-mails I have been getting..

I think I have known about flylady for well over two years now and know all the lingo and such.  I wore my laced shoes and shined my sink and was starting to do all the little routines slowly.. you know, baby steps.  Then I was burned by the prayer group she had started, basicly that was why I started Prayer In Jesus Name, but that is a differnt story. But since then I had stopped reading her e-mails that I signed up to get in digest form. Delet, Delet because.. duh I was to lazy to unsubscribe.  So after the time I have been having lately I thought tonight I would click that e-mail and see what I have been missing and found the following words of encouragment.  Enjoy...

   Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 03:33:41 -0000
   From: "FLYLADY" <FlyLady@FlyLady.net>
Subject: Are you Part of a Circus Act?



Dear Friends,

I know that you have spent several years, feeling over worked and
frazzled. Most of the time after a tiring day of running around with
your head cut off, you can see absolute nothing you have accomplished.
I know just how tired you feel. Your day has been spent running around
putting out one fire and then the next. Oh and we are so good at
dealing with crisis situations. In fact we pride ourselves for being
so good under pressure.

We have all seen the juggler that can keep several plates spinning on
a several poles at one time. Do you feel like this person most of the
time? Running every which way, being forced to jump to keep the plate
from hitting the ground. What happens if you stop? You think you would
have a lot of broken plates. I have a little secret.  We don't let the
plates fall off the poles, we grab them in full spin and set them on
the counter.

I know your frustration. Running around putting out fires is not very
productive work. Guess why? You are letting the problems set your
schedule for the day. Kelly and I are giving you to tools for you to
address these spinning plates once and for all time. The stress level
that you have put yourself under is not good for your health or your
family.

Each time you are in the midst of spinning those plates, think about
why you are forced to juggle them.

1. You didn't pay a bill on time. So you are running around trying to
get it paid before the electric company turns off your power, or the
phone company shuts down your service. You have the money in the bank,
but you just forgot to pay the bill? Not having the money is another
problem, and believe it or not this system will help you with that
too.

2.  It is 6:00pm and you have no clue what's for supper. Your children
are hungry, so you pile everyone in the car and go for fast food. The
guilt levels are rising and money is being spent on food that is not
that good for your body. No wonder you can't lose weight or there is
no money to pay the bills.

3. Getting yourself dressed and the family dressed is a pain, because
you don't have clean clothes. They are sitting in the dryer and were
not quite dry when the dryer stopped and they have soured. Or they are
wadded up in the laundry basket and not fittin' to wear  because of
all the wrinkles. Or even worse they are in piles all over the house
and have never been washed to start with.  You know that sick feeling
when your child needs their baseball uniform and it has been at the
bottom of the laundry pile, because it just slipped your mind. There
were just too many loads to do, so you became overwhelmed and stayed
on the computer too long, so you didn't have to think about it. Guess
what. Out of sight, Out of Mind, does not work for this problem.

4. You need to leave the house for an appointment and you can't find
your car keys. Don't you just hate that helpless feeling and the more
you search, the later you become and the more stressed you feel. That
doesn't even begin to address the fact that you were running late to
begin with, because you were having a hard time finding something to
wear. Do you see the vicious cycle of spinning plates. One is just
about to hit the floor.

Do you want out of this frantic juggling circus act?

Here are the steps?

Listen to us and start by establishing small routines for your morning
and evening. Oh and put on your lace up shoes!

As part of  your routines, we ask you to think about your day, think
about tomorrow and think about next week. This simple act, called
planning is going to help you quit spinning your plates. No longer
will you be stomping out fires or trying to keep the plates from
hitting the floor, you will be in control of your schedule. As you
stop the plates from spinning you will find more time for the
important things in life.  The daily maintenance of your home and
yourself becomes automatic.

This will not happen over night. This is why we teach you to establish
one habit at a time. As each new habit becomes part of your routine,
you are taking that plate off the pole and putting it in the cupboard.
Eventually you will be in total control and only have one plate to
spin on rare occasions. You will find that this peace is contagious.
The more you implement your routines, the easier it is to add new,
habits.

This is behavior modification. You are going to have to wean yourself
off of the adrenaline rush that you have been getting from the CHAOS.
So the next time you feel yourself spinning plates, take 5 minutes and
look at what caused this circus act. I'll bet it can be traced to
something you refused to do or didn`t even think about until it was
too late. This is why I send out all of these reminders.

Are you ready to FLY without spinning Plates,

FlyLady