The Routine of Life Sets In (I hope!)

Why is getting out of bed so hard? Mary Kay makes it sound so great when she talks about the 5 o'clock club! And yet, it is hard. She says, "Get out of bed anyway!" My hasband says, "Just do it!" Honestly? At this point I would be happy just to join the 6 or 7 o'clock club. Annabel doesn't wake up until 8 or 8:30 and I am often tempted to stay in bed until the last possible moment. And I really hope someone reading this can relate....that I'm not the only person who has struggled with this. Even stranger to me is that I think my ability to wake early has actually declined. While staying home with Annabel has been an irreplaceable experience and I love every minute....it has made me soft in some ways. I no longer have to wake up for anything. So it comes back to self-discipline. And I just know that I do so much better at following through when I have someone to be accountable too. It's easy to change my mind when I am the only one who knows my resolution but, I hate to let others down. So the plan is to wake up two hours earlier at 6 am. This means I need to be in bed by 10. Upon waking I will accomplish the three basic things I need to do every day but, are hard to do when Annabel is up. FIrst I will clean around the house for a half hour. Then I will excercise for a half hour or so. Last, I will shower and dress for the day. This leaves me the rest of the day to work on other tasks and goals in between taking care of Annabel. What I've noticed is that if I put these things off I just spend the rest of the day trying to accomplish these three basic things often leaveing little to no time for other things like MK!!! So starting this week I am going to work on my sleep/wake routine.

The Secret

There's good news and there's not so good news. The good news is that at our weekly training the Sales Director taught us that there are two main things we need to become a sales director! So, I was thinking, Finally, the secret.... and she says it is commitment and time management. So simple; I love it! So that's the good news. Simple is good, right? We can do that. And commitment....I'm there. The not so good news is that time management is probably one of my greatest "opportunities for improvement." Now, she did share a few suggestions for time management. But, this is not enough for the barely reformed from constantly being late, often procrastinating, lose track of time all the time, and ADHD diagnosed me. Since I am so committed to this goal however, I got to work on it right away. Funny thing I discovered is that Mary Kay has a ton of tools to help us with time management! I suppose I had a vague idea of this when I was goofing off the last five years and not taking my business very seriously. So now things are going much better. I use a Weekly Plan Sheet that allows me to plan my entire week out and share it with Mr Ogg so he knows what's happening as well. Even better they have these Daily Action Sheets that include a Six Most Important Things To Do list for personal and MK for that day. Plus it has an hourly break down of your day's schedule....call tracking...list of errands....It has EVERYTHING (except your grocery list) right there at a glance. What I'm discovering is that if I do this daily--writing it out the night before and looking at it with my coffee in the morning--I can actually feel sane. Imagine that! So if you are not real time or task oriented...or even if you are and you just want to get more done....I highly recommend this. So along with my commitment, some of these newfound tools and some extra self-discipline I do hope for the seemingly impossible: that an effecient, more productive and punctual me might yet emerge!

Forecast: A gloomy outlook and a flurry of excuses.....but, the weatherman is often wrong.

So happy to be back at home with my sweeties but, still dusting off stardust from my week in Dallas. The wonder hasn't worn off quite yet and of course I'm telling everyone about it. Bit by bit however, the not so glitzy reality does start to sink in. First I realize that I am going to have to do a lot of work to become a sales director! Next, I find out I won't have the use of our family car for the month of August as I had expected! And finally, it REALLY sets in...my husband still can't help me or support in the way I want...he's in Medical School and we have a baby! AAAAAAAAHH!!
Ok, so I needed to refocus. I started to think of what I wanted to accomplish and WHY. Part of the reason I am doing this is to prove to myself (and the future Dr Ogg) that I can do the WORK. So I need to commit even though it's hard...I guess that throws out my excuse of it being too much work. Next, I remembered the story I had read of a sales director who earned her first Mary Kay car by riding a bicycle to her parties. And she was working full time at another job. Ok, so that negates the no car excuse...I'll hold parties anyway. If she can do it, I can. Right? And as for support well, I suppose any of the single moms who've been a success in MK probably would argue they've had it worse. Hmmm I guess I will need to find a way. Plus, it will be worth it when I am wearing that sharp suit, driving a free car and knowing it came from determination and a desire to see other women succeed. Gotta love that visual! I better start making some calls.....