First Things First

I've told you before that I'm a list-maker. At work I live and die by my lists. I have a certain notebook that has my daily lists in it - it has to be this exact notebook. When its filled up, I file it away in my desk drawer. I keep all my work notebooks. If I lost it, I'd be so screwed. If they ever stop manufacturing this type of notebook, I'll cry.

At work, I always tackle the most important tasks first. That way I know that these things are most likely to get done. Sure, that means sometimes certain less important items never get done - they continuously get bumped for critical items. But that's OK. I'm not Wonderwoman. But I rarely let critical items fall through the cracks with this prioritized approach.

Today, as I was thinking about what I need to do tonight, I realized that I really should use the same approach at home. I'm not sure why I don't. I need to start my day with the most critical items. I currently just try to cram them in to the few hours after work before bed and oftentimes, they don't get done. I take a huge risk by leaving them for the end of the day. Sometimes I get stuck late at work or there is an unexpected obligation after work or hell, I just might be too tired! But, if I tackle the things that are most important to me first thing in the morning, no matter what the rest of the day brings, I can feel successful.

For me, that would be stretching, working out and praying/reading my Bible.  Of course, that means getting up earlier, which is a struggle for me, but I need to start being sure to go to bed earlier. So - hold me accountable - tomorrow I'm going to get up a full hour earlier. For real. Since my foot is still a mess, I'm going to do 30 minutes of intense stretching (Thanks Lydia - for showing me what I need to do - and for those of you doubting that stretching can be intense - you've obviously never been stretched by Lydia!!) and I'm going to do 30 minutes of reading/prayer/meditation. Seriously. No excuses.

What things in your day are most important to you?