Some days I accomplish so much and feel amazing, and others I spend wondering what I did besides catch up on episodes of the Mindy Project. The biggest difference in those days is usually my ability to have a plan, control my schedule, and keep a balanced life. Getting up early is only part of it because that requires going to sleep on time and also making time to workout during the day and spend time with my family. It’s taken me a long time to get to the point where I really want to control my schedule because I guess if I were completely honest, I didn’t really see the value of my time until Daphne was born.

When you are single or married without kids it’s easy to immerse yourself in work, set your own schedule, waste as much time online as you want. I think I also enjoyed not having a plan, because it gave me the feeling of being more free to be spontaneous. I’m convinced that’s not true, at least it is not true for my current situation. In order to feel free I need to know when I have time to work, when I have time to relax, and that’s so important! I need to set goals and work towards big ones while accomplishing little ones to get me there. For me it doesn’t come as naturally to set goals and plan my life out 5 years in advance. However, this month that’s something I want to do. I think it’s going to be flexible, because life is flexible, but I want to accomplish more and I know that’s the way to do it.

Psalm 37:4-7 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do this : He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Last month I did a pretty good job staying on track : I tried different morning routines, I generally went to bed earlier, I mailed three things to friends, made yogurt twice among other things. Christina volunteered to be accountability partners and we decided that the key to everything was going to bed and getting up early. It sets the tone for the whole day. So this month I take it once step further and need to be consistent. So here’s my list:

• set 5 year / long term goals
• develop a morning routine and stick with it
• workout 5x a week
• have family photos taken + choose what we will wear
• shoot at least 3 rolls of film
• sell 4 framed prints from my pop-up gallery
• take a sabbath 1x a week
• schedule dog boarding for this summer
• read Manage your Day to Day
• finish NILMDTS application
• drink 6 glasses of water a day minimum