Flylady Column, March 3

Stress Free Start to Your Day

by The FlyLady, Marla Cilley

Do you ever look at the clock and find yourself in a panic because you are not dressed yet? It doesn't matter if you are headed off to work in the morning, work from home or you are retired; that same panic tells you that once again that time has gotten away from you!

There is no worse feeling than to walk into the bathroom and be startled by what you see staring back at you. Well, there is something that is worse; running to hide when your UPS man comes to the door with a package.

Why do we wait to the last minute to get dressed? I have heard every excuse in the world for not getting dressed, but the truth is we don't take the time. One minute we are having our coffee watching our favorite morning program and the next minute we need to be walking out the door. It slips up on us!

Even though getting dressed is something we do every day, most of us don't know how long it takes us to actually put our clothes on. This is because we get sidetracked with ironing, getting kids ready, watching TV and everything else that gets thrown our way.

The ease of getting dressed in the morning starts before you ever go to bed. By picking out your clothes and getting them ready you don't have to think. It is all laid out for you. That will help you put an end to your procrastination. Unless you keep hitting the snooze button! This tells me that you are not going to bed and getting enough sleep! If getting up and getting moving is hard, then it is time to set your bedtime just a little earlier.

Our habit this month is to practice getting up and getting dressed, to lace up shoes first thing in the morning! As soon as your feet hit the floor, start getting ready. There are no more excuses! You can do this and you are going to be less stressed in the morning. Stress-free mornings make for a peaceful day! What have you got to lose? Just your nasty attitude and hateful words.

Get up, get dressed and feel on top of the world. Then when you walk into your bathroom you will not scare yourself! You can get more done before you leave. You won't be hiding from a knock on your door. This one act of getting dressed to shoes has you ready for anything that comes your way.

Here are the tools to help you establish this empowering habit:

1. Pick out your clothes before you go to bed.

2. Go to bed and get plenty of sleep.

3. Get up 15 minutes before the rest of the family.

4. Start getting dressed as soon as your feet hit the floor.

5. Then lace up your shoes.

Your day is off to a peaceful start. That stress-free morning sets the tone for the rest of your day.

For more help getting rid of your CHAOS, check out the Flylady's Web site and join her free mentoring group at http://www.flylady.net/ or buy her book, Sink Reflections published by Bantam and her New York Times Best Selling book, Body Clutter published by Fireside. Copyright 2010 Marla Cilley Used by permission.