Monday

Monday is my day to reset for the week and get my ducks in a row - make some plans for health and home, and prepare for Grandson fun.

 

Agenda:

1. Read "The Sweet Spot"
2. Fall Cleaning and Home projects

3. Skeleton School plans

1. Read "The Sweet Spot":

I'm reading this book by Christine Carter (2015), about "How to Find Your Groove". The thesis is that when we hit from our sweet spot we have optimum power and the greatest ease. Chapter 4 is Cracking the Habit Code, a "habit-crafting intensive." 

I'm working on a basic exercise plan  - some simple stretches and abs, a better than nothing daily routine that might build into something bigger. I've drafted a detailed script, with triggers and a built-in inherent reward. I'm starting really, really small - I just move my chair and do a rag doll stretch every day, and more if I can. The goal is to create a habit that doesn't depend on willpower, doing something so small that the habit begins to initiated and the groove is formed. It's been working for several weeks now! I've got a daily habit forming.

Tip #14 is take teatime. If glucose is dropping, the brain switches to conservation mode, and doesn't activate good self-control. The same thing happens when we are a little dehydrated. For this reason, eating something sweet and drinking something wet just before performance time can help.

Tip #15 is never say never. When I'm tempted to do something more fun, rather than saying "no", it works better to say "a little later".

Tip #16 is gather your cabinet (your advisors) for inspiration, support, and advice: Choose people who will hold me to my task, and who have the same ethics and habits. 

2. Fall Cleaning and Home projects:

Fall cleaning has an entirely different feel and focus than spring cleaning. In the fall we finish up, pack away, and "batten the hatches"-- we put away all the outdoor stuff, air out the sweaters, and prepare for winter. 

This week I will fall clean in the bedroom and office. I plan to:

• Put away my summer clothes and get out fall clothes
• Clean the mold off the windows and repaint.

And we are trucking right along on our big renovation project. We have a mostly-built shed, a new window, and a spa on order! My next steps:

• Finish the floor in the new shed, and order shelves.
• Remove thimbleberry and dirt from the hot tub site.
• Clear out the junk near the old shed, and inside the old shed so we can tear it down.
• Choose a handrail for the back and order that.
• Help to clear out the big work area and get rid of the big saws.

3. Skeleton School plans:

Our fall schedule includes a two day pre-school, with coloring pages on a different theme each week, related outdoor projects, field trips, and art. I want to focus on nature awareness, process art and basic art skills (drawing, painting, cutting, glueing, etc.).

This week the theme is skeletons:

1. Look at X-ray books, and talk about the bones in our bodies. 
2. We will make kid hands with Q-tip bones (glueing)
3. Put skeletons on the ofrenda.
4. Make Calvera scull masks (cutting, coloring)
5. Make refrigerator magnet bones (cutting).
6. Talk about death and dying, and look for dead leaves and plants.