Camp Cupcake: The Battle for Consistency

I have never been a very consistent person, in terms of routine. For the first year after I was home from my mission, it felt like I was still living like I would be transferred every three months. I lived in five different apartments over the course of a year, and every new apartment brought a different routine, different eating habits, and different sleeping habits.

As a student, it was a luxury I seemed to have--the ability to wake up at a different time every morning, depending on when my first class was. Some nights I would go to bed at a decent hour. However, on nights when I had late clients, it was harder for me to unwind, and I'd end up staying up late getting other work done.

Now I have a grown-up job. If you want to get technical, I can pretty much come and go as I please, as long as I get my work done and I show up to meetings and to teach class. However, it seems like a good time to get better about being consistent.

It started a few weeks ago, when I recognized that my time-management has suffered since I started my job. I started to read a book called Sink Reflections, by a woman named Marla Cilley, who also calls herself Fly Lady. I often have my depressed clients read it because it's basically a book about taking control of your life, written for women who have trouble keeping their houses clean. And it's all about consistency. So I started trying to stick to a weekly schedule, which mostly includes cleaning out my purse and my car regularly.

Then I got a Wii Fit for Christmas. With the cold winter upon us, it provides a nice alternative to running in the freezing cold mornings or evenings. And it shames me if I don't do it regularly.

Then, Friday, I went to a writing seminar in which the presenter, who has written extensively on the subject of academic writing, and she also advocated consistency. She claims that people who write every day for 15-30 minutes get 10x more written than people who write in short bursts.

So, with all that in mind, I am striving for more consistency in my life. It has not been easy, but I am already seeing a difference in my sleeping and exercise habits. Additionally, I have done an hour's worth of solid work on a journal article that I hope to have submitted in the next month or two.

It's not exciting or funny, this being consistent, but hard work seldom is. Maybe I'll start wearing a funny hat. Or listening to some Tom Jones music.