Rewards

One of FlyLady’s techniques I learned is to put a sticker on a calendar every day you do your “routine.” Who would’ve thought I’d enjoy doing something so silly? But they really make the calendar come alive; and more importantly they motivate me to do “just a little bit more.”

Once I have 3-4 weeks of 4 or more stickers per week, I can reward myself with something a bit more tangible, such as getting a pedicure, buying a set of DVDs. The idea behind a 4-sticker minimum is that I don’t have to be perfect, just reasonably consistent. Of course, January has been a bit of a crap shoot, what with the broken foot. I certainly wasn’t able to clear out the kitchen like I’d planned. But every day I do something a little extra, like fold and put away the laundry, empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, I give myself a sticker. So far the calendar’s lookin’ good.

One of the “longer range” goals I’d had was to buy a nice garbage can for the kitchen once I got the kitchen finished. I was then going to use the kitchen can for cat litter waste.  But the litter got so out of control while I was on crutches, I decided I deserved to give myself the reward sooner.

I love the new waste can set up. The kitchen can is bigger & much easier to use, and the litter can is much more efficient—and clean.

The key point is that this is new thinking. I don’t have to be absolutely perfect to reward myself. I just need to push myself a little bit further than I used to. And what does it do? It spurs me on to continue to do “just a little bit more,” thereby keeping the house in much better order; and thus, making me feel better about myself and my home.