Okay, so you're ready to go into the kitchen and clean the kitchen. You're not in the mood. You're tired, you've had a long day, life's difficult, and everything's going wrong. Now, to make things worse, you've got to cook and clean.
Is the only answer to force yourself into cleaning? Is the only alternative to that giving up and doing nothing and living with that guilt?
No, there are other alternatives. Let's start with the simplest alternative-- saying "Thank you."
Before you even get up, tell yourself, "Thank you, Kimberly, for being willing to be ready to go make dinner."
Then, if you're making dinner for someone else, too, thank them for the good they bring into your life: "Thank you, Kira, for being so cute and funny. Thank you, John, for loving me so much."
As you begin to say these things, you'll find that your attitude will begin to shift ever-so-slightly. Then start to bless: "I bless you, Kira, with good food and lifetime joy. I bless you, John, with good food and a life of peace and joy."
Then get up and go into the kitchen. Let's say that you're going to make some hamburgers. Pull out the carton of burger meat. Thank the cows (or plants if you're vega/tarian). Thank the people who prepared the meat for delivery to you. Thank the people who made the carton.
When you pull out the pot or pan, bless the people who had a hand in getting the meat to you, and then thank the people who made and delivered the pan. Thank yourself for getting into the kitchen, "Thank you, Kimberly, for making this food for my beloved Kira and John." Then bless the people who made the pan, and bless the food, "I bless this food with great nutrition and good flavor."
Saying grace, being grateful, blessing your food and everyone who had a hand in making it-- it's not just for prayer anymore!
Then when you're done cooking the meat, rather than just setting the pan aside, take the time to clean it. As you do so, praise the pan, "Thank you, pan, for the great job you did cooking that meat! It all cooked completely, without burning. I'm very grateful!"
Take the opportunity that cleaning gives you to practice blessing and gratitude. Because living a life of blessing and gratitude will change your life faster than anything else you could possibly do. If you want cleanliness around you, you've got to get yourself out of the 'burden' mindset.
The way to do this is with blessing and gratitude. Praising yourself, praising your children, praising your spouse, praising the things that are in your life. This is the answer to getting yourself into a mindset that aids and supports you.
Consider this time to be practice. Practice in finding ways and reasons to be grateful. Practice in blessing (Bless those who curse you). Practice in living a life of gratitude.
As you practice this, you will find yourself done with cooking and cleaning before you realize it. It'll go faster, and it won't be quite such an onerous task as it was before. It's a great feeling to be grateful for what you have, rather than taking it for granted.
It's a great feeling when having that feeling of blessing and gratitude results in a tasty dinner, at a clean table, with little post-dinner cleanup left to do.
These small changes can make huge changes in your life. It seems simple, even slightly absurd. But the fact is, the positive, relaxed mind always performs better than the stressed, distracted mind.
You can extend this into every area. Vacuuming the floor? Praise the vacuum. Be grateful for it. Thank goodness you don't have to sweep the carpet instead (yikes! been there, done it, hated it). Bless everyone who made that vacuum for you.
Bless the men and/or women who installed the floor. Bless the people who delivered the vacuum to the store. Bless the people and be grateful for them. Be grateful for and bless and thank the people who are going to benefit from the clean floor.
Don't worry, if it doesn't make it easier, you can always go back to cursing it again.
Try the opposite for a while, though, if cursing it hasn't served you too well up til now. You might be pleasantly surprised.
~ Livin' the Rhythm with Kimberly Weston
Showing posts with label Time Management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Time Management. Show all posts
Friday, September 11, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Time Savers: Meal Planning Repeats
Some weeks, some days, some times... I just don't feel up to planning a week's meals and a shopping list. This is one of the really exceptional reasons to bother yourself to chart your cycle... so you know when to expect these feelings.
So here's a simple tip: Don't throw away your shopping lists, or your weekly meal plans. Get a nice folder, stick it in the cabinet, and staple your shopping list to your weekly meal plan and stick them into the folder when you're done with them.
Then, when you're busy, or you're not in the mood to bother, or things come up... you can go back to an old meal plan and shopping list, and you've got a ready made weekly meal plan.
Simple, quick, easy.
You and your children might not relish a repeat, but at the same time, they'll probably far appreciate it over the alternative of a week of disorganized, disjointed eating with not enough of anything in the house.
Having a plan can be helpful. Keeping your plan for future use, may eventually turn out to be even more useful. It's very easy to save time this way, and it's an excellent way to take up the slack if you have a week where you just can't think of anything to do.
So, this simple expedient, taken now, can make your life easier and faster down the road. It's an easy step, but if you have something happen where you need the speed in shopping and organizing a week's meal, it can feel like a real saving grace.
~ Livin' the Rhythm with Kimberly Weston
So here's a simple tip: Don't throw away your shopping lists, or your weekly meal plans. Get a nice folder, stick it in the cabinet, and staple your shopping list to your weekly meal plan and stick them into the folder when you're done with them.
Then, when you're busy, or you're not in the mood to bother, or things come up... you can go back to an old meal plan and shopping list, and you've got a ready made weekly meal plan.
Simple, quick, easy.
You and your children might not relish a repeat, but at the same time, they'll probably far appreciate it over the alternative of a week of disorganized, disjointed eating with not enough of anything in the house.
Having a plan can be helpful. Keeping your plan for future use, may eventually turn out to be even more useful. It's very easy to save time this way, and it's an excellent way to take up the slack if you have a week where you just can't think of anything to do.
So, this simple expedient, taken now, can make your life easier and faster down the road. It's an easy step, but if you have something happen where you need the speed in shopping and organizing a week's meal, it can feel like a real saving grace.
~ Livin' the Rhythm with Kimberly Weston
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Guilt Busters: Make Meal Preparation Efficient
We discussed what Guilt Busters are last time. These are simple ways to remove some of the pervasive, overwhelming guilt from your housekeeping life.
Today, I'd like to discuss something simple and obvious that a lot of people don't do: Making meal preparation efficient to keeping your kitchen clean.
Much of what I'm about to say will sound obvious, maybe even condescending. It couldn't be anything further from condescending. These simple methods are often ignore or overlooked, but they can change your life and the state of your kitchen entirely.
When you go in to prepare a meal, rather than leaving the kitchen, stay there. Shut down your chats, or IMs, or whatever on your computer. Bring your children with you. Make a place for any young children such as a play yard or even a gated area like the living room/ dining room.
And then, BE in the kitchen. Stay there, prepare the meal, set the table. While the food is cooking, put away dishes from the drainer, put dishes in the dishwasher, take clean dishes out of the dishwasher.
Employ your children in these efforts. They don't need to be watching TV, playing games, or running around. They may not like having to actually do chores, but since when does life give us only what we like?
You need the help, they need the life lesson. Win-win.
While you're cooking, don't alter your attention between the kitchen and any other room. This doesn't just lead to burnt food, it also leads to a dirty kitchen, depression, guilt, and self-esteem issues. So make the decision to BE in the kitchen while you cook. Make the decision to bring your children with you, and put them to work.
Even young ones can do simple things like shutting the door behind you, drying the plastic dishes, tossing the garden salad in the bowl, and various other small chores. You will be surprised to find that they LOVE IT, because it allows them to feel important and useful, it's fun for them, and they are directly involved-- which children absolutely love.
So next time that you decide to make a meal, put everything else aside. Focus on meal preparation, focus on putting away and cleaning dishes as you use them in preparation, and focus on being very aware of what you're doing.
If you get your meal preparation done and most of the cleaning up from it, you can get back to what you were doing far more quickly. Not only is this true, but you will do so WITHOUT the feeling of pervasive guilt and embarrassment.
Nothing you do, whether it's your hobby, surfing the 'net, or chores... is going to feel as good, as fun, as enjoyable, or as pleasant as it will in the absence of guilt.
Want to feel better about life in general? Give up the things that create guilt in most of us. Give up the things that prevent you from living the life you really want.
Then, you can pick them back up in an hour or so, comfortable, confident, and free. Now, you can enjoy them, because they are no longer in the way of what you really want in life, but are simply something that enhances your life.
Internet (my personal guilt producer) is much more fun and enjoyable when it's guilt free, when I KNOW my house has been taken care of, my child has had quality time with me, and that I'm now free to enjoy it without anything whispering to me that something more important is undone or unfinished.
Giving up what you want to do for the space of an hour can make the next two or three hours of doing it feel like actual recreation, rather than a shameful and selfish act of negligence.
~ Livin' the Rhythm with Kimberly Weston
Today, I'd like to discuss something simple and obvious that a lot of people don't do: Making meal preparation efficient to keeping your kitchen clean.
Much of what I'm about to say will sound obvious, maybe even condescending. It couldn't be anything further from condescending. These simple methods are often ignore or overlooked, but they can change your life and the state of your kitchen entirely.
When you go in to prepare a meal, rather than leaving the kitchen, stay there. Shut down your chats, or IMs, or whatever on your computer. Bring your children with you. Make a place for any young children such as a play yard or even a gated area like the living room/ dining room.
And then, BE in the kitchen. Stay there, prepare the meal, set the table. While the food is cooking, put away dishes from the drainer, put dishes in the dishwasher, take clean dishes out of the dishwasher.
Employ your children in these efforts. They don't need to be watching TV, playing games, or running around. They may not like having to actually do chores, but since when does life give us only what we like?
You need the help, they need the life lesson. Win-win.
While you're cooking, don't alter your attention between the kitchen and any other room. This doesn't just lead to burnt food, it also leads to a dirty kitchen, depression, guilt, and self-esteem issues. So make the decision to BE in the kitchen while you cook. Make the decision to bring your children with you, and put them to work.
Even young ones can do simple things like shutting the door behind you, drying the plastic dishes, tossing the garden salad in the bowl, and various other small chores. You will be surprised to find that they LOVE IT, because it allows them to feel important and useful, it's fun for them, and they are directly involved-- which children absolutely love.
So next time that you decide to make a meal, put everything else aside. Focus on meal preparation, focus on putting away and cleaning dishes as you use them in preparation, and focus on being very aware of what you're doing.
If you get your meal preparation done and most of the cleaning up from it, you can get back to what you were doing far more quickly. Not only is this true, but you will do so WITHOUT the feeling of pervasive guilt and embarrassment.
Nothing you do, whether it's your hobby, surfing the 'net, or chores... is going to feel as good, as fun, as enjoyable, or as pleasant as it will in the absence of guilt.
Want to feel better about life in general? Give up the things that create guilt in most of us. Give up the things that prevent you from living the life you really want.
Then, you can pick them back up in an hour or so, comfortable, confident, and free. Now, you can enjoy them, because they are no longer in the way of what you really want in life, but are simply something that enhances your life.
Internet (my personal guilt producer) is much more fun and enjoyable when it's guilt free, when I KNOW my house has been taken care of, my child has had quality time with me, and that I'm now free to enjoy it without anything whispering to me that something more important is undone or unfinished.
Giving up what you want to do for the space of an hour can make the next two or three hours of doing it feel like actual recreation, rather than a shameful and selfish act of negligence.
~ Livin' the Rhythm with Kimberly Weston
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Do I Really Need Simpleology?
The question has arisen towards me several times now. A cursory glance or listening to or reading the first lessons seems to convince people that it's too obvious and too simple.
So if you're one asking, 'Do I really need it?' here,'s my answer to you.
If you can answer all of the following questions with a 'yes' answer, then you don't need it. In fact, you don't even need to read this blog (unless you want a chuckle or two):
As an easy example, my mother often told me, "Do your homework first, and then you can have the rest of the evening to play."
Do you do your homework first, and then have the rest of the day to "play" outside of basic daily requirements such as making meals or dropping your children off to their various activities? This is what Simpleology helps make simple and easy to complete every day.
It all seems obvious and clear, but if it were so obvious, easy, and clear for you already, you'd be doing it.
The course is free. It will change your life. It takes 15 minutes each morning.
Yet still, people will tell me, "But why bother?"
I don't know. I guess because you want a better life. I guess because you really, truly do want to make changes and stick with it and really accomplish it.
I guess because you want a household that WORKS.
And that's what this is all about. Living a life that feels fulfilled instead of one of overwhelm, stress, and a sense of being closed in. A life with less embarrassment at the state of the house, a life with less sense of over-weening guilt and shame that we're not what we want to be.
Let's be what we want to be, together.
I'm not where I want to be yet, but I've made so much progress that I really want to share what I've managed so far. You may choose to listen to only those who are "there" if you like. But I think often times, it's the person just a bit further ahead of me that helps me most.
Sometimes I think that the person far ahead of me has forgotten what it really feels like to be me. How hard it is sometimes to get my day going well.
Because she already has a habit that makes it easy for her.
Well, this course gives you the habit that makes it easy for you. It really is the missing step to creating the life you want. It includes the visualizing that we all know we're called to do. It includes so many aspects of working the Law of Attraction.
It does, however, take things a step farther than that. It helps us create the habit of taking daily action, and it removes the guilt from every day living (or at least the "I didn't get anything done today" portion of it).
We're to be reaching for a better feeling place. To do the work of desiring it but without living all day with the sense that it hasn't happened yet.
This program is the key that unlocks that magical place. The place where we do something in the morning towards our short-term goal, and then we can move through the rest of the day with confidence.
Because I no longer have a day when I don't at least do SOMETHING towards my greater goals. And that is a fantastic feeling.
At minimum, I keep up with my house on any given day, and on some days, I even make progress.
And progress, my dear friend, is perfection!
~ Livin' the Rhythm with Kimberly Weston
So if you're one asking, 'Do I really need it?' here,'s my answer to you.
If you can answer all of the following questions with a 'yes' answer, then you don't need it. In fact, you don't even need to read this blog (unless you want a chuckle or two):
- Do you have long term, medium term, and short term goals that you get at least a little something done towards every day?
- Do you get your priority work done early in the day, and have the rest of the day to do with as you need or want to?
- Do you find it easy to prioritize each day, what really does need to get done now, and what can wait?
- Do you do something every few days to increase your strength in areas of finance, energy, and time management?
- Have you managed to create, on a regular basis, the new habits that you want to create in your life, by doing something that you'd normally do every day, anyway?
As an easy example, my mother often told me, "Do your homework first, and then you can have the rest of the evening to play."
Do you do your homework first, and then have the rest of the day to "play" outside of basic daily requirements such as making meals or dropping your children off to their various activities? This is what Simpleology helps make simple and easy to complete every day.
It all seems obvious and clear, but if it were so obvious, easy, and clear for you already, you'd be doing it.
The course is free. It will change your life. It takes 15 minutes each morning.
Yet still, people will tell me, "But why bother?"
I don't know. I guess because you want a better life. I guess because you really, truly do want to make changes and stick with it and really accomplish it.
I guess because you want a household that WORKS.
And that's what this is all about. Living a life that feels fulfilled instead of one of overwhelm, stress, and a sense of being closed in. A life with less embarrassment at the state of the house, a life with less sense of over-weening guilt and shame that we're not what we want to be.
Let's be what we want to be, together.
I'm not where I want to be yet, but I've made so much progress that I really want to share what I've managed so far. You may choose to listen to only those who are "there" if you like. But I think often times, it's the person just a bit further ahead of me that helps me most.
Sometimes I think that the person far ahead of me has forgotten what it really feels like to be me. How hard it is sometimes to get my day going well.
Because she already has a habit that makes it easy for her.
Well, this course gives you the habit that makes it easy for you. It really is the missing step to creating the life you want. It includes the visualizing that we all know we're called to do. It includes so many aspects of working the Law of Attraction.
It does, however, take things a step farther than that. It helps us create the habit of taking daily action, and it removes the guilt from every day living (or at least the "I didn't get anything done today" portion of it).
We're to be reaching for a better feeling place. To do the work of desiring it but without living all day with the sense that it hasn't happened yet.
This program is the key that unlocks that magical place. The place where we do something in the morning towards our short-term goal, and then we can move through the rest of the day with confidence.
Because I no longer have a day when I don't at least do SOMETHING towards my greater goals. And that is a fantastic feeling.
At minimum, I keep up with my house on any given day, and on some days, I even make progress.
And progress, my dear friend, is perfection!
~ Livin' the Rhythm with Kimberly Weston
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The Single Most Important Change
If I could convince you to make one single change, it would be this one.
If you asked me, "Kimberly, how can I change my life, right now, for the better. I want a lasting, real change, that will change everything else, too," then this is what it would be.
If you asked me, "How can I overcome overwhelm, create new habits, eliminate much (or even all) of my daily guilt about not getting things done, and make my life easier?" Then I would tell you to do this, and that these things would flow from it.
But then you'd tell me this before you even heard me out:
I have seen so many things advertising that they have "The Secret that The Secret™ didn't tell you," and yet none of them have pointed to this program. I wish I didn't have to get in the "The Secret to The Secret™" line, but let's face it, none of these programs have worked for me. I suspect that, if you've tried them, they didn't work for you, either.
So, I want you to succeed. I'm giving out a lot of tips and tricks that will improve your life if you practice them on a consistent basis.
But you've learned a lot that would help you, if you practiced it on a consistent basis, haven't you? You've been inspired before, have you not?
Thought to yourself, "Oh wow! That's amazing. I'm going to do that!" and a week or so later, you've lost that Git-Up-And-Go attitude and you're feeling like it's too much work or not enough time or...
For some reason, it's just not happening.
This is a familiar feeling for almost all of us. And that guilt that follows not following through is even more familiar. The nagging sense of something undone. The nagging feeling that we should be doing more. We should be accomplishing something...
Something. Something more. Something better. Something...
The free program that I'm talking about here will almost certainly eliminate that nagging feeling if you make the decision to put this single habit FIRST on your list of what to turn into a lifetime habit.
I have experienced the life change that comes from daily practice of this action habit. This one habit is the fulcrum upon which your ability to create other new habits hinges. It's the foundation for everything that I'm teaching you. The foundation for creating and maintaining ANY habit or motivational action that ANYONE teaches you.
I don't get paid when you join Simpleology. I don't get paid if you decide later to get any of his other programs.
My recommendation of this program to you is without any strings attached. I simply, truly, sincerely believe in it. I KNOW it WILL change your life if you will dedicate yourself to this one thing first.
It will bring the rest of your life together.
It's called Simpleology by Mark Joyner.
What it has done for me, and I believe with absolute certainty it will do for you if you make it into a habit:
So as you can see, this is the ONE thing you can do, starting today, for FREE, that has the potential to create exponential changes in your life.
I want you to succeed. I want to give you tips that you can come back to a month from now and implement, with an ongoing, lifetime success rate.
This is the foundation. With this, you can create the success you want in creating new habits, be they habits with money, habits of cleaning house, habits with your children, going to school and actually following through on it... whatever.
If you take absolutely nothing away from this blog, please take this. If you do so, then I have succeeded in my ultimate goal:
To give you the tools to change your own life for the better.
Because only YOU can change your life. And the only true way to do that is to be consistent enough to create new habits. Humans require slow changes if they're going to stick. Daily, consistent application of this single program will lay the foundation for all of the changes you want in your life.
www.simpleology.com
Just do it.
~ Livin' the Rhythm with Kimberly Weston
If you asked me, "Kimberly, how can I change my life, right now, for the better. I want a lasting, real change, that will change everything else, too," then this is what it would be.
If you asked me, "How can I overcome overwhelm, create new habits, eliminate much (or even all) of my daily guilt about not getting things done, and make my life easier?" Then I would tell you to do this, and that these things would flow from it.
But then you'd tell me this before you even heard me out:
- "I probably can't afford it." I have news for you. It's free.
- "I don't have time." News there, too. It takes 15 minutes a day. If you make time for it, you'll free up most of the rest of your day, too. So making time for this, makes time for other, more fun things.
- "Nothing can really change your life that way." Nothing that motivates you and then leaves you to your own devices can. But this is an ongoing support for your entire life.
I have seen so many things advertising that they have "The Secret that The Secret™ didn't tell you," and yet none of them have pointed to this program. I wish I didn't have to get in the "The Secret to The Secret™" line, but let's face it, none of these programs have worked for me. I suspect that, if you've tried them, they didn't work for you, either.
So, I want you to succeed. I'm giving out a lot of tips and tricks that will improve your life if you practice them on a consistent basis.
But you've learned a lot that would help you, if you practiced it on a consistent basis, haven't you? You've been inspired before, have you not?
Thought to yourself, "Oh wow! That's amazing. I'm going to do that!" and a week or so later, you've lost that Git-Up-And-Go attitude and you're feeling like it's too much work or not enough time or...
For some reason, it's just not happening.
This is a familiar feeling for almost all of us. And that guilt that follows not following through is even more familiar. The nagging sense of something undone. The nagging feeling that we should be doing more. We should be accomplishing something...
Something. Something more. Something better. Something...
The free program that I'm talking about here will almost certainly eliminate that nagging feeling if you make the decision to put this single habit FIRST on your list of what to turn into a lifetime habit.
I have experienced the life change that comes from daily practice of this action habit. This one habit is the fulcrum upon which your ability to create other new habits hinges. It's the foundation for everything that I'm teaching you. The foundation for creating and maintaining ANY habit or motivational action that ANYONE teaches you.
I don't get paid when you join Simpleology. I don't get paid if you decide later to get any of his other programs.
My recommendation of this program to you is without any strings attached. I simply, truly, sincerely believe in it. I KNOW it WILL change your life if you will dedicate yourself to this one thing first.
It will bring the rest of your life together.
It's called Simpleology by Mark Joyner.
What it has done for me, and I believe with absolute certainty it will do for you if you make it into a habit:
- Eliminated "I didn't get enough done today" guilt that considerably adds to overwhelm
- Helped me create other new habits that have changed my life and helped keep my house clean
- Improved my ability with money
- Kept me consistent in my diet and exercise plan
- Kept me consistent in disciplining Kira
- Assisted me in a consistent practice of visualization and meditation
- Freed up time in my day for guiltless pleasure passtimes
So as you can see, this is the ONE thing you can do, starting today, for FREE, that has the potential to create exponential changes in your life.
I want you to succeed. I want to give you tips that you can come back to a month from now and implement, with an ongoing, lifetime success rate.
This is the foundation. With this, you can create the success you want in creating new habits, be they habits with money, habits of cleaning house, habits with your children, going to school and actually following through on it... whatever.
If you take absolutely nothing away from this blog, please take this. If you do so, then I have succeeded in my ultimate goal:
To give you the tools to change your own life for the better.
Because only YOU can change your life. And the only true way to do that is to be consistent enough to create new habits. Humans require slow changes if they're going to stick. Daily, consistent application of this single program will lay the foundation for all of the changes you want in your life.
www.simpleology.com
Just do it.
~ Livin' the Rhythm with Kimberly Weston
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