31 days of simple organization:: Day 30: Organized rest

Organized for a good night sleep

walking path downtown

Some days I start at full speed and only stop when I have to drop into bed because I can't go anymore. You can guess how well I sleep on those days.  As I get older (and wiser?), those days get fewer. Maybe I'm learning this isn't the most productive way for me to live.  I'm becoming a big fan of the slow and peaceful evening routines.  But how do you actually do it? Surround yourself with calm people will help. Then find something that works for you. Like this:

• My friend CC spends the last hour of every workday on the back porch with her husband, her dogs and some wine.
• Every night, my best friend Sonia takes a long bath and reads the Bible in the tub (and yes, the pages do sometimes get wet and the Bible looks pretty worn out).
• My friend Barbara slowly turns off the overhead lights and only uses lamps and slowly turns down the TV volume until bed time.
• I take a hot bath and do Bible study before bed.

Organized for a Sabbath

Its taken me a long time to actually observe the Sabbath. There seems to be so much to do, I couldn't justify purposefully not doing work for one full day each week. And what exactly is "observing a Sabbath"?!! It sounds so old fashioned and unable to actually be put into practice. I remember my Bible teacher saying she tries not to go to Walmart on Sunday. I thought, is this what it means? I cant do laundry, go to Walmart, cook? Then I read that Laura Ingells Wilder used to go to church and spend the rest of the day every Sunday sitting at the kitchen table reading the Bible. Is that what I have to do? Do I have to just sit all day? Its confusing.

Not having any explicit instructions on exactly what to do (and what not to do) on the Sabbath, in my mind, meant I was OK to just ignore it.  so that's just what I did, for a long time.



Looked over in traffic
to see this little fellow

It took a conference with Angela Thomas,  and a chapter in a book by Jennifer Hatmaker (a whole chapter in this book) to make me actually try to observe the Sabbath.  Jennifer Hatmaker makes it clear its a command from God and I am not free to ignore it. 

For the past few months, I have not worked from home on Sunday and tried to do ~ ~ gasp~ ~ only enjoyable and restful things, which sometimes means Sunday lunch out with the husband, sometimes means visiting, and sometimes means an afternoon nap.


Organized for special care of yourself

Celebrating Fall at Starbucks

Treat yourself well. This is going to look different for you than it does for me. Know yourself and know what you need.

I need starbucks and rest.

When I was in high school, almost every Friday afternoon I would come home from school and take a nap, so tired from the week of activities. Now, once a month or so, I come home from work and take a bath and go straight to bed.

Two or three times a year, (or five or six), I need a"PJ Day". Literally days when I do not get out of my PJ's. Almost exclusively on a Saturday, I spend my time sleeping, watching TV, watching the birds at the bird feeder, reading magazines, getting caught up on Bible study, making lists, daydreaming, watching Youtube, painting my nails, and other productive things I can do while staying home and staying in my PJ's.

Some of my friends need to go shopping by themself, or get a manicure weekly, or a beach weekend once a year. You know what you need, organize your time to allow yourself to do it.

Organized to let your mind rest

Surround yourself
with scripture

1. Write a to do list daily and check it off as you go.
2. keep your desk area clear. Put away each project when you are finished working on it. Visual clutter makes you tired.
3. At the end of the day, put everything on your mind on paper so you  wont be tossing and turning trying to remember it and you can sleep better.
4. Assign each item a specific time to work on it and stop thinking about it except during that specific time.
5. Listen to "elevator music" in the car. Its scientifically proven to calm you down.
6. Do some physical exercise.
7. Pray and read the Bible. Keep scripture in sight during the day. Listen to K-Love radio.
8. Surround yourself with positive people who you enjoy.
9. Laugh. Watch a funny movie or funny TV show.
10. Keep a journal. Even if you write only a few lines each day.