It is astounding that I can keep the household running on schedule, but can’t seem to discipline myself. Little things like remembering to eat and sleep elude me.

I feed the children like clockwork, but when Ken isn’t here, it almost seems easier to not sit down myself, since it can be pretty busy refilling cups and such... (In truth, I can’t blame the children. Even before children I would get too engrossed in things to take time for trivialities like food.) Sleep is even harder to remember. The more exhausted I am the more likely I am to dawdle and fritter.

SO... I decided that I need to whip myself into shape. "They" (whoever they are) say that 3 weeks form a habit. Yet I knew that 3 weeks with days missed here and there wouldn’t be effective. Three weeks consecutive, without ever missing a day would get descouraging if I had to start over a few times. So, I came up with a plan:

I have to reach 21 days. To count one day I must accomplish ALL THREE goals in the given day. If I miss the mark, I LOOSE three days! (No negative numbers though–that would be too depressing. If I miss enough days to end up back at zero, it just means I’m back to square one.)

A few weeks ago I posted a ticker on a message board I frequent, and my fellow Hearth Keepers have been encouraging me as I try to get this thing from 0 to 21. 

Here are my goals:

1) Get to BED (not with a book, but lights OUT) between 9:00 and 10:30 pm. DH works nights and so I um... forget to sleep all too often.

2) Remember to eat breakfast and lunch. (Ken is usually up for dinner to make sure I eat then.) Honestly, I simply don't take time to eat. I end up munching a bit, but not really eating like I ought. I'm absent minded to the extreme!

3) Do 5-15 minutes of real exercise every day.

They sound common sense enough, but are thigns I've not gotten a handle on--ever.

So far I’ve been doing this 21 days, but have missed bedtime a couple times and had to take a "3 day" penalty. More on that in the next post!

In the meantime, what habits do you need to make or break? And... do you think I can get from 15 to 21 in a weeks time, or will I miss the mark again?