This is going to be a challenge for me.  I won’t lie to you.  I have been thinking, how am I going to work this into my day?  Yesterday everything was later than usual.  My first instinct is to just skip it.

Wait a minute!  I have been using The Flylady lessons since 2005.  It wasn’t until this time of year in 2010 that I got really involved and wanted to see if this could actually work for me.  Sure, I had been FLYing since 2005 and I am not going to discount how I did it at all.  Why?  Because that is right where I was supposed to be.  

This is what “Dance Till You FLY!” is all about.  I never could get through the 31 Babysteps.  They seemed too daunting.  Maybe it was the 31 that I was so afraid of.  Because back then I was still too much of a perfectionist.  That is why Flylady’s 31 Babysteps is never meant that it HAS to be done in 31 consecutive days.  At the time, this is what I thought.  Today I know better.

It wasn’t until I had the platform Facebook that I really got involved. I finally opened my mouth and many liked what I had to say.  I have been working The Flylady lessons to work for me like Marla Cilley had started with the “Slob Sisters” and their 3×5 card system to work for her and share with you.  And she has had great success!  I am so proud of her!

In 2011 I developed “Marilyn’s Way Stepping Stones.”  We worked as a closed group practicing steps that I wanted to develop that I do no matter what kind of day I had.  I committed to myself to do at least these 9 habits each day.  I came to learn that my routines did not fall apart if I did at least 6 of the 9 habits.

There are 3 habits for each routine with the Before Bedtime Routine being the most important followed by the Morning Routine and then the Afternoon Routine.  The following illustrations are the example I am talking about.

The above are the absolute basics.  If I could keep these going, my world would not fall apart and I wouldn’t have that awful feeling like I had to start all over again.

Since this time I have added habits to each routine keeping in mind that the above had to be done first before I would go on to my added habits and I have found it works for me.  Some days I get more done than other days and I have also learned to accept this because of my disability fibromyalgia.

Consistency has always been difficult for me.  I am also ADHD.  People like me need routines.  That is what the non-ADHD would tell me.  Easier to say than to do. Having these bare boned 3 Habits for each Routine made me feel consistent for the very first time!  My world did not completely fall apart and when I was having bad days with fibromyalgia that affected my sleep schedule which in turn intensified my ADHD.  By just doing this, I knew that in 1-3 days I could get my house back to company ready.  This is how I started out.

In 2011 I wanted to emphasize on exercise.  I did walkabouts in the mild weather with Lily and enjoyed them.  This year my exercise was landscaping and gardening adding flowers to my vegetable garden.  I was well on my way of losing weight and getting into shape.

Then it was the end of the gardening season and on to winter months.  Last year I tried going to my old high school gym to work on the machines.  I went into a severe Fibromyalgia flare that lasted a month and it was painful.  I learned I could not start out this way.  To be honest with you, it threatened my routines that I had worked so hard to establish.

Today here I am.  I have gained the weight back that I lost over the summer.  I worked hard in the summer with my gardening and fibromyalgia in the summer is easier to exercise because of the heat and the humidity.  Winter is when fibromyalgia is worse.  I have to have warm mist humidifiers to help me with this.

Here I am.  It is winter and I have got to find some form of exercise that is going to work for me.  Not for you.  Something that will work for me.

A member in my closed group Walkabout Marilyn’s Way I have known for at least a year suggested I try Jane Fonda’s Prime Time Workouts.  Jane Fonda is 74 years old with two hip replacements and one titanium knee.  I started out with Jane Fonda in the ’80s and I owe it to her that I got into the exercise movement at all.  How wonderful it is to see her continue in her journey.  Once again she felt a need and now she is sharing it with us!  I got the Fit & Strong  with 2 low-impact routines Prime Time Workout and it is wonderful!  It lasts 20 minutes and I felt great afterwards.  Now she came out with a new DVD called Jane Fonda’s Prime Time Am/Pm YOGA For Beginners.  

I really want to work this habit of exercise into my routine.  I have been successful in bouts.  Now I am looking for it to be a way of life for me again.  I know I can do this!  I just know it!  And how I do it is I am going to “Dance Till I FLY!”
Marilyn