A New Project

I've been reading a lot lately, and here's what I'm learning.

In order to reach a goal, you need a vision. You need to know what you're wanting to achieve.

For me, I have lots of vague goals that all point towards the ultimate goal of raising my kids well. I want them to be well-educated, have strong character, for my boys to be strong and brave, for my girl to be noble, industrious, and lovely. According to what I've been reading, I'll most likely not see those goals realized without a specific vision of what exactly I want to achieve, written out, and then a step by step plan detailing how to get there.

I think I'll use as my guide, at first at least, my Charlotte Mason's Habits Handbook that I've been reading through since I received it at Christmas. It's full of so many good habits that I'd love to establish for myself and then teach my children. But just reading about them and acknowledging that they're worthy pursuits isn't enough. I need to write down a plan of action and start working towards each new habit. So I have a new task for each morning as I sit with my cup of coffee and God's Word and plan my day.

First, I will get out of bed immediately when my alarm goes off. I was doing well with that, and then started slacking off, so that each morning I think of a new reason why I can spend just a few more minutes drinking in the comfort of my pillow. No more. I need every minute rising at 5:30 allows me, because by 6:30 my boys are ready to start their day, and my quiet planning time is gone.

Then, I think I will choose one habit to try to implement each week. At the end of the first week I"ll evaluate and see if 1 week is long enough, or if I need to spend longer, maybe even a month? focusing on the habit I want to form. I'll start with a week, though, because I want to stay focused, and if I give myself too long, I could end up procrastinating and lose a sense of urgency.

For now, naptime for my kids is over, so I'll have to browse through the handbook and choose my first habit tomorrow. Maybe I'll even chronicle my progress here on this blog. It'll be motivation to not let this project slide away uncompleted.