Keeping Commitments

I was reading Stephen Covey's classic personal management text, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a while back. I got a few chapters in, but then had to put the book on hold, as evidenced by the fact that it has sat on my reading shelf for three or four months now (see Goodreads sidebar). Let it be known, I am not currently reading this book, not studying it or anything, but I think it is a very good book, and I will get back to it eventually. Even soon, maybe.

One of the excellent points that Covey makes is that we need to become people who are able to keep our commitments. I know that this is easier for some than it is for others. I find a great desire in myself to make commitments and to keep them, but I still often fall down on the job. Covey says the place to start is with making commitments to yourself. Practice them over an extended period. His is a how-to book after all.

So I had this great idea. I wrote myself up a personal commitments list and posted it right next to my desk. And earlier, last month maybe, I promised to share my list with you. So here goes:

Note: This is a longer list than is perhaps advisable for starters. A friend of ours read the Scripture out in small group one night, and it stuck with me.

Kelly's Commitments (A Checklist)

Behold, I go forward, but He is not there,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;

He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.

But He knows the way I take;

When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Job 23:8-10

• Review calendar and commitments checklist every morning to make sure I don't forget anything that's been scheduled.
• Track temperatures daily for NFP. (I have a chart I track this in.)
• Get up early every morning. Start the day off right by not sleeping through the best part of it.
• Shower at night to facilitate the morning's activities.
• Walk (or pursue some other form of exercise).
• Use leg-extensions as a warm-up before walking (or any other exertion, for that matter).
• Drink plenty of water.
• Read and/or study the Bible.
• Memorize entire book of James.
• Take Vitamins (including multi-vitamin, Ginko Biloba, and B-Complex). (Vitamins are on hold at the moment. Seemed like they were causing some problems.)
• Remember that sugar tastes good, but makes you feel bad. Avoid eating or drinking anything sugary until late in the day.
• Wear makeup and jewelry most days.
• Put clothes and jewelry away at night instead of leaving them out until morning. This includes hair ties.
• Remember that drinking too much alcohol at night makes it difficult to get up early in the morning.
• Actively pursue friendships and take responsibility for maintaining them. Don't rely on Facebook to do this for you.
• Leave kitchen counter, dining room table, and coffee table in the condition you wish to find them in the morning (i.e., reasonably clear and clean).
• Be quick to discipline the children before getting angry with them. By the time I am angry it is already too late to teach them anything good or true. Remember that anger produces fear, not obedience; anger produces rebellion, not steadfastness. Correction is not about retribution or revenge; it is about love. The children must be trained to obey us now, so that they will know how to obey God later.
• Keep up with the book keeping and prepare a quarterly profit/loss statement in April, July, October, and January. Do this so that tax time will be easier next year, and so that we will be better informed in order to make decisions about spending. 
  
  Some of these had fallen by the wayside recently, which is why I include that bit about reviewing the calendar and commitments daily. Actually, this morning I'd forgotten it was time to do a quarterly statement, so this little exercise in posting and revision has helped me in that regard as well.
  
  I think an important thing to remember about a set of commitments like this one is that these are fluid, and at times may require further revision. These are things I plan to do to make my life better, to make things run more smoothly, and to free up head space for other pursuits, and they will not be appropriate for every season in my life. I also believe on principle that it is wrong to enslave oneself to one's list. I've said before on Facebook, and will probably say again and again, that a to-do list, which is all this commitments list really is, is a tool that frees you. Preserve your adaptability. And drink your water.