Simplicity: Customizing Flylady

When I started this blog, I was interested in the intersections between Getting Things Done and Flylady. I abandoned pure GTD a while ago, and now the time has come for me to abandon pure Flylady as well.

One of the things I like about both GTD and Flylady is that their creators encourage people to make the system their own, rather than conforming to the system. So while I keep parts of both systems in my life, I no longer follow either one by the book.

What I Am Keeping

Flylady’s ideas of writing things down is essential to my peace of mind. By writing down the things I needed to make sure I did, and building in the things I wanted to do, I became much more consistent. Just writing out a before bed routine made mornings infinitely easier.

The idea of the control journal was also new; it makes perfect sense to have things written down so other people can help out. The control journal also has our household telephone numbers and information for baby- and pet-sitters. What a timesaver it is just to pull out a sheet with relevant information than scrambling around trying to get things together!

What I Couldn’t Make Fit

There were a couple of things that I just couldn’t make fit with my life. The Weekly Home Blessing, a list of chores that is done weekly, is set up to take care of the high-traffic cleaning. While Flylady herself has said to break it out over several days, I still couldn’t make it work completely. I added things, like dusting, and took out things, like vacuuming (which is handled daily by a robot). I split it up into two days work: one for the downstairs and one for the upstairs. I also delegated out changing sheets and towels to my husband.

Another concept I struggled with was decluttering or area cleaning for fifteen minutes a day. I understand how much can be accomplished in fifteen minutes. However, my schedule and energy is not such that I can do fifteen a day. So I handle this by having a weekly goal of five fifteen minute sessions. If I do three one day and two the next, that meets the goal. If I do one a day, that also reaches the goal. The week ends on Saturdays, and I have become proficient in not having to do all five sessions on Saturdays.

The End Result

Just like absorbing the principles of GTD and applying them as I can, I have done the same with Flylady’s system. I think it is deeply ingrained enough that I can work without the constant stream of emails. So it has been a good experience for me to fledge and leave the Fly-nest.

Photo by takomabibelot