I have decided to do a series of posts on my Binder. Some friends have inquired about it and wondered how to make one of their own. First of all, I have to give credit to FlyLady whose modeling and inspiration is where this idea comes from originally. Although mine may not look exactly like FlyLady’s Control Journal, it is essentially the same thing.
History….I’ve had my binder for 6 years now and it is a living thing that changes when our needs as a family change. I started it when I started following the Flylady group when I first got married. I had a Binder at home and a smaller one at work that helped me be much more productive at work. Now, as a stay at home mom, it has changed with each new kid and gets tweaked by me (or on nudging by John) when needed.
My issues…FlyLady calls hers a “Control Journal.” I used to call mine the same, but then I realized that my to-do list, routines, and my false sense of control was becoming a “god” to me. Let me explain. At the end of the day, I found myself judging if I had a good day by how much I got done. By if the kids were doing what I said. If I got dinner on the table. If my “systems” worked on my behalf. It was a whole myriad of little things that dictated if I had a good day and ultimately, if I had control over my day. When I realized this, it was a sick feeling. I was getting my affirmation from my own evaluations and my systems, instead of from God. So the long of the short of it, is that I don’t call it my Control Journal, because for me, I have a control problem – so it’s just my Binder.
My Binder sits open on my kitchen counter 24/7. Friends come over, look at it, question it and show interest in it and I become bashful. I don’t really know why I am like this about my Binder. It might be because some of the items on my routines are so trite, it’s embarrassing that there are some days I need to look at it. For example, brush my teeth or eat lunch. It might be because it seems to me, such a nerdy thing to have. Why would I have all this stuff in an adult “trapper keeper” on my kitchen counter? Or it might be because that managing my home, seems like such a “natural thing” for women to just know how to do and for me it is not. Or a little bit of all these things.
So, for me, I am baring all in this series of posts in hopes that it may help or encourage someone else. I’ll go through page by page of what is in my Binder, link to the pages that you can download and make your own. More to come….
