Flylady; GTD

I think you'll find a thread about this somewhere - called something like 'what works for you'. Both have worked well for me. To a Brit like me FlyLady comes across as completely bonkers, but I went along with the twee and the patronising because it really did help! I think the main thing was all those Emails - what she calls 'FLYwashing'. I kept them going for about two years, by which time I was flywashed and don't need them any more. (I read a book - it's great; I'm full of good intentions; I forget to do it. I get an Email saying 'where is my laundry' - I put the laundry on, I get another - I put it out to dry, another - I remember to bring it in. Repeat 365 times and I've got a new good habit!).

My house is tidy (apart from one Scary Cupboard and, intermittently, my desk); we always have healthy food in the house; clean, appropriate clothes ready to wear; the car is always ready for take-off etc etc. I started it really because I was overwhelmed by the chaos in which I was living, and it was dragging me down. It was a long journey but it was worth it, and the knock on effects have been amazing.

If I hadn't done FL first, I wouldn't have been able to do DA. My goodness, he goes into detail doesn't he?! Anyway, I discovered him on the net one New Year's Eve and downloaded the Outlook guide - which I highly recommend if you're an Outlook user.

Once I got it set up (I didn't quite do it as he says in the book, because I didn't have the book at that point, but I think the way I did it was better for me anyway), and I started doing the Weekly Reviews I felt a HUGE surge of relief just from knowing where I was up to with things and knowing that nothing was going to blow up in my face unexpectedly (initially, there were still things that were going to blow up, but at least I was forewarned!). The Outlook side of things is so easy it almost seems to do it itself - it's the nearest thing I've ever had to a PA! The Weekly Review I find harder. I've tried doing it all at once. I've tried doing a bit at a time. I just haven't been able to get into the habit yet, and sometimes I get that ominous feeling coming back and it makes me want to do a review! I've been getting that feeling again this week - think I'll schedule in a review for Saturday night!

Anyway, I was so impressed by how DA got me into doing things that I started to feel optimistic about being able to address procrastination. I'd learned from FlyLady that a lot of 'what ails me' is just lack of knowledge about what others take for granted, and I was beginning to learn from DA that I could apply that approach to other areas of my life. DA came at just the right time for me, and I guess I'm pretty evangelical.