Being Disciplined

Self discipline is a concept that is often easier explained than it is to implement in your life. But, being disciplined as a homemaker is one thing that will make the most difference in your life and home. Today I’m talking about what being disciplined really means.

30 Days of Intentional Homemaking: Day 12

If I’m being honest with you, self discipline is something that I have struggled with most of my life. I’m a creative, go with the flow, have fun, follow my muse kind of girl. And sometimes self discipline just doesn’t line up with my personality. However, being self disciplined is so important!

I’m more disciplined in some areas of my life than others – I think that’s normal! But, I’d like to be more disciplined.

Here’s the thing about being disciplined: basically, discipline is just something you have to decide your going to do.

Being Disciplined

Self-discipline is basically doing what you know needs to be done even when you don’t really feel like it. Not everyone struggles with self-discipline or struggles in the same way.

Like I said, I’m more disciplined in some areas of my life than others. Each one of us is different and you might be disciplined in areas of your life that I need to work on and vice versa. But, being disciplined is something we can train ourselves to be better at.

Some of us love washing dishes… not me. Ha! Some of you might enjoy vacuuming or folding laundry. A lot of you probably struggle to get the laundry washed – much less folded.

Identifying areas where we could improve on being disciplined is the first step in cultivating self discipline. For instance, perhaps you realize that you have a habit of not putting away the dishes straight away, meaning you have no place to put your dirty dishes.

Or maybe you pull clothes out of the dryer and toss them on the couch… only to fold them three days later when wrinkles have set in and the dog has slept on them.

Or maybe you find yourself struggling to maintain a daily quiet time…

We all have different lives and different schedules. So, being disciplined may look a little different for you than it does for me. But a lot of habits and chores regardless of our schedule look very similar for most households.

Discipline and Chores

If you feel overwhelmed by your household and chores seem to pile up to the point where you don’t know where to begin, then you probably need to take a few moments and make a list of things you know you could improve on.

Being disciplined is often the difference between a messy house and a tidy house. For the woman who struggles to do things immediately, chores can quickly get out of hand! Believe me, I know how tempting it is to sit down and read a book {or scroll through Facebook} instead of cleaning up right away.

I also know that putting chores off does not make those chores less painful. In fact, just the opposite is true! A lot of chores are actually more painful when we don’t do them immediately.

Washing a dish that has just been dirtied only takes seconds. Washing a dish that has dried crusty food on it take a lot of elbow grease – or time soaking. Folding laundry right out of the dryer is much more pleasant and only takes few minutes but folding three loads of cold, wrinkled, stale laundry on the couch takes what feels like forever.

related: A Time to Clean 30 Day Challenge

Being disciplined at home will help you create order and peace in your home where chaos used to reign. Everyone has different levels of comfort. Some people go nuts if there is clutter around. Others seem to enjoy having all the things every where. Most of us will fall somewhere in between the two.

The Link Between Clutter and Stress

Studies have shown that clutter causes stress, can lower children’s IQ, and even cause depression. Being disciplined at home can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed when you look around your home.

The fact that clutter or a messy house can make you feel overwhelmed, stressed, and even anxious is a huge reason to cultivate self discipline to combat those feelings.

Self discipline is the opposite of procrastination. Self discipline means that even though we could wait until morning to clean the kitchen… getting it done before bed will feel so. much. better.

I feel so good about myself and my home when I see chores through until the end – just get it done! I’ve never regretted waking up to a clean kitchen or drawers filled with clean, folded laundry. But I have definitely felt the discouragement of waking up to dirty dishes in the sink.

The truth is, as women, most of the household chores ultimately fall on our shoulders. It’s up to us to either get the job done or to delegate the chores to other family members.

I know that when my house is a mess and we have visitors pop in I feel stressed. I want my home to be warm and inviting – which is not the same as magazine perfect – and welcoming to my family and guests.

I want to encourage you to spend a little time today thinking about and even writing down a few areas of your life where you could use a little more disciple. Being disciplined only happens when we set our mind to doing it. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to cultivate good habits and become more self disciplined.

I’d love to hear about your struggles with self discipline if you have any. Let me know in the comments below!