I often feel conflicted in my personality. I’m borderline Type-A, with high aspirations and self motivation. I’m not super interested in building a career, which most Type-A personalities are, but I hold myself to high standards of production and I require results from myself. I like my house very organized and tidy. I can get stressed easily. My time is valuable. I’m also a creative. I like the whims of life, and I often abandon my responsibilities for an impulsive decision to build something, or rearrange furniture, or go on an adventure, or color. I can be a bit of a flake if something more appealing comes up. I love thinking. I’m laid back and am usually the “voice of reason” in a debate.
At any rate, I’ve had to learn how to work with my seemingly split personality. Organization and administration do not come naturally to me. I’ve had to learn (and am still learning!) structure, discipline and goal setting. People often ask me how I get so much done in my day. I usually answer them “with great sacrifice.” Most of being successful is developing self-discipline. But self-discipline is not cheap. It requires great sacrifice.
I don’t think anyone is born with discipline. It is something we must train ourselves to do. I want to share 5 disciplines I have trained myself to do over the past couple of years. Some of them are still being tweaked and some I’ve been doing for some time. I do believe they will be a great guide to you, if you are wanting to be more productive and successful in your day-to-day life.
1) I do not purchase anything unless I’ve run out.
What and Why?
As a general rule of thumb, I do not buy anything unless I’m completely out (with the exception of fuel). This discipline was birthed from two things: 1) how much I hate putting things in closets and 2) how often we moved when we first got married (5 times in 4 years).
How it’s helped?
This helps me reduce waste in my kitchen, helps me to keep my cupboards and closest organized, and generally makes life less stressful and less expensive. I’m not worried about the clutter, or the storage, or spending money on things I already have. There is also a deep satisfaction with using up the last of something – whether it’s the ketchup, a moleskin journal or the laundry detergent. It’s amazing how much more free you feel when “things” aren’t taking up space in your house and how much more creative you are when you run out of something you need!!
2) Quarterly purges of rooms and closets.
What and Why?
This discipline I’ve been doing somewhat my entire life, out of necessity rather than as a discipline. But in the past two years I’ve intentionally done purges. When I adopted a more minimalist mindset, I realized how much stuff I actually had. Even now, after 5 moves and several very large purges, I find myself getting rid of tons of stuff. It’s crazy!
How it’s helped?
It’s lessened my attachment to material items. I’m a sentimental person and so I hold on to things I do not need. For me, cluttered space means a cluttered mind. I cannot have a lot of things and keep my sanity. I do these purges as a discipline, because it helps keep me outwardly focused (giving them to someone in need and realizing how much stuff I have) and eternally focused (by lessening my attachment to material things).
3) I prep for tomorrow.
What and Why?
This was instilled in me by my Dad. Growing up, everyday around 4 or 5 pm he would start filling the coffee pot with water and measuring the coffee grounds. He was prepping his coffee for the next day. Because of that example, I have learned and trained myself to set up everything I need for the next morning.
How it’s helped?
I’m not a stay at home mom. I work, and have worked since Zoey was 4 months old. I’m also not a morning person. But by setting things up at night for the next morning (grinding the coffee, filling the water pot, packing lunches, getting gym bag ready, etc) my mornings are smooth sailing and sets the tone for my day. I’ve even implemented this discipline with Zoey, making her set out clothes for the next day. The morning fights are almost zero since we started doing this.
4) Sleep is my #1 priority.
What and Why?
About three years ago I had some fairly severe health issues. I wrote about it here, so I won’t bring it all back up. But suffice it to say I needed 10-12 hours of sleep per night, and a nap during the day. That is no exaggeration. This went on for well over 9 months, where I was slowly able to get down to needing only 9 hours a night and no nap during the day. Getting that much sleep while working and raising a toddler was very daunting. But if I wanted to heal, I needed to sleep. And slept I did. Sacrificing a lot so I could. No workouts. No alone time. Messy house. No nighttime outings. I practice self-discipline with my sleep, because if I did not I would get sicker.
How it’s helped:
The biggest change I’ve encountered with self-discipline in sleep is the routine. My body knows what to expect and when. It helps me stay focused and motivated all day long, and my body cooperates. I’m healing, I’m less stressed, I have clarity and energy. My sleep is normal for the first time in my life! Ask my mom and she’ll tell you I’ve never been a great sleeper. I would toss and turn all night long. But when I committed to being self-disciplined in my sleep my life has seriously changed! I started taking a magnesium supplement and sleeping when I was tired. I never woke up early for anything and would say no to things before 10am on my days off. I did not worry about doing devotions in the morning. I reluctantly went to bed early. I’m happy to report I wake up now between 5:30-6 am refreshed and ready for the day! I can even function on 6 hours of sleep, though my ideal sleep time is between 7.5-8 hours per night.
5) I established a morning routine.
What and Why?
Back in December 2015, I was going through Micheal Hyatt’s “5 Days To Your Best Year” and mapping out my year. I was writing all these goals down wondering how I would have the time without getting a sitter for daytime. Things like reading more, writing more, learning Spanish, etc. I decided that the most beneficial thing I could do was wake up 1-2 hours earlier. I am not a morning person, or at least I wasn’t back in December. The thought of waking up before 7:30 am was enough to make me start another pot of coffee. I also really enjoy staying up till 11, but it was not proving to be productive or helping me reach my goals. I was often tired by 9 pm because of my circadian rhythm normalizing and so the last hour or two of the day wasn’t my best. I decided I would go to bed between 8:30-9 so I could wake up at 5:30.
How it’s helped:
This discipline is the single best decision I could have made. It has changed my day entirely! I actually look forward to waking up early and starting my day. If I miss it, I’m not as productive or motivated. I get exceptionally more done in my day, because between 5:30-7:30 AM, I’m able to accomplish all of my non-negotiable practices. This frees up my afternoons while Zoey rests, for work or play, depending on what day of the week it is.
Here is what my morning routine looks like:
5:30 Wake-up and get dressed
5:45 Walk the Dog
6:15 Make Coffee, Devotions
6:45 Read or Write (or both!)
7:30 Shower and ready for the day
8 Eat Breakfast
These 5 disciplines are some of the practices that help me to be more productive, creative and life-giving. I sacrifice a lot, such as TV, sleeping in and abundance of material things and kitchen supplies. But by sacrificing these, I have been given an insurmountable amount of self-motivation and discipline. This allows me to accomplish all I set out to do, and more. Life truly happens when we are disciplined.
If you’re wanting to develop disciplines to be more productive, here are a few action steps.
1) Make an effort to only purchase things you’ve run out of. Start small. Don’t purchase any cleaning products until you’re completely out. That is where I started. I worked in incremental steps and eventually got the hang of it for everything I buy. Beware, there is a learning curve!
2) Schedule your next purge for the next 2-3 weeks. It doesn’t have to be the entire house, tackle one room or closet at a time.
3) Determine what things you can do before bed that will help you in the morning, and do them. I prep my french press, lunches, stock my gym/diaper/outing bag, and set out clothes for the next day, and take out meat I will be cooking for dinner the following day.
4) Make sleep a priority. This one takes so much self-discipline because we often feel we will miss out on things. Start with 8 hours of sleep. You’ll quickly know if you need more or less. You could even track you sleep with a Jawbone or Fitbit, which is what I do. Magnesium is a great supplement to help with sleep.
5) Draft up a morning routine that will work for you. You don’t need to wake up 2 hours earlier, that isn’t feasible for everyone. But you can put a routine in place, even if it’s a 30 min routine, to help you get the non-negotiable practices done!
I hope you’ve found this helpful. Let me know of any disciplines that you have and how you’ve developed them.
Elizabeth Horn 
I’m going to start doing some of these! Thanks Lizz 🙂 I love how you have done these and have seen them as very productive and helpful