Systems and maintenance

My dad used to say that maintenance was key to any system. He worked with spreadsheets and numbers at work and he created a magic budget on a spreadsheet for his finances that I used for years before my finances became so simple that I don't even need a budget anymore.

You need to spend time creating the system and then you need to spend time maintaining it. Both parts are important. Many people spend a lot of time creating the system and then neglect the maintenance. So they end up making a big mess, cleaning up that big mess or re-creating and repeating that cycle.

When you maintain. You spend smaller amounts of time more often and more regularly, and it seems so much easier and you never make a big mess. Every once in awhile, you might do a spring cleaning or a revision or a deep cleaning, and spend a little extra time, but you never have a big mess. You're not stressed out all the time.

I remember when I was a teacher. Every summer I tried to organize and clean my classroom so that I could keep things orderly during the year. And every year, things would look great and work great until about October. Then things would start to get messy and I'd have to do big clean ups. It just didn't work. I'd just organized things and made the mess pretty. I hadn't created systems.

One year, during the year I wrote down ideas and tried to really come up with systems that made sense for the way things worked in my room.  Finally, the following year, I had systems that did, indeed, work.

I made routines for the class and created systems and spaces for them. I put things where they made sense. I created systems for every routine that we had as a class.

I spread them out in the room. I didn't try to condense them to take up less room. I spread them out. I made them easy for me and for my students to keep them organized. They knew where everything was that was theirs and I knew where things went that were mine.

That year when I left for home every afternoon, my desk was completely clear and everything was put back in its place. October came and went and things were still organized. December came and went. March came and went.

The end of the year arrived and the systems were still working. Of course, I did do a little maintenance each day and a little extra every once in a while. But it never got out of control.

Many people think that being organized and having systems and routine seems boring. Like there's too much control and no freedom. But there was so much freedom in having those systems and having things organized. So much freedom.

My students used to tell me how nice it was to be in a neat and organized room. I was free to stand in the hallway and greet my students during the passing period because I had a place for them to pick up their warm-up work and they knew where it was. They knew where anything and everything went. They knew where to find supplies.

I had a routine for the lessons and the students knew it. I taught them the routine. They knew we started with a warm-up, then a song, then a lesson and some activities, then some written practice. They knew what to expect.

But the freedom and fun and exciting part came with what the activities were. What games we would play. What lessons we would learn. That routine gave me freedom and control of my lesson planning.

I even had skeleton lesson plans as far as weekly topics for the entire year that I gave to my students. That didn't box me in, it allowed me to relax. I knew where things were going and I knew what was happening next. Of course, when things came up, I changed and adapted, but I had a plan and I was never caught completely off guard at the end of the year trying to fit things in. Students hate when you try to cram in material in the last few days that is going to be on the final exam.

My eating and training was a good routine. I had training, class or yoga on certain days. I know I have certain foods available to me at home that are appropriate for me so I don't have to wonder what I might eat. There is a freedom in that.

With my skin cancer procedures and things changing at the gym, my routine has changed. It seems like there would be more freedom in not having a routine. Like you'd want to do other things. But it doesn't work that way for me. I need my routine first. Once I get my routine, then I can relax and add the other things.

So I'm creating a new routine even if it will only last a month or so until the KBuddah Gym opens. Once I make my temporary routine, then I think I will feel free to add other things like going to the pool or going for a walk.

So I've found yoga days and some new classes and made a little schedule for myself. I'm looking forward to gaining back my stamina and strength. Khris trained me a little today and I remember how fantastic training is. A trainer makes such a difference in the way you challenge yourself and feel challenged when working out. There's a reason teams have coaches!

I am looking forward to the KBuddah system!