The Little Things Are the Most Important

I thought about titling this “how NOT making my bed messed up an entire month for me,” but then I started thinking about how many other little things go into adding up to a good month or a bad month.

Last month, in July, we picked up our puppies. I had been doing great with my vegan bodybuilding program and had an awesome routine in place. Then…Roo just did NOT agree with her crate. I’ve crate trained multiple dogs and I’ve never seen a puppy react as strongly to the crate as she did. She was out and out screaming as if someone was torturing her. I tried treats and the usual training solutions, but the only way that both of us got some sleep was with her cuddled up next to me. Since I love cuddling with my dogs while I sleep, this is what happened. She now sleeps happily through the night with no accidents curled up by my side.

The problem is, in the meantime, I had to keep getting up and taking her outside and I also had to keep changing linens, putting down puppy pads in the bed. My bed was chaos every night and as a result…I stopped making my bed.

No big deal, right? Plenty of people never make their beds and no one sees my bed but me, so…what’s the problem here?

At first, nothing. I was able to do my usual morning routine. I just skipped making my bed. Then…I started skipping other things. It started slowly until finally, I was up 5lbs and behind on my workouts and my laundry wasn’t put away and my house was chaos.

All because I started not making my bed!

I kind of woke up and came to my senses this week and started with making my bed. Then, I found it easier to stick to other parts of my daily routine. I’m already back on my workouts and sticking to my macros better. I feel calmer. My house has less chaos.

All because I got back to making my bed!

Now, I’m not saying everyone needs to make their bed, but if you do have an “anchor habit” that ties all the rest of your routines together, it’s really important not to let that slide. Maybe for you it’s a morning cup of coffee or morning journaling or prayer or a walk with your dog. Whatever it is, you have to make it a high priority or else all the other priorities start to slide, too. This past month really proved to me how making my bed has become an anchor habit for me. Without it, nothing else in my day goes the right way.

So yes, my bed is now made…even if it often has a puppy in it and I sometimes dream that I’m sleeping with a groundhog that nips me.

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