I found an app called EZ Habits the other day and it works great for keeping on track with habits you want to implement into your life. I use it along with other apps like Fly Lady Plus (cleaning app), and MyFitnessPal (self-explanatory!) to keep my life running smoothly. The app allows you to say how many times a week you want to do the habit and provides space for making comments each day on each habit. It comes with a calendar component that, when habits are checked off, it colour codes the calendars for each habit. You can track how often you are completing a habit and when the last time you did a habit was and what your patterns are.
For me, my list looks something like this:
Read Chapter from Bible
Running
Swimming
Walking my Dog
Vacuuming
Bathroom Cleanup
Meal Planning
I have goals for each one but it just keeps me on track and I find it highly motivating!
You might have noticed swimming is on there. Initially, I was adverse to going swimming with my family, preferring to doing something like running with my son, but since he decided he didn’t want to run after all, I knew I had to make a change. When I told my boys I was coming swimming with them yesterday, they were so thrilled! Both Daddy AND Mommy were coming swimming with them. That made me happy.
One of the reasons I avoid swimming has to do with body image. A number of years ago, one of my medication’s side effects triggered the appearance of psoriasis. It is a difficult diagnosis to live with it. Some have it milder than others, some have it really bad. Mine is somewhere in the middle. Basically for those who aren’t familiar, it is red patchy spots of skin that will continuously flake off and grow larger without treatment. They can appear anywhere on the body. Mine is on my back and scalp mostly, lately it’s been starting on my elbows. There is no cure. Thankfully, I have good treatment methods which keep it under control most of the time but it is a constant battle.
There’s other lesser reasons, like my hair doesn’t like chlorine (I just put it in a braid yesterday.) but that is the main one. However, my experience going swimming with my family MORE than made up for the small level of self-consciousness I experienced because of the psoriasis.
We played monkey-in-the-middle, we played water volleyball, I went in the smaller pool and enjoyed seeing my boys squeal as they slid down the water slide with a big splash as they came down. I went out into the deep end and did some swimming on my own and treaded some water. It felt so relaxing and I was all smiles the entire time. Sometimes when I would realize my bathing suit had shifted and one of my spots on my back was exposed I would feel a little self conscious and adjust, but really, no one was looking. Everyone was doing their own thing. I am so happy I went and overcame my shyness about public swimming.
I felt pleasantly tired after the swim time, content and relaxed. It was so wonderful to bond with my boys in this different way. In the later evening I pulled out my phone and opened up EZ Habits. “My boys cheered when they found out I was going swimming today. I had a blast, and will definitely go again.” I wrote. Swimming, Check!
Have a beautiful day!
Lindsey
See and Wait, 