Last time, I showed you this before photo of my sad little hutch.
It desperately needs some makeover love in order to bring some pizzazz to my living room and tie together the color scheme. Unlike the inspiration photo, however, this makeover cannot happen overnight as I have a real life, a real family, real finances, and a host of other things I do every day.
So, how do I actually accomplish what I want?
I start with the end result in mind. Then, I look at my calendar. When do I want this hutch finished? I then set daily goals (or weekly goals, if a bigger project) until it should be complete. Finally, I set the most important goal: I call this my daily “Focus Time.”
Creating Focus Time
Each day I am working on a project, I plan out my focus time in order to work with as few distractions as possible. I put my phone away, make sure the kids are occupied in a good way, all other things are taken care of, and then I get to work. In fact, this is how I plan my entire day each day: in focused increments.
Daily planning in small increments removes the pressure to “multitask” which, as Gary Keller says in his book, The ONE Thing, is actually a lie. We cannot realistically expect ourselves to do anything well when our brains are divided up into more than one activity/thought. Do yourself a favor and buy the book.
So, here is how my calendar looks:
Do you see that Focus time period for working on the hutch? That’s the true amount of time I have (in reality, not in my fantasy world) to work on it that day. Slow, steady plodding will get me there. It will work for you, too!
Here is what I accomplished yesterday:
This can look quite discouraging as the first coat of paint is most undeniably known as the “Oh my gosh, did I just make a mistake in painting this?” phase, or the “ugly duckling phase.”
Hang in there. It gets better. I promise.
The second coat makes it look so much prettier! But this requires patience because my realistic time frame only allows me time to paint one coat per day. This is hard, because, apparently, I am a typical American and I want it all done. NOW! But this is not realistic. Nor is it giving myself—or my family—grace to breathe while I am working on a project.
The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step
Stay tuned for my next post. Progress is happening. I started this with one simple step: I painted this first coat. Now I have momentum. I won’t stop now because I can’t wait to get this hutch out of its “I’m a teenager with lots of pimples, and haven’t quite figured out how to do my hair and makeup yet” phase. Once she’s finished, she will look like that same teenager who finally grew up into the gorgeous woman no one noticed before. Then we won’t be able to stop staring at her for all the right reasons.
In case you haven’t done it yet, sign up for my email updates so you don’t miss how this hutch turns out! You won’t want to miss this transformation. My hope is that it will inspire you to make focus time for your home, give you inspiration, and spur you on to make the home you’re in the home you love!
Remember, the real magic of home decor is the effort you put into it, in those little increments of focused time.
Until next time, be blessed, and bless your home,
Amy, the Decor Pixie
P.S. Do you struggle to love the home you have? Do you struggle to stay focused and transform your home? Go sign up for my email updates. Your sign-up keeps me motivated, and allows me to keep you motivated. You’ll thank yourself once YOUR home starts coming together! We can do this!
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