Be Consistent! We hear this all the time, but what does it actually mean? More importantly, what does it mean to you?

The world would like us to believe that consistency is working on a task or showing up in a very logical, uniform way… everyday, every other day, once per week, once per month.

I’d like to challenge that belief.

Example – The Laundry

We all have to do it. And it never really ends. There’s always more. It is a task that needs consistency (unless you are always buying new clothes). Yet, if I asked each of you to describe how you tackle your laundry, I’d probably get 100 different answers.

Some people do their laundry once per week. They wash, dry, fold, and put everything away in one day.

Others do their laundry when they run out of things to wear. Maybe it’s a Wednesday morning, maybe it’s a Sunday night. It varies.

I actually wash a load of laundry here and there… when the basket is full or overflowing. Sometimes I wash a load per day and other times it’s every third or fourth day. I wash, dry and let it sit there until I have time to fold and put it all away.

The time/day when I work on the laundry is constantly changing and it’s not always logical. But I would argue that my approach is consistent. I work on it from time to time, (I never run out of things to wear) and it always gets done.

There’s not one right way to do your laundry. Just like there’s not one right way to be consistent in other tasks. 

If you like to do tasks once per day, once per week or once per month and you enjoy this… keep going! But if you are beating yourself up because this hasn’t worked for you… please know that it doesn’t have to be this way!

You can be persistent, dependable and steady (my approach to laundry) without being logical, unchanging or rational.

(All synonyms for ‘consistent’, by the way. I looked it up!)

Being consistent is more about not giving up than it is about doing something every day or every week. It’s about moving forward and making progress. You can be consistent even if there are stops and starts along the way.

The laundry always gets done. And so will your other priorities.

Want some support to find “consistency” that works for you? Reach out, I’d love to help!