Using a NAUC List For Lasting Change




The new year is coming and soon we'll all be trying to enact change in our lives.  And one way to do that is with lists.  And I am a strong believer in lists.  I love making them and then crossing stuff off, which give me a sense of accomplishment.  I also make "I Did It" lists, so I can write down all the stuff I did and feel accomplished that way, too.  Which is why I turned my "bullet journal" into a "household organizational journal" filled with lists instead of bullets.  You can read about that here.  

I also love creating the "Life Map" journals, which you can read about here (and you'll be able to buy one soon!).  Plotting out your life is a great way to take stock, especially when you are feeling overwhelmed.  It lays everything out on paper for you to see, and if you use differed colored pens for different areas of your life, it's makes a very pretty rainbowed representation of your life.  

But whenever you are thinking about developing new habits or making any sort of change in your life, you really need a certain kind of list to help make that happen.  And that's your NAUC list.  NAUC stands for "never", "always", "unrestricted", and "conditionals", a really great idea that I read about in the book "Never Binge Again" by Glenn Livingston, PhD (click here to go to his website).  And I found that this idea can apply to so much than just eating (though it works great for diets, too).  This list helps you can plot out your rules, as I state in my post about cleaning here.  But you can make rules for anything in your life, not just getting organized (though NAUC lists work for that, too).  "I will never do this again", meaning what rule will you make so you never do a certain action again?  If you're cleaning, this could look like: "I will never allow clothes on my floor again" (which was the first rule I ever made for cleaning in my home).  "I will always put all dirty clothes in a hamper".  "I will always allow my kids to keep their rooms the way they like (though I will enforce the no-clothes-on-the-floor rule), and only help them clean when they ask me to".  "If my clothes need mending or certain care, then I will allow them outside my hamper, but only then." (a "conditional" is an "if-then" rule).   

You can apply a NAUC list to anything you like in your life: diets, daily routines, practicing or work schedules (like working from home at a home business or practicing a music instrument), organization/cleaning, developing new habits, or whatever else you have going on in your life that you want to change.    

Making rules for change helps cement whatever change you're trying to make into your brain for more immediate and lasting change.  I have ADHD, so I am the poster-girl for not remembering new routines or practices I am trying to put into place in my life (like automatically putting 20% of our weekly paychecks into our savings).  But if I make a rule, instead of a soft "guideline" to follow?  My brain is turns into military school for thoughts and bam!  They get into shape, just like that.  

When I made the the rule that no article of clothing was allowed on my floor ever again, I honestly never allowed another piece of clothing on my floor again!  And this was coming from a place of really, really bad disorganization and laundry everywhere in my house (shameful to admit, but it's true).  So if I can follow rules and stick with them?  Anyone can.  I mean it.  

And so the NAUC list can help you achieve change faster (and make it last) by making specific rules for you to abide by with specific circumstances (which are never, always, unrestricted, and conditional).  You can download yours here: 




(right-click to "save as", and then save as a PDF and print!)






I hope this works for you, if so, come back here and let me know!! 




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