Did You Make Your Bed Today?

After the kids leave for school and I’ve walked the dog, I walk around the house surveying the situation. I noticed that every day Audrey makes her bed. It’s a small thing, but it speaks volumes.

Making your bed every day. In the scheme of things, does making your bed every day really matter? What’s the impact of making your bed every day? There was a book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Is making your bed one of the small things that you don’t need to sweat? Or is it, in fact, setting up your whole day for success? And does it lead to a lifetime of success?

Don’t stop reading this because you feel this is petty and little because, in fact, it’s not. Making your bed every day has a huge impact on you. It’s the first step to starting your day with something already accomplished. With something already done, you begin the momentum for getting MORE things done. When you have a major project to do, you chunk it down into small bite-sized action steps that lead to the desired result. Making your bed begins your day by completing a small action step! You can keep the momentum moving forward from there.

Don’t let life’s little complications get in the way of you being a success! Make the bed! Why? Because making the bed is the right thing to do. By making the bed, you’re making the right choice and doing the right thing. More importantly, it’s nice to come home to a nicely made bed, to a room that’s in order, to a nice space. Making the bed shows that you care about the details. You take the time to do the right thing. It reflects on you and your character.

Making the bed is easy to do. It’s also just as easy not to do. Some people say why bother to make the bed since they are just going to get back in and mess it up again. Making your bed every day is a MIND FRAME. It’s the mind frame of knowing the right thing to do and doing it, finishing your activity (sleeping), starting out fresh with a newly made bed, cleaning up after yourself, keeping your space presentable.

Making your bed every day puts you on the path to becoming an adult—becoming responsible for yourself. No little fairy (spelled M-O-M) is going to flit about behind you and clean up after you. Peter Pan never made his bed. You know that because he never grew up.

Charles Duhigg, in his book, the Power of Habit, said that “making your bed every morning is correlated with better productivity, a greater sense of well-being, and stronger skills at sticking with a budget.” He calls this a “keystone habit” because it kicks off a pattern of other good behaviors. It puts you on the right path to exercise, eat better, and get more sleep!

Admiral William H. McRaven (U.S. Navy Retired) was asked to give the 2014 University of Texas, Austin Commencement speech. His topic was 10 things he learned from Navy Seal training. The first lesson on his list was the importance of making your bed properly every day. He said, “if you want to change your life and maybe the world—start off by making your bed!”

Making your bed every day. It’s an attitude. An Attitude that leads to success. It reflects on you as a person. Are you the kind of person who pays attention to details? Who likes things to be finished? Who likes to cross things off your list? Who thrives on a sense of order? Who not only knows the right thing to do but does it?

Making your bed. A small action with a lifetime of consequences.