Thursday, March 18, 2021

Are you a routine-oriented person? I think sometimes the word “routine” has a bad connotation. “My life is so routine” is not a good statement usually. But, I think routines can actually make your life easier. I find that I have to change routines for different times of the year or different seasons of life. I guess for me, routines help with my productivity and the more efficient I am, the more time I have for the fun things in life!

I feel lucky that I am naturally a morning person. But, there were many years that I wasn’t maximizing my mornings. I used to get as much sleep as possible in the morning and then get up and rush around. When my twins were between 1 and 2 years old I finally figured out that I needed some time to myself before they got up. With even just 30 minutes of quiet time I was so much more ready to “mom” and it really did set up our whole day in a good way.

In the summers, I would get out a toy they hadn’t seen in a while and it felt new to them; I would have it where it was the first thing they saw when they came out to the family room. Or, I would prepare an activity for them to do that morning (teacher mom!) So, by getting up early and having my time, I also had time to do this. I also must admit that I had wonderful sleepers.

My favorite way to start my day is to take my coffee on the porch. I am struggling with what to call my new upper patio. I have a lower patio and and upper patio now. So is this new space my deck and the other my patio? What should I call them?

I start my day with 2 ish cups of coffee, a devotional or Bible verse, and my favorite blogs.

The amount of time I spend doing this varies depending on what I have to do that day. After my coffee, I heat up my breakfast, eat it, and then go get ready for the day.

This routine will be changing for the last 8 weeks of the school year as I am going to be going in to my school from 7:00-3:00. I think I will still get up with enough time for one cup of coffee and some reading, but I will probably take my second cup to go.

Around 10 in the warmer months, I have my iced coffee. Sometimes I take this in the car in the summer if I’m running errands.

During the last year, I have walked Ernie during my lunch break. I am hoping to walk him at 3:00 when I get home now.

I love an afternoon ritual of a coffee or a cocktail, but I usually only do the cocktail a couple of times a week. I am pretty disciplined about stopping work around 3-4. It’s easy to work longer when you work from home, but it is not healthy.

With the exception of part of December and part of January, I have a weekly friend date this last year. In the spring and summer I hosted on my patio, but since the fall I have gone to restaurant patios. Routines shouldn’t all be about things you don’t enjoy. You should have routines that bring you pleasure, as well.

This is relatively new, but I am enjoying these routines:

Grocery pick up – Thursdays – so that I am stocked for the weekend.

House cleaning – Friday afternoons after my last class – again, it feels good to have the house clean for the weekend.

Breakfast prep for the week – Sunday mornings – I think I am going to just take a sandwich for lunch when I go back to school. I think that sounds like the easiest thing to eat when I know I won’t have much time.

Laundry – I do my one load of clothing Monday mornings before I start my first class. I do one household load of sheets and towels Friday afternoon with my cleaning.

Making dinner – I start dinner between 4:45-5:00 every week night. I turn on the news or a podcast while I cook.

Shower – I shower and wash my hair most weeknights around 7:00 after dinner. I sleep better when I do this and it makes my morning routine so much easier. I rarely use a hair dryer so it also helps my hair.

Bedtime – I get in bed no later than 10:00. I think 10-6 is optimum for me.

I know some people have Friday pizza routines and that is so fun because it is a family routine. Some people have a special breakfast on the weekends.

I’m sure I have forgotten something! What are your favorite routines?

Amy