establish useful routines

Today was the conclusion of WEEKS of brainstorming, creating, and revising!

I now have a realistic, flexible schedule for weekdays and weekends. It is posted on my refridgerator and I have copies by my bed for frequent review.

The key is the flexibility. I don’t feel guilty if I skip things, swap times/activities, or go beyond the scheduled times.

I can finally SLEEP well tonight, which is fundamental to the success of my new schedule of useful routines!

I’m in a good place for this. I like being responsible for myself which is new for me. Was scared of it before. Now it’s a whole new ballgame I’m playing. I’m excited to set some healthy routines and boundaries in place.

Old habits die hard, so if you go through that critical period of adjusting, you are off to a free cruise for that particular good habit.

This one is pretty easy as long as I take the time to shop and chop on Sundays. It took me only a few hours yesterday afternoon to make a quinoa salad (with broccoli and carrots) and a simple pasta dish (whole wheat penne, spinach, garlic & olive oil) and now I’ve got my healthy grains to pack for lunch or to add to my dinner.

Progress on routine: go to gym – still going strong. Having 3 nights with scheduled times and people to meet makes it pretty easy. Going first thing in the morning on both weekend days fills in the rest.

Next up: a routine to help reduce clutter at home.

i am a writer and my life had very little structure. and i was always late, losing things, forgetting where i was supposed to be, burning things on the stove (lots of black pots) and generally a chaotic life.

i saw a therapist for couple of years, and finally she said, you have ADD, which did not surprised me. now the thing is that i have been slowly organizing my life for the past 3 years and this is my year to step it up.

i want to organize a routine for my life: teaching, morning and bed. Basically i want to handle information as they come in and have systems set up so that i don’t feel anxious that i am forgetting something.

so right now i have evenings down: cleaning the kitchen, cleaning the hot spots of the house, turning off the lights.

how do you guys establish routines? it is not simply willpower. the question is how.

I’ve made it to the gym 5 times/week three weeks in a row & I only forgot to pack a bra once.

routine 2 is up next. It involves cooking and packing lunches on a regular basis.

I am also getting distracted at times like this evening when I haven’t started thinking about it

Between the tyranny of the urgent at work (and a string of 60+ billable hour weeks) and the festive Christmas season and all its attendant obligations, I’ve completely failed to establish even one of my ‘big four’ daily items as part of my daily routine.

I’ve slackened in my coffee consumption, but that, sadly, was not part of the original goal.

So, new year, new resolutions, et cetera. Time to focus on this one again, since I think that getting these things to the point where they are habitual and daily will go a long way towards helping me achieve some of my other goals.

And look good doing it, too, of course.

I didn’t do badly, but as I’ve been ill so many times things have sort of slipped. Plus my tick list was getting a big confusing as I added and changed it. I’ve done a new one in excel using the knowledge I’ve gained in the last month. If this works it should help me towards some of my other goals such as eating healthier, life planning.

I’ve done about a third of my evening routine (I’ve never finished it yet) and I’ve done some of the hard things like make lunch and filing.