Routines are things we set up for our children. We know they naturally crave them and thrive when they have routine around them.
Then somewhere along the road as adults, we either lose our routines or we think they don’t matter or we use them some of the time – but we become complacent and wonder why things are ‘out of wack’.
One of the first things I did when moving beyond my PND, was to set up an exercise routine. It was a non-negotiable for me.
My aim was to go for a walk between 9.30-11am every day. The when didn’t matter so much, but the actual act of doing it mattered. It also didn’t matter how long I’d walk for but 45 minutes to an hour was a great walk and I felt re-energised.
Of course there were stories about how I needed to:
- Make sure my baby slept in his bed, not in the pram or Baby Bjorn
- Sleep when my baby slept
- Tidy and clean the house
I made the commitment to myself because I knew that I had 2 options:
- Go deeper into my big black hole, or
- Start digging myself out of my big black hole
I chose the latter, and I quickly saw the benefits.
I had more energy, I was happier (a major goal) and I had started to cultivate ‘self-belief’ that I could get out of my big black hole and live a life that I loved.
I also learnt the art of flexibility.
Flexibility is a key to creating any goal, not just because what you thought was the goal, actually isn’t the goal when you get to it, for example, you might want to walk for 30 minutes a day, but you end up walking for 20 minutes, running for 20 minutes and walking again for another 10 minutes, but it’s because every day’s different, and somedays that walk isn’t going to happen.
The art is being able to be ok with not walking, and knowing, believing in yourself, that you will get out there tomorrow.
I’m 7 years on from where my PND journey started, and I’ve remembered recently, that I still need and desire routine.
Over the weekend I’d let go of my weekday routine:
- 5 minutes sitting and doing nothing
- 10 minutes of my exercise bike and reading
- Eating my protocol consistently
And I was all over the shop. My emotions were running, I was eating foods I don’t normally eat and saying ‘don’t worry, we’ll sort it out tomorrow’ (so here I am sorting it out) and generally I wasn’t a nice person to be around.
So I decided to stop my behaviour, and look at what my body and mind needed – and it wanted it’s routine.
I wandered outside and sat in a chair for 5 minutes. I looked at the stones we’re putting around our pool pavers, and I thought about our garden beds and how we’re going to start filling them, and I felt the sun against my skin.
Then I came back inside, grabbed my new book The Top Five Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware, and plonked my bottom on my exercise bike for 10 minutes.
Then I asked, what’s next? And I kept moving from that ‘what’s next’ space for the rest of the afternoon.
I felt calm, relaxed and aligned.
Do you like routines? Do you like them in some areas of your life, but not others? That could be fun to explore – why you don’t like them all the time.
Even rebels like routine – but don’t tell them that because hey don’t like being told what to do LOL
Explore today where routines can support you and help you create the balance you’re looking for, and remember, flexibility is key. Have a plan, have a routine, and create a back up routine for when you can’t have a routine xo
