Random thoughts =Ideas that I ponder on throughout the day. Sometimes they will make sense, sometimes they won’t. We all have them, so no judgment. I just want to share mine, feel free to share your thoughts.
Also, I’m well aware I didn’t post during the weekend. But Mamihood was kicking my butt. More to come on that shortly.
Routine has been on my mind today. I’m trying to really stick to one. It helps me get more of my stuff done and I feel less frustrated when it comes to my kid. Let me explain.
Months ago, I came across some crazy lady’s post (look she’s probably really nice, but the concept to me was crazy-at the time). Talking about “these are the things I get done before anyone wakes up…” That sounds nice, right? But she wakes up at 4am, no ma’am! I cannot and will not wake up at that time. Even though I’ve stayed up till 4 am reading or binging a show, I know I’m bad. But I will not wake up just because.
Then I read “The 5AM Club: Own Your Morning Elevate Your Life” because it kept popping up on my feed. First things first, the book was awful. It hurts to say that, but it was. It took me a while to finish it because I couldn’t handle the style of writing, so many quotes and far fetched stories. Find my wholehearted review here as part of my 2024 Reading List. However, there were some gems hidden in the chaos.
It’s all based on the “60 minute victory hour” to do 20/20/20. Sharma believed that your brain was the most calm and productive when you just wake up. You wake up at 5 am to meditate/reflect on goals for 20 minutes, 20 minutes of intense exercise, and 20 minutes learning a new skill. All of this will set you up for success. Some use this to improve creativity, health, productivity, other’s as time management to work on their passions. I was using it for all of the above.
Since I had tons to do and little time to do it all, I was intrigued. I was feeling rushed, frustrated, and not really in a good mindset because it was preoccupied on my never ending to do list.
Reminder: We all have the same amount of hours in a day, but we do not have the same 24 hours.
I’m not a morning person, I’m a night owl. Waking up early has always been hard for me. Since I was a kid. Doesn’t matter how early I go to bed or how late, it all has the same results. But I was determined to get shit done. So, I tried it. It was rough. But I got shit done! I also didn’t do it exactly as Sharma says we should do it. I do my exercise for longer and after my son is dropped off at school. I meditate and work on my to-do list, until it’s time to get my kiddo ready for school.
Even with this version, I noticed how my energy was different. Especially when I woke up my kiddo for school, maybe the caffeine has already worked its magic by then? I notice how my evenings were a little more relaxed. Plus, I was ready for bed earlier. Even if I was journaling or reading, I was in bed at a decent time.
Then I stopped doing it, and things were getting chaotic again. So, I tried again. According to the book it takes 66 days to make it a habit. I’ve gotten nowhere close to that. I’m hoping I can start this month. This helps me set work/life boundaries. Start times, breaks, and log-off times. Especially with summer vacation coming up, I need that balance. So, I mapped it out: wake up time, what days I do what (personal things that need to get done), workout time, work start time, break, lunch, end of day, free time with kiddo, and night time routine. Chores and errands. Including self-care, this is something I preach about a lot but do very little of for myself. Naturally, I scheduled that in: Sunday’s and Wednesday’s are my mid-week self-care check in.
The week I was sick, I did it without waking up early. There was just no way. I liked it. So, this week I wanted to do it all with the waking up early part as well.
I woke up early today. Caught up with some stuff I needed to do. I was able to do drop off early, and everything else just worked out perfectly.
Of course not. As with any routine, there’s always a need to be flexible. Calls that take longer than anticipated, kiddo needs me to do something for him, deadlines that just moved up. This means I have to work later, or can’t make the lunch or dinner I had planned, can’t run that errand after work because I got stuck on a call and if I go now it will cut into homework time.
I have to be flexible and I have to be kind. When I wake up earlier, I get tired earlier. So, I have to listen to my body and not push it. I’ve done it before when I didn’t finish something in the early morning and I would try to finish it before bed. It didn’t work, I was so tired, I was cranky and just not doing it right. Which would cause me to get upset at myself.
When I created my routine, I told myself this was just a guide. It could change as needed, it was written on paper not on stone. If something doesn’t flow, it can be changed. WIth Summer vacation coming up, I’m sure it will need some changes.
Routines to my surprise work, they help my brain focus, since it helps with procrastination. Which I am a master of. I’ve also broken down my work hours to what projects I will work on, how long, and during which hours. This changes every day, according to priorities.
It’s crazy I know, but it works for me. I have it for the weekends too. There’s classes, chores, and errands, I need the routine. I don’t know if it’s just the A-brain in me, but something about checking off stuff from my list and having a guide-routine really helps me.
So, all day I was just thinking of how good it felt to have gotten some stuff done that had been weighing me down. Of how I was keeping true to my routine. Feeling pretty damn good about it,if I’m honest.
I’ll be traveling next week, so it will be a little harder to stick to my routine. But I will adopt a new one, a temporary one. And if it doesn’t work, oh well, we adapt. As long as I remember to remain calm and kind with myself.
Voz y Vida™ 