The Rhythm Of My Days

Yesterday my best friend asked me to share more about the rhythm of my days, how I seem to be so consistent with sticking to my daily routines and plans, and what the benefits are.

Last night was FULL of interruptions – dogs barking, small child wanted to sleep with me, the thermostat had been turned up to 90° somehow, throw open the windows to cool the bedroom down, small child needed a glass of ice water – with a straw, teenager had stayed up late and snuck onto my computer, may as well reboot the laundry, a few hours later get up to close the window, “Mom, will you rub my forehead, I have boogers in there,” what does the cat want? Ah, a dog ate the cat food…

And so it went, and such is life sometimes.

Now I’m up early, as planned, because the best way to shake off a night like that is to carry on as planned. Dump the night because it can’t be redone and embrace the new day, starting fresh. Consistency is key.

One of the parts of my early morning before-anyone-else-is-up routine is to read the daily passage from The Daily Stoic. Wouldn’t you know it, this is today’s gift:

We are what we repeatedly do, it is true.

So, how do I stay consistent with this?

Because I have reverse engineered my goals, each part of my daily routines has a very clear purpose. I am constantly reassessing and modifying when necessary so that only the things that will help me achieve my goals are included.

It all circles back to the goals part of motivation. The different layers of the goals are strong enough to provide purpose that makes the day to day routines a given, non-negotiables, and some of my favorite moments of my days. Skipping a day would mean beginning down a path of a different, unwanted habit, setting me back on accomplishing my real goals. That simply will not do!

The rhythm of my days provides a beautiful balance. Bookending my days with my personal routines helps me start the day successfully, ready to be who I need to be for everyone else, and then in the evening returns me to myself. Everything in-between is pretty flexible (I’m a mom of two homeschooling children who are sure to let me know when my time is over!) but I do time block as much as possible so we all have a sense of rhythm to the day. Like the banjo bridge in the image at the top of this post, my routines are the anchors upon which the strings play.

That’s it. It isn’t anything magic.

Benefits:

• Balance
• Focus
• Accomplishing my goals
• Presence for each part of the day
• Calm
• Joy
• …this list goes on forever

Negatives:

• None

Another special benefit I have right now as I patiently work through the days of this current healing cycle is making each day count. It is very easy to fritter the time away while healing and recovering, using it as an excuse for putting things off. I choose to do the opposite and make the most of the time. I am satisfied with the production of each day and feel like I am not wasting time while I wait. I have earned the piece of chocolate in my giant imaginary advent calendar, all by leaning into the rhythm of my day.

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