"Describe your daily routines and why you do them."

The title of this article scares me!  I think of routines as disciplines, and I am so not that person!  With this, I am going to write honestly, and not sound like the expert I am not.  

I get out of bed early.

In my DNA I am wired for greater productivity in the early hours of the morning. My mind is clear and I have fresh energy. So without trying I wake up ridiculously early. It has been pretty annoying my entire life. I am in awe of people that can sleep in till 8, 9 or even 10 am! I used to feel guilty for my strange sleeping patterns. Then I heard about a friend of ours that gets up at 3:30 every morning. He found he could get all of his brain heavy work done before the rest of the world wakes up.  I was like, that’s fabulous! Since then I have given myself permission to call anytime after 3:30 am daytime and perfectly legal to get up and get going.

I do some exercise.

Lately, this comes in the form of bike riding or Yoga.   For me, physical exercise is more about mental and spiritual health than physical strength.  I’ve always had an addiction to being outdoors and moving! So it’s not a discipline for me as I am just a mess without it! And now at my age (soon to reach my prime at 56!), I know my body needs it! But the practice of getting on my bike at dawn and pedaling through the streets of our town is my time for self-nourishment. I listen to good podcasts and good music. And I pray.  It’s my time and I have to fight to do it most days because I am usually well into work mode by the time it is light enough outside to start. The battle I face it to stop working and get out on the street!

I play the Thankful Game.

The secret weapon for life!  When i find myself afraid and intimidated and beginning to fall into self pity and complaining...this is my routine. I start with whatever I can speak with honesty...and usually out loud. Thank you God for my great hands..they are freaking works of art...and the two i have work every single day!  Thank you God for the fact that i have to choose which clothes to put on today..i have so many options right here. Thank you God for water to get clean with...piped right into my house! Dang!

You get the idea. It gets all shades of crazy happy quick when i start with this game. It annihilates that intimidating voice that is always trying to scare me away from my life.

I Pray.

Because everything about my life is too big for me. Our family is huge. Our work is huge. My smallness is huge!  And i believe heaven is standing there saying. What do you want? Like everyday all the time.. So i pray.

I take my vitamins.

B-12 is my new bff. Seriously  i used to do a LOT of coffee. Now, i do vitamins. I see such a difference!  I take Thrive supplements...they are rich in B-12 and lots of good things!

I write stuff down.

I keep a running list of what i want to do each day.  Mainly because my mind has this amazing capacity to go in many directions at once. This gift can be quite dizzying. So i write things down on paper..like a map so when i lose my way i can just have a look at the paper and find my way back to the route!

Honestly, I am in a continual search for the routines of life that i can begin to put into place, that can make me more productive and a better human being.  I’d love to hear yours!

-mk