No tags yet.
“Balance is your natural state. You’re not finding your balance. You’re returning to it.” - Yoga with Adriene
My morning routine is the promise I keep to myself every day. It’s my guarantee despite what the day will bring. It’s my return to balance.
While writing about a routine feels stereotypically wellness-y, many of my friends have told me that they’re struggling to find balance in quarantine and crave their own routine. I have yet to see my location-based approach elsewhere, and want to share what’s been personally effective.
A routine is not a to-do; it’s supporting your balance through your actions. Balance is the body’s natural state. When you cut your skin, your body automatically closes the wound. Seeing balance as something to return to, something the body wants, was deeply reassuring considering all that is unknown, lost, and disconnected during Covid-19. It reminded me that I already have all the tools I need.
So, every morning I make my bed immediately, put on sunscreen, make coffee, and workout before work. With my admittedly racing mind, I learned to ground my actions in my present location: I make my bed right after getting up from it; I don’t go to the kitchen before finishing washing my face and getting dressed in my room.
My mantra is about being present: “Do it here. Do it now.” It’s hard to just “be present,” but it’s easy to focus on a task when it’s part of a tangible location.
My discipline gives me structure and confidence during quarantine. To create it, I set up parameters based on my work non-negotiables. For example, I know I have a 9:30am roll-call Zoom meeting for work every morning, so I listed what things I want to have done before I hit the desk. However, this can be anything that suits you, such as a daily scheduled Instagram Live video or a nightly dinner with family.
Secondly, to make sure that I’m maximizing efficiency and sleep, I do my routine in clusters based on location. I realized that my routine took too long because I would dart between rooms, so I felt scattered. I’d go into the bathroom, then back to the bedroom, then the kitchen, then realize that I hadn’t actually gotten anything done by the time work started. Instead, “Do it here, do it now.”
The Subjective Specifics of my Location-Based Morning Routine:
Bedroom things: make bed, sunscreen, workout clothes
Kitchen things: water and coffee or tea
Outside deck things: workout
Bathroom things: brush teeth, wash face, makeup
Kitchen things: breakfast, usually a smoothie
Desk things: workworkworkworkwork
So what could this mean for you?
Tangible Takeaways:
Location, location, location! (Location determines the action)
Do it here. Do it now.
A routine isn’t a task to check off; it’s the daily promise you want to keep to yourself
Build your routine around a daily non-negotiable, whether a morning Zoom meeting, an IG Live workout, or nightly dinner with the family
Ask yourself:
Do I enjoy a slow simmer or create my own sense of urgency?
When can I incorporate movement throughout the day?
When do I feel my creative energy, movement energy, quiet energy?
Am I eating enough? Do I need to give my digestion a break? Do I need to eat away from my computer?
What would I look forward to to bookend my day?
Good luck on finding your groundedness, productivity, and peace. Remember, you’re returning to your balance, not finding it.