Incorporating Routines Into A Busy Lifestyle
Hey, fam! Welcome back!! The last time we spoke, we decided for ourselves . . . we chose better our lives by committing to plan how to incorporate healthy living into a busy lifestyle.
HOW DO WE DO THIS?
I will be honest, it is not simple. It takes time and commitment. It takes a regular routine. You’re probably asking yourself, ‘if I have a busy schedule already, how can I incorporate routines’? I, personally, had to set up a daily schedule (that I would prepare weekly) that outlined everything that had to be done, things I wanted to get done, followed by – and you will be shocked by this – things that just pop up. Those pop-ups are things I like to call chaos. Part of the problem with incorporating routines into an already strict and busy schedule is that NO ONE ever PLANS FOR CHAOS!!! You are probably thinking, “Channel, how on earth do you plan for chaos?” For me, I block off approximately 1-2 hours each day where anything that unexpectedly pops up can be done in that 1-2 hour window, while still keeping me on schedule. For instance, on Monday, I know I have the following:
A. 6:00 a.m. – wake up, walk the dogs, get ready for work
B. 7:30 a.m. – arrive at work, log on to check what is happening for work that day, and make adjustments in work schedule as needed
C. 8:00 a.m. – check my personal calendar, compare to my work calendar, anything that needs changing can be changed, but normally, I have done this the day or night before (keep that in mind – planning is KEY!!)
D. 8:30 a.m. – eat a light breakfast (can be a juice I prepared or hot oatmeal)
E. 9:00 a.m. – begin the workday
F. 12:00 p.m. – lunch (go for a walk – make time to step away from work – it’s a must). Work is a resource to live, NOT your reason for living.
G. 1:00 p.m. – this is normally where chaos begins
I stop my schedule here for you because I want to particularly point out that if chaos is going to happen, it typically happens AFTER everyone else has also gotten through the first part of their day. Your child may need to be picked up from school early; there may be a fire drill at work that requires you to push meetings back. Anything can happen. But if you plan for it, then emotionally, mentally, physically, and more importantly (at least for me), you are spiritually prepared to handle it.
You see, the chaos itself is NOT the issue, the issue is, you weren’t ready to handle it. Emotionally and mentally you are caught off guard. You expected your day to go a certain way, but it hasn’t, so now you are frustrated, anxiety starts to kick in because you now are trying to figure out how to get everything done. Guess what, you just wasted time worrying about things that are OUT OF YOUR CONTROL. Life happens. There is nothing that can be done about it, other than HOW YOU RESPOND. If you wake up with the mindset of knowing that anything could happen to ruin YOUR PLANS, you will spend less time worrying, being angry, and being frustrated and more time focusing on how to get through and still staying on track.
Surprise, surprise!! Incorporating routine into your busy schedule does not necessarily mean planning out the entire day, but rather incorporating a different mindset into your day.
H. 2:00 p.m. – daughter calls saying she is sick and needs to be picked up.
I already know what I have planned for the day, what needs to be done, and how soon. I can take my calls from the car. I can finish up the project when I get home – I just need to communicate such to my supervisor. Life happens.
I. 3:00 p.m. – pick up daughter and head home for the day
Back on track, haven’t missed a beat, and I am still able to finish out the workday strong. But what does this do for the rest of your day where you may have schoolwork to accomplish or a workout regimen you wanted to do? Look at this from a positive perspective. You are home earlier and in the comfort of your home to work out – don’t get lazy. Go ahead and prepare that dinner now, go ahead and knock out that workout, better yet, go ahead and finish that schoolwork. What was chaos, is also a blessing, because this allows you to move your schedule up or allocate more time to rest, or more time to other items.
For this reason, in our earlier blog post “Making the Most Out of a Busy Lifestyle” we discussed the importance of planning. Yes, plan out your day, plan out your week, but also plan to have a better mindset because sometimes our plans do NOT go according to plan.
With a change in mindset, you can handle the chaos presented to you much better and STILL accomplish all the things you set out to do.
Maximize your time with routine, but plan to have a positive mindset amid chaos.
