I love routines!!
I have always been a schedule oriented person. I may have been born that way. Or perhaps it was my mother who ingrained it into us with a routine oriented lifestyle. I’m not sure. I just know that routines seem to make life function so much more easily.
When we had our first child, her routine was ALL over the place (as is typical with newborns). I never knew when she would be hungry. I could anticipate when she would wake up from naps. She woke up at different times ALL night long. Those weeks were some of the longest and hardest of my life. Around 6 weeks things started to stabilize and a routine was born.
This new routine was precious to me. She had a set bedtime. Set eating times. She tended to wake up at almost the same exact times at night and in the morning. And this gave me sanity. I knew what to expect. I didnt have to worry about what each day would bring. I knew when we could schedule activities. I knew what my nights and sleep was going to look like. My life finally started to get some order again.
As I had more children, having a routine became even more important. Our habits create order and peace for everyone. My kids tend to wake up at the exact same time every day. This makes it easy for them to be ready and tired for bed at just about the same time nightly. They eat their meals between 6-7, 12-1, and 5-6 pm daily. There is no mystery, anxiety, or wonder about how things are going to flow.
When habits are on auto pilot (like driving, showering, brushing teeth, exercising, healthy eating, and others..) they do not require our thought or energy. This frees up space for placing energy into other areas we currently want to focus on. If every day when I woke up, I had to make 10 decisions, this leads to decision fatigue.
I have automated all the following in my life (but with 80/20 wiggle room for off days):
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I eat breakfast between 7-8, lunch between 12-1 and dinner between 5-6 but usually right at 5 pm.
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I go to sleep by 9:30 pm
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I wake up between 5:30-6 am
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I exercise
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I eat healthy, mostly plant based food
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I meditate
I did not always have all of these habits in place. However, each of these are very important to me. The fact that these are all automated, enables me to have energy, vitality, and the nourishment my body needs and craves by default.
However, because all of these are automatic and do not require thought, my energy for new, creative endeavors is more readily available. Habit automation is not something we all learned growing up. It is a valuable skill. It helps us be our best self. It supports our ability to accomplish more in our lives.
Are your desired habits automated? What are those habits and how are you putting them into place?
What habits are automatic in your life? Are you working to automate any right now?
