I believe rituals and routines are crucial for stability and overall personal fulfillment. Not only does the structure of having rituals and routines allow me to be my most productive self, but it makes me feel so empowered and accomplished when I adhere.
I enjoy my morning rituals immensely. On most mornings, I wake up, work out, shower, brush my teeth, make coffee, make my lunch, blow-dry and style my hair, apply my makeup, get dressed, and head out the door. I love listening to my favorite morning radio show while sipping on my coffee on my drive to work. Every morning when I arrive at work, I always check my email and voicemail, and then prepare myself for the day by printing out my calendar for that day, making my "To Do" list, and gathering any and all materials necessary for any meetings and tasks that I have planned.
While this ritual works fabulously for me, I have many other areas that I need to improve on. On weekends, I often flounder on my ritual, and let me tell you, it takes a toll. I usually get up and make breakfast and then plop myself on the couch. If I have nothing planned, it can be disastrous. I may sit there for 2 hours or more...bad, I know. So, I am making a commitment to myself starting today. On weekends, when I get up I am going to follow my weekday morning routine, excluding only the lunch making part and the whole going to work thing. That way, I will feel refreshed, accomplished and ready for whatever the day may bring. I also need to plan more for myself to do, whether it be a day out with a girlfriend, a fun activity with my husband, an adventure with my dog, etc... Again, when left up to my own devices on the weekends, I can easily get sucked into doing virtually nothing. The less I do, the less motivated I become. And, without fail, I always feel terrible about myself when I have one of those kinds of days. I don't ever want to feel terrible or guilty about the things that I do, so I certainly don't want to feel that way about what I don't do. I also need to include time in my plans for my necessary weekend chores/errands, including washing our bedding, meal planning and grocery shopping for the week, trips to Wal-Mart for needed household items, taking on a project in the house, cleaning, etc... These types of things are usually reserved for Sundays.
I also need to create better rituals for my weeknight evenings. My objectives for the evenings include Bailey getting lots of exercise each night, cooking dinner and eating at the dinner table with my husband most nights, tackling at least one household chore each night so they don't pile up and overwhelm me on the weekends, and spend some quality time without TV just talking to my husband about whatever is on our minds. Some nights I get home and don't feel like doing anything...so I don't. And again, I inevitably feel terrible about being so lazy. On the nights when I'm productive, I feel so fantastic and energized, so why don't I make myself feel like this every night? So, again, I am making a commitment to myself starting today to fulfill this evening ritual set forth.
I know that I can't adhere to these routines and rituals all the time, but having them established and striving to achieve success at them as much as possible will give me a constant goal. I know that I will feel so good about myself when I meet these goals, and who doesn't want to feel that way? This all goes back to my personal mission...I am in control of me and I choose to do whatever it takes feel good about myself, however important or unimportant it may seem. I know how silly this may seem to some, but to me it makes a world of a difference in my mood, my demeanor, and my overall outlook and attitude.
