The Power of Routine

    Routine practices help us to keep track of how much time has actually passed.  Daily, weekly, and monthly routines serve as milestones that help our brain conceptualize how much has really been accomplished within those timeframes.  None of the practices need to be complicated or time-consuming.  Here are some ideas from my own routines:

•    Morning Gratitude and Accomplishment Every morning, before I get out of bed, I think about the day before and list 5 things that I’m thankful for and 5 things I’m proud of myself for accomplishing yesterday.  This practice helps me to be more excited about what will happen today.
  
•   Evening Stretches and Deep Breathing Every evening, before I go to bed, I go through a simple 15 minute stretching exercise and then deep breathing.  The day can carry a lot of stress and these exercises help me to release that stress to get a better night’s rest.
  
  
•   Weekly Drawing I’m certainly no artist, but I enjoy a chance to be creative.  Every week I find a simple drawing on Pinterest and take the time to draw it. If I don’t have a lot of time, I’ll do something really small. If I do happen to have more time, I’ll tackle something more complex than I would usually do.
  
  
•   Monthly Hike While there are other times in the month that I will hike other places as time permits, I make it a point to go on one particular hike every month.  Whenever I move to a new location, one of the first things that I do is figure out where my new monthly hike will be.  With driving time included for my current location, it takes about 2 1/2 hours.