Our year started out wobbly. We all got sick and have passed around a terrible cold that’s going on three weeks. We’ve canceled plans, hunkered down, and lived on a soup diet. While our routines have been off, I’ve been thankful for habits I’ve formed over the past year or so.
While the new year is often a time to start new habits, I wanted to reflect one ones that have been working and that I’ll continue using in this coming year.
Mapping Out My Time
I’ve only done this twice so I’m not sure it can be included as a habit yet but in September and then again last week, I spent a few minutes creating the ideal week. My week rarely goes as planned but I like blocking out times I’ll have to myself and listing possible things to do. I block out other times when I know I’ll be with Elle. Blocking my week like this helps me manage my expectations and keeps me on track when I have moments of space.
Getting Up Early
I feel like I need to start with this one because for so many years, I wanted to create this habit and it felt as if the universe was against me. I’d read books about waking early to write or spend time with God or just to be and I found all the advice so discouraging. But then something shifted. The girls, while still early risers, learned to stay in bed until 6:30. With Bea starting school at 8:00, I found that being ready for the day before everyone rose made such a difference. I get up just 45 minutes before the girls an in that time am able to read, sometimes journal, get ready for the day, and have my bed made. I love knowing that the rest of the day could go completely wrong but those having those things done first thing means even the worst day has started with successes.
Starting the Day with Water and Ending it with Tea
I’ve been drinking a glass of water first thing since I was pregnant with Bea but this year, I started keeping a covered cup next to my reading chair in my bedroom. I fill it up at night and it’s ready to go when I wake up in the morning. Sipping this first glass while I read has changed drinking water from something I need to do quickly before I have coffee and breakfast to something that is slowly part of my wakeup routine.
At the end of the day, after putting the girls to bed, I brew a mug of tea. I started doing this when I went through a bout of insomnia a couple years ago. I was trying anything to trigger nighttime feelings. While the tea wasn’t a magical cure, I did like the way it signaled the end of the day. I sip that mug and either check my phone on last time or read a bit in a book before Frank and I watch an evening show together.
Using Screentime Settings
I’ve started using Screentime and Downtime settings on my phone and they’ve helped me be more aware of my consumption. For apps I enjoy but also know can be a waste of time, I set limits for the day’s usage. At 8:00 all my apps go to sleep and Frank and I spend that hour before bedtime reading or watching a show together on our television in the basement. Staying off my phone for that hour and a half before bedtime has helped in the wind-down process.
Annie Rim 
One habit that I’ll keep in play
throughout the coming year
is to greet and end each day
with some cans of ice-cold beer.
There is a tumour in my throat
that makes it hard to swallow,
and since cancer gets a vote,
it’s this plan I must follow:
to down even a light repast
I must first soothe the pain,
else I can’t describe just how fast
it all comes up again.
And here’s the rub (who woulda thunk!)
it no longer gets me drunk.
Yes! Drink that beer – and enjoy it!
I love your ideas, Annie. So realistic and do-able! I will certainly try the sending-Apps-to-sleep one, and just a simple idea of putting a cover over your water-glass so it does not get dusty, it’s genius. Thank you for being so down-to-earth, but at the same time inspirational. xx
Oh, I’m glad! Sometimes I feel like it’s so silly and mundane to share what I’m doing but I’m glad there’s inspiration, too. I found a plastic glass that came with a top and it was a game-changer. Go figure! Those simple steps are keys to success. 😉