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Hi friends! It’s been a minute. There’s been a pretty big life event since my last post; I changed jobs! Since graduating from university, I’ve only been with one firm, and while I did move laterally within the firm to a different line of service at one point, I was in my comfort zone when it came to company policies and technologies. Moving to a new company has meant re-learning many things I used to be familiar with. Changing something that takes up a big part of my days has meant shifting my personal schedule as well. For example, my new workday starts at 8 am instead of 9 am. It’s taken a while to get used to waking up earlier every day.
Since I’ve been adapting and adjusting my schedule recently, I thought this would be a great time to talk about things that are not going anywhere in the schedule. I’m a person who loves routines, and I’m pretty sure the following items, which I make sure to do every day, are what keep me sane.
Make my bed.
Even before changing jobs, I’ve always woken up earlier than my partner. That means mornings usually consist of me turning off my alarm, taking a peek at the temperature, grabbing the clothes I’ll need for my morning, and tip-toeing out of the bedroom. When he wakes up, it’ll be up for him to make the bed. If he’s out of town though, I make sure I make the bed as soon as I wake up. I love walking into my bedroom at the end of the day to a made-up bed; it just keeps me at peace.
Oral hygiene and skincare.
Every morning, I brush my teeth and put on sunscreen. If I’m doing something important that day, I’ll also do my makeup. Every evening, I’ll floss, brush my teeth, wash my face, and do my skincare routine (either a combination of spot treatment, serum, and a moisturizer; or a face mask). I’ll do a hot eye compress for 10 minutes in bed before going to bed.
Oatmeal with peanut butter and frozen fruit.
I make this for breakfast every morning. I microwave my oatmeal (because who has time to watch over a stove?) and when it comes out piping hot I stir in some peanut butter and frozen fruit. The frozen fruit thaws when it comes into contact with the hot oatmeal, and the oatmeal cools down with the fruit, so I’m able to eat this immediately without burning my mouth.
Listen to a podcast.
I set my phone to auto-download the latest episodes of my favourite podcasts, and I’m always playing them as I get ready in the morning or when I’m winding down for the evening.
Put the house to bed.
Every night, before going to bed, I like to walk around the condo and make sure anything I had set out is put away. Having a clean slate for the next day gives me the same peaceful feeling as a made-up bed.
Yoga.
I have a membership to a studio nearby and try to pre-sign up for one class a day. I find that when I’m flowing with other people, the doubling effect helps me to stay on track in practicing every day. (I also really like the fact that my studio has a 6-hour cancellation policy, so I’m unable to be lazy and renege on practice right before class). If there’s no class that fits within my schedule, I’ll try to practice as soon as I wake up – I lay my yoga clothes right next to bed and set the online video to play on the floor where I will set up my mat.
As I’m writing this post, I was surprised that there were only six things I do on a daily basis. I’m a stickler for routine, but my day does change depending on what tasks I’ve decided to complete, so other than the above, I couldn’t say I necessarily do something else every single day. Through trial and error, I’ve found that this works for me; having more hours in the day to allocate to priorities I have gives me more peace of mind than a long routine that becomes cumbersome to complete.
What things do you do every day?