DISCLAIMER-this post was written months & months ago when I was still living in Seattle. Since then, my “routines” have changed but nonetheless when I just discovered this in my drafts, I still found it very relatable.
I don’t have a routine. I never had one. Not with anything I do. Besides the quintessential bare minimum of wake up, go to work for a designated amount of time, go home, eat food, sit, go to sleep. Wake up, work, go home, eat, sit, and sleep. Work, eat, sleep. Over and over again. That is my bare minimum of a routine. I find a way to work out 4-5 days a week, and even that varies majorly. Sometimes it’s a short run, a slow walk, a 7am Vinyasa class or a 7pm Sculpt class. I don’t plan ahead, and I think that’s my beige flag.
“I’ll see how I feel tomorrow” will be my dying words.
Read any self-help book, watch any inspiring YouTube video, and I promise they will be practically screaming “MORNING ROUTINE” in your face and shoving it down your throat until you can no longer breathe and you feel like a piece of poop.
A couple months ago, I felt compelled to create myself a standard morning routine.
In my head, it went like this:
Wake up 7am
Make the bed immediately & open the blinds
Get yourself ready (brush teeth, skin care, hair, dress for the day)
Drink a big glass of water
Put away dishes or tidy up
Make a healthy breakfast and iced Matcha
Journal & meditate
Workout
Go to work/ begin your day
This seemed like a good start. It felt promising, easily attainable.
In reality, it went like this:
Wake up whenever
Check phone
Roll out of bed
Empty dishwasher (sometimes)
Make matcha
Sit on the couch, scroll and drink said matcha
Get ready at the last minute for your day
And a night routine? That is completely unheard of.
Sometimes I wonder if I will ever have the capacity to create a routine for myself and stick to it. And if so, how will my life change from it?
Is a lack of routine holding me back from becoming my best self?
Or is the idea, the pure romanticization of said routines, the very thing that is weighing on my shoulders, causing me to idle?
Are people with rigid routines that much better than the one’s who go with the flow?
It almost feels like that’s the end goal of being a successful adult. That’s how you know you made it. A 15 bullet point long list of intricate steps to wake up, and to go to sleep.
That’s the secret isn’t it?
Well, here’s my 15 bullet point, MLA format, list of my routines as my almost 24 year old self.
Close the bedroom window at 4am every morning because those birds are singing way too gleefully for this time of day.
Sleep until you naturally wake up, because your body knows itself best.
Eat something and drink something
Get dressed in a matching Yoga set and pack clothes to change into at work
Go to work and do things
Usually- go on a run or take a class
Drink Arizona Green Tea with dinner every night
Sit on the couch with Tucker after dinner
Brush your teeth, moisturize your face, turn your fan on, Vaseline your lips and get into bed no later than 11pm
Read until you feel sleepy and then slide your kindle underneath your pillow when you go to sleep
If its a Monday, line dancing with Lauren is on the table
If its a Friday, watching Sex and The city with Lauren is also on the table
Every other Saturday, deep clean the apartment
Call each of my family members on any one day of the week
Lastly, Tuesdays and Fridays are hair wash days
I guess I do have some sense of routines.
Will I still get left behind if I don’t drink a large glass of warm lemon water and ice my face every morning?
Maybe, maybe not.
At least it was all on my own time.
Please tell me your little routines. I’d love to share and connect on how we are all dealing with the pressure from being the generation to grow up with “My perfect 6 am morning routine” YouTube videos.
Well, unless you wake up at 6am every morning. I’d rather not hear how you have your whole life together. But you should make a YouTube video instead!
Was this a little passive aggressive?
Can you tell I woke up to an alarm this morning instead of my own time?