The Routine
What is it about the seasons changing that makes you shift up your routine? Is it because the weather is colder, so you switch your closet around, maybe drink hot coffee in the morning instead of iced...? Or are seasons changing a sign to reset, re-evaluate, and readjust...
Looking back on the end of summer, with the wedding, honeymoon and lots of family visiting, there's no wonder we're coming out of a busy few months feeling greatful to slow down and relax. And autumn in Canada definitely helps with that, but all in all, you have to love your day to day. From running errands, to going to the gym, no matter what your routine is, if you don't enjoy it, you're not doing yourself any good. Loving what you do should extend further than just what pays your bills.
My routine has adjusted multiple times over the years, whether due to a global pandemic, moving cities, or just with the changing of seasons. But it is important to tune into your body and listen to what it wants. I'm also a huge advocate for switching up your day to day, so not everyday is a similar schedule. I personally find that when you have a repeated template to your day, your mind can get bored and essentially go on 'auto-pilot.' But here's the kicker:
the human body loves routine.
So how do we please the mind, the body, and still fit in all the necessary to-do list items in a week?
It's not rocket science, it's just a good ol' balancing act.
And before I dive into what my routine looks like now, and how it's changed over the years just want to shed full disclosure that I don't recommend you copy my routine step by step. Everyone is different and you'll likely enjoy different activities than I do, but feel free to take any inspiration that you feel could compliment your day to day.
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I usually wake up around 8am, check my phone to see if there's anything urgent happening in my direct messages and email, and then slowly head to the kitchen to make an iced chai latte.
Three things to note here:
1. When you have friends and family 5 hours ahead of EST it is very difficult to not check your phone right when you wake up, and I don't think it's as bad as some people give out about. It helps my brain wake up, jog my memory of recent interactions and conversations, and potentially set some first priorities for the day.
2. I drink cold chai year round, I used to drink hot coffee and usually multiple a day, but I recently found myself being so dehydrated so decided to make the switch to just tea, and then discovered I preferred iced chat lattes to hot. Additionally, I used to go into a Toronto office for work everyday (can you imagine?) and buy a Starbucks Iced Chai Latte every. damn. day. (I cannot.) Then, I realized Starbucks sells their chai concentrate in grocery stores, so you can just buy the mix, and add your choice of milk, and enjoy the cold chai goodness in the comfort of your own home. Cue the pandemic where this was life changing. But last item on this cold chai topic is that I realized what my sugar intake was like, and decided to look for alternatives of the Starbucks chai. Turns out, there's this chai concentrate by Say When Bevrages which is much less sweet, and you can also buy it in bulk. So that's the long story of what I drink in the morning, with soy milk.
3. I used to workout in the morning, before going into work. Working from home has definitely changed that, because I can either get some exercise at lunch, or right after work since I don't have to deal with an hour long commute.
So I sip my cold chai latte, turn on my computer, and dig into the work that requires the most attention. Yes, I'm slowly waking up, but the goal here is to even just think about the work that needs to be done to complete the item and not necessarily complete it. Half the time, a large task just needs a solid plan in place before diving into executing it. Then, once you get down to the nitty-gritty, everything is all laid out for you and easy to do. So I finish off the morning either getting down to the nitty-gritty and checking items off the to-do list, or setting myself up for success for an easy-breezy afternoon.
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If the weather is nice out, I prefer to get a workout in at lunch and move away from the screen. Niall and I luckily have a tennis court nearby and we can play a set within an hour, so we try to do that 2-3 times a week. If Niall's busy, I'll go out for a run, but either way, I'll make food when I get back. You can probably do the math in your head, but yes, this might amount to more than an hour total. I can luckily juggle my time this way when working from home, but usually I'll eat infront of the computer once I get back. I would also prefer to work 8-5 or 9-6 to make up the time, rather than have a strict lunch hour rule, but again, that's just my body and how it prefers to roll.
One major thing to note here:
I don't really eat breakfast.
Some may say that this is crazy, or not healthy, that you should definitely have three standard meals a day. I'm not entirely sure how I got into this habit, but to be honest my body has simply embraced it and doesn't expect food at least until 11 am. Don't get me wrong though, brunch is life.
So either back to the grind, finishing off tasks for the day or communicating more with co-workers and peers. If I didn't get a workout in during lunch, I'll usually head to the gym after work either for a class, or lane swim, and I make sure to put it in my work calendar so meetings don't get scheduled over it. This is crucial to a work/life balance, and considering it is not an everyday occurance, you're still offering the possibility of being available somedays, but not everyday.
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Post-gym or work, I'll likely have to run some errands. One thing that Niall and I always have done is to not meal prep for the week. It has never been my preference to spend the precious weekend cooking a bunch of meals, and futhermore, eating the same 2-3 meals throughout the week. We definitely have our meals that we make on a regular basis, but we tend to mix it up throughout the week and just check to see what the other feels like eating. Sometimes it depends what we eat for lunch, or what's in season, or what the weather's like. However, Wednesdays are typically pizza nights. And this means buying pizza bases, sauce, cheese all separately and just making our own in the oven, not ordering in pizza. I do eat gluten-free so we've tried a few different gluten-free pizza bases, so far the Caulipower Pizza Crust is our fav.
And typically, there's wine. Can you really have pizza without wine? It's like PB&J.
But post honeymoon/wedding/family vacation we're definitely trying to cut back on the wine consumption. That will be a whole other post in itself, but for now, as they say, everything in moderation, right? I also fully believe that a mid-week treat is also a great pick me up, and something to look forward to after a heavy start.
Anywho,
We eat dinner infront of the TV. I asked this question to my last team at work to see if it was something that was frowned on or not, general consensus is that everyone's doing it. It's the time to unwind, get cozy with dinner, and eat it on the couch while semi-watching netflix. This could be due to multiple factors though.
1. Small apartment sizes in Toronto where you have just a kitchen and a living room, no real dining room or place to put a table with two chairs even.
2. Change of scene. While we're lucky to both work from home, I work upstairs all day and Niall has his office downstairs, in a separate room off the TV area. Going downstairs to chill for me is like a fresh feeling and we use more of the house.
3. Old habits die hard.
Kicking a habit can be a lot of work, and not something that should be taken for granted. If there's one thing in your routine that you're looking to change, my advice is to take baby steps, and just like how I organize my workday; break the big task into smaller, more tangible steps. So if you're looking to change up your routine, don't dive into it all at once, try subbing out, or changing one thing at a time, until it gets ingrained in your day to day.
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