My Routine is Not Working as Planned

I have a goal of formulating a morning and evening routine for myself. It's one of the things that I want to do for myself this year. I know what I want to have in that routine, but I am having difficulty getting a routine established so far. This is partially a function of my laziness, partially a function of the season (I don't feel good - darn harvest!!), and partially because I haven't found my motivation to get into a new routine.

So, what do I do?

I'm heading back into my goals and my desired routine to do what I encourage my clients to do - focus on one thing at a time, build up that one thing, and then add the next thing. One thing at a time.

Isn't it amazing how much the things we do with our clients transfer into our own lives? Rather than taking on every single blooming thing that I want to do, I should listen to the advice that I give to my kids in crisis and focus on one thing and one thing only. Duh, right?

So here goes my original goal of doing everything at once. I am going to try a new, old strategy and do one thing only this week.

I am going to eat breakfast every morning.

Sounds silly, doesn't it? You would think that breakfast should be part of everyone's routine, but I don't often take the time. I had a homemade breakfast sandwich on Monday and ravioli yesterday morning. I will probably make some mashed potatoes and peas and ribs for this morning's breakfast. Everything will just need to be reheated, but it will be something that I appreciate and can savor for a bit. I will make breakfast tomorrow and on Friday as well. Then, the breakfast part of my routine will be started.

If you read my blog, you know that I dabble in the world of bullet journaling. I have been watching so many YouTube videos about setting up bullet journal spreads lately that I think I am dreaming them. I have not really become a typical bullet journaler, and I don't think I'll ever join the pantheon of people out there videoing their bullet journal set-up processes, but I am enjoying watching what others are doing.

One of the things that most bullet journalers include in their monthly spreads is a habit tracker. With my current goal, I am seeing the benefit of such a tracker. A habit tracker is usually a grid or a calendar where you fill in an area when you complete the task that you want to establish. I am thinking that I will need to add something to my current personal journal to track my daily routine habits. This is similar to keeping data on my clients and how they progress into the establishment of new routines or into skill development.

So, what am I going to do? I think I'll start a new page on my journal that focuses on this breakfast thing. For the moment, I'll go pretty simple in design - seven boxes with the label, "breakfast." Fill-in the box when I eat breakfast, and, voila! A habit tracker is born.

Next week, I may add something else to my tracking routine. Exercise is at the top of the list - 30 minutes per day to start...Breakfast and exercise - that could work really well. 

Time to get my potatoes, ribs, and peas ready to eat for breakfast. Time to accomplish this part of my routine for this day. The rest can wait - one step at a time - baby stepping into a routine that is comfortable, that is doable, and that is mine.

Starting with one thing - breakfast.