Are there daily rituals in your life that keep you on track? Do you have to have a hot bath every night before bed? Do you meditate on a daily basis, say your prayers, have chocolate and coffee in the afternoon?
Most of us are creatures of habit. I read somewhere that nearly 90% of everything we do is habit. We get locked into a routine, stuck in a rut, wonder in fear what’s waiting outside the box.
Not that this is all bad. Our daily habits give our lives continuity and flow. They comfort us when the going gets tough, and ground us in the midst of chaos.
Nothing like that lucky shirt to cheer on a game, or that special cup we have to use everyday. (Mine is a metal thermous I got on sale at Wally world. It got me through an endless stream of too hot days this summer while having more hot flashes than I dreamed were humanly possible. They say the average woman at my stage in life has five to ten a day….LOLOL I had more than that in a single hour. Cross my heart, honest. Did I mention growing old sucks?)
But I digress…another sign I am becoming my mother. How did that happen when I fought so hard against it?
Okay, Okay…back to my favorite habits.
I have to have a bath before I settle down to write. It seperates my writing day from all the other stuff I have to do. Tells my creative brain to get in gear. I’ve come up with quite a few good ideas soaking in the tub.
I start my day the same and end my day the same. Yes, it gets boring on occasion, and yes, there are times I fight to change it.
But more often than not, with my husband and children safely home both before and after they have ventured out into the world, I count my blessings.
Habitualities
By Gia.Dawn on September 29, 2007
Comments
5 responses to “Habitualities”
Hello Gia,
First, let me say, I hear you about the hot flashes. I’m just getting into that stage, and wow, I hate it! Night sweats are the worst, though. What’s funny about that is, I only had them for about a week straight, then they stopped. I may have a bad night every once in a while, but, hey, I can deal with that. That’s a heck of a lot better than having them every night! lol
Speaking of creatures of habit. That’s me to a T. I start my day each and every moring with drinking my coffee and reading my emails.
On those few occasions when I’ve not been able to get online for whatever reason and therefore not able to read my email, well, lets just say that I’m not a happy camper.
And God forbid I’m out of creamer! That will send me into a tailspin as well. Because if I’m out of creamer, I can’t drink my coffee, and if I can’t drink my coffee while reading my emails, well, you get the picture.
When something like that puts a dent in my routine, my whole day gets out of whack! Maybe it’s this old age thing (although I’m not that old-46 is still young, isn’t it?)…I’m just too set in my ways. lol
Best of luck with your writing…and your hot flashes!
Don’t think of them as hot flashes (or flushes, as we say in the UK), think of them as power surges – that’s what got me through them.
To separate my day job from writing in the evenings, I spend about twenty minutes enjoying my yoga practice. It sort of cleanses my mind of all the stressy stuff and lets me come fresh to the writing.
Hello world. Gia
Thank you ladies, for commenting. I have tried to reply for a couple of days, but I think I’ve been blacklisted, lololol. See if this gets through.
Gia
You know Gia, my first reaction to the post was denial. “I don’t have a routine.” But, dang, I do: Drop the kids at school , come home, put in a load of washing, make a giant mug of tea, and sit my butt down on that chair in front of the computer.
I swear, if I didn’t follow the same routine every time I sat down to write, I wouldn’t be able to string a sentence together.
Jess