Roses from our stay at the Farmhouse at Veritas
Today I’m excited to share one of the small changes I’ve made that has really made all the difference in my day-to-day life over the last couple of years: following intentional daily routines. I know it doesn’t sound very fun, but really, sticking to a routine is the difference between just trying to stay afloat and actively choosing how to spend my time so I can trust I am prioritizing what really matters. Obviously I can’t follow my routines perfectly every day, and some days they require more self-discipline to stick to than others. Heck, some days they just aren’t going to happen. But in general, when I can get as close as possible to my ideal day, I feel like I can savor life much more fully without having to re-invent the wheel each morning.
A lot of this is based on the wisdom of the ever-wonderful Lara Casey, founder of Southern Weddings, author of Make it Happen, and all-around inspiration who can teach you so much about living a more purposeful life at her Making Things Happen Intensive. I wrote a little bit about the intensive here, and my friend Katie wrote about it here.
Here are five steps to creating your own intentional routines to inject more joy into your daily life.
1. Think about What Essentials You Want to Fit into Each Day.
First, the fun part. Think of what really matters to you: those things that you would ideally try to fit into each day. What items (that you could feasibly do daily) fill your tank? For me, this is: intentional conversations with Will, Bible study and prayer time, being outside with Pippa, exercise, and taking time to be thankful and express gratitude. There are so many other things I’d love to incorporate: listening to music, spending time in meaningful conversations with friends, etc. But the first five are the most important. I wrote a lot more about how I want to use my time in 2017 here.
Next, think about what things you have to do that you need to fit into your routine. I try not to think of these as things I should do, but things I choose to do, because they are priorities. (It’s really just about perspective!) This includes things like packing a healthy lunch for work, going through my beauty routine, cleaning and tidying our space, making to-do lists, etc. Write these down.
2. Start Early.
There’s no easy way to say this: I started waking up at 5:00am when we moved to DC. It is not easy. But when you wake up thinking about your goals (the Kiwake app is great for this), it’s possible. I’ve actually been hearing from a lot of closet 5:00am-risers recently, so I think it’s catching on. This is one of the single most helpful tools for accomplishing meaningful routines, because let’s be honest, fitting all this stuff in takes time. This really helps get the day started off on a proactive note. Getting up early allows me to have a productive morning routine that packs so much goodness into the early hours, I feel like I have already accomplished so much before I even get to the day’s tasks.
3. Make a Plan, and Actually Write it Down.
The next thing you have to do is get these ideas down into a concrete plan. Maybe start with what is immovable, like a gym class. Then piece all the priorities and the must-dos around that. I wrote down approximate times for each item to keep me on schedule, but if that sounds too Type-A for you, a general plan of attack will do. Also, try to think about ways you can incorporate several priorities into one. If I run outside with Pippa, I am getting outdoors, spending time with her, and exercising all at once!
What does this look like? My days start with my alarm, feeding Pippa, a big glass of water, Bible study, exercise, letting Pippa out, making the bed, and my shower/getting-ready routine. My evenings include sitting down to an undistracted dinner with Will, spending 15 minutes cleaning and tidying the apartment, packing my lunch for the next day, taking time to write down what I am grateful for, making a to-do list for the next day, spending some time in prayer, and reading a good book before lights out. But hopefully this looks different for everyone, so you do you!
Finally, I keep this “schedule” places where I can see it! Mine is a Google doc that I have handy on my phone, in my laptop, and printed out on my desk, in my planner, on the fridge, etc. (Poor Will.)
4. Prepare Well.
So Lara is also awesome at being practical. How is all this going to happen? It takes preparation and maybe some changes. Maybe this means putting your phone and laptop away at dinner time and not looking at them until the next morning. Maybe this means no TV on weeknights. Maybe this means setting an alarm to remind you to leave the office at a reliable time so you have time to fit your life in. Maybe this means doing some serious grocery shopping and meal prep on Sundays so that making dinner can be quick and easy. Whatever your distractions and roadblocks are, think about how you are going to eliminate them.
5. Give Yourself Grace.
Finally, this is only good when it adds joy and fulfillment to your life. If you become a slave to your routines and start to feel guilty when they aren’t accomplished perfectly, we’ve gotten way off track. Remember that the idea is to choose to inject purpose into your days. This is supposed to be a good thing! This is not to be weighing you down. Emily Ley puts this as “grace, not perfection,” and Lara prefers “imperfect progress.” This grace and imperfection is where the joy is found, friends.
Let me know if you have established any routines!
