You know that in order to change your habits, you have to create new ones. And in order to make those new ones, you have to set up a new routine, a new kind of flow to your day and week.
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But as a student, my day has almost no flow. Class can start at 9:35am or at 11am — it can end before lunch or after 4pm. Meetings are sporadically sprinkled in times that work for the whole group, as are casual get togethers and study sessions and professors’ office hours. Additionally, there are some days that my work requires me to get up as early as 5am. So how do I manage to actually keep something stable to make sure that picking the healthy alternative is just a bit easier?
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I call it bookending. I establish a very short morning routine and a very short night routine. Right now, that means that when I wake up, I roll over and jot into my Five Minute Journal. Then, I go to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and then get dressed to get some breakfast and water in me, stat. That alone signals to me that my day has started, I’m freshened up, I’m mentally thinking (thanks to the journal) about things to be grateful for and things that will make this day awesome. Combine that with a cup of black tea and good music, and I’m off to the races — whatever that is that day.
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At night, whatever that is for me (though I try to be in bed by 11pm at the latest to keep my wake-sleep schedule regular), I bookend my day with another short routine. Shower, brush my teeth, take my birth control with a sip of water, and maybe pat some lavender oil under my nose/take my melatonin supplement if I need to make sure I get a solid sleep, and finally reflect in my journal again for a couple minutes on good things that happened and what I could’ve done to make it even better. This short routine alone doesn’t seem all that different from what a lot of us do — what separates it is that I try not to skip it, ever. Whether I’m sleeping over somewhere or got back from a night out or am staying up a bit later than usual to cram, I still go through the moves. This signals to my body that I am done with the day; my thoughts can calm down, whatever else is unresolved will be pushed to tomorrow. I don’t wake up with smudged make up anymore, or completed dehydrated and disoriented. I wake up, and I’m generally ready to roll again on a more positive, motivated note.
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From there, on a weekly basis I’ll see which days are more busy, and which ones aren’t. Busy days call for an early morning workout — I don’t always trust myself to get myself to sweat when I’ve already exhausted my energy — and leisurely days beckon for a nice afternoon workout, when my mental energy naturally dips and I can boost it again with some happy endorphins.Â
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Does this always work exactly to plan? Of course not. I’ve had to do impromptu workouts at 10pm, or dove facefirst into my pillow at 8pm due to a never-ending headache, or slept in because I felt like I was hit by a truck, or…you know how it goes. But as soon as I can, I remind myself of my flow, even if it happens at 1pm, and before I know it, I’m in the zone and ready to make the most of my day, whatever happened earlier.
Photos: Vandy CHAARG