Day 4 - Changing my Routine

Today I am challenged with changing up my routine. I listed out my old routine in yesterday’s post. Even though I don’t spend 8-10 hours in the workplace anymore, I have fallen into a routine that fills my day, nonetheless.

It consists of getting up at the same time every day, getting around and then casually drinking a small cup  of coffee, eating a gluten free bagel – half regular cream cheese, the other half Neapolitan style (half strawberry and half homemade hot chocolate cream cheese.

After breakfast, I usually go for a 1–3-mile walk, as long as it’s not raining…or a million degrees outside. I spend approximately 2-4 hours job hunting, which includes research, resume updates, cover letter creation, and applying for the jobs that appear to best fit my aspirational goals of making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

I spend time a little bit of time each day reading or writing, sometimes I do both in the same day. In five months, I’ve read over 30 books, fiction and nonfiction, e-book, print, and audiobook, and I have completed the first draft of a creative nonfiction manuscript, it’s about 130 pages before edits.

I have focused on professional development in the way of completing human rights education training, attending free and low-cost leadership conferences, and I’m still committed to writing leadership articles for the online contact center publication, ICMI.

In five months I’ve spent over 200 hours volunteering for causes I believe in, which goes hand in hand with the advocacy work I am continually knee-deep in and my evenings are typically reserved for Tai Chi, candidate forums, canvassing for candidates (it is election season), meeting with my writing group, and binge watching TV, currently Marvel’s Daredevil.

I am comfortable with my routine, but I learned from Michele Poler’s book Hello, Fears our brain’s bunch up all the memories that are similar to one another; new memories are only created when routine is altered. Today, I will find a way to lovingly embrace a shift in my routine.

…I hadn’t even posted this challenge before I was presented with a change to my expected routine. My spouse’s flight home from out of state was delayed which caused him to miss his connecting flight. I won’t be able to pick him up from the airport until hours after originally planned. This was kind of a freebie; it was provided to me and now I will adapt to my day. I’ll continue to focus on ways I can make modifications to my routine to create a schism that will produce new memories.

Stock image provided by Unsplash.