Week 4

The importance of a Routine In our lives

The topic that I want to discuss with everyone this week is the importance of having a routine and goals for every day in our lives. Without a routine we are just aimlessly making our way through our day, also without a routine it is way too easy to not take full advantage of the time that we are granted in this life and as I said in an earlier post time is the one thing we cannot make more of no matter how hard we try. When it's time for us to check out we have no say in the matter. So just take a second and think about, that our time could be tomorrow or when we're 90 no one knows, and no one wants to reach the end of the road with regrets. No one wants to look back and say "Damn I wish I would have done that and now it's too late." So what a routine does is allow us to schedule our lives and make sure that we both take advantage of compounding and reach the objectives that we want to reach. In the next few paragraphs, I'll outline my routine and why I chose the actions that I did, and when you visit I hope either you will see the benefits of making your own routine or bless me with sharing your routine.

Every weekday I wake up at 5:20 keep in mind I don't work till 8 but this is quiet time in my house. I live with a 19-year-old and a 16-year-old and my beautiful supportive amazing fiance. Anyway back to the routine like I said I Wake up 2 1/2 hours early at first this was not the easiest thing to do and took about 3 alarms to wake me up. In one of the podcasts that I listen to I learned to do the 5 breath method. When the alarm goes off open your eyes and then take 5 deep breaths and then ask yourself what does staying in bed accomplish for me, how does it improve my life and help me to be the person that I want to be.

After I'm out of bed I come downstairs and unroll my yoga mat fill my big jug of water and grab my phone. Now this is about the time people would grab their phone and scroll through social media. Personally, I hate social media I feel it's something that can be great but usually just causes us to feel like we're not good enough which is bullshit everyone of us is amazing and can be whatever we want to be in life. Okay once again back to the routine, after the mat, water, and phone I put my headphones in to drown out all outside noise and put on some meditation binaural beats music set my watch timer for 15 minutes, and close my eyes. I then start breathing I know that sounds weird but so important for meditation. Here's the method 6 seconds in through the nose hold for 2 seconds and exhale through pursed lips for 8 seconds. The key in meditation is to not try to control your thoughts just observe them, can't say that enough imagine you're a moviegoer and you're watching a movie in a theatre just enjoy the story. After all you're the star in your own movie.

Next it's time to fuel the machine both with nourishment and information. I grab a bowl and pour myself a bowl of Vector cereal and while eating I start feeding my brain I read whatever book I chose to read that week, as one of my goals is to read a minimum of 40 books this year. Now the key to reading is to set limits don't overload yourself. Choose an amount you want to read in a day don't do more and don't do less and always stay consistent. I chose 1 hour a day so I do 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.

After that I make my lunch for work always one main whether it be a sandwich or just some kind of protein, two 600 ml bottles of water filtered, 2 sliced apples and 2 mandarin oranges(if they are in season), a container of assorted nuts (for snacking) and finally a contego mug of coffee with milk no sugar. Now I give myself a half hour to just relax whether it is checking Facebook or watching a bit of YouTube or checking my blog. It doesn't matter it's the time to just let my mind relax before I go to work. Then I get dressed kiss my fiance goodbye and say I love her. Every morning I do this it's very important to me that she starts her day knowing I love her more than anything.

Then I head to work 45 minutes early even though I only work 15 minutes away and the reason I do this is I never want to be late. This affords me the ability to drive to work and enjoy the drive without the worry of traffic or any delays. The added benefit is that if I get to work early I have extra quiet time to start my day and I'm not rushed. I start going through my emails from the previous day and making any phone calls I need to. Then while out on the road, I have a strict policy of not looking at emails or texts as they will just distract me from the task I have at hand, and they'll be there when I get back to the office.

At 4:15 I start home and most people at this time are in such a rush to get home that any delays cause them road rage or frustration. I on the other hand put some music on and just enjoy my time and ponder things that I'm grateful for. This is a very important part of the day as it gives me a chance to reflect on events of the day and how I handled them, and if I could have handled them better or differently.

I arrive home say hi to everyone and ask how their days were. I go up and change into sweats and a t-shirt and then come downstairs and do a 1-hour workout, once again the trick is to only do that hour no more no less. If you change it you might be tempted to take too much on or start making excuses not to do it. The key to a routine is discipline you are your own boss. After the workout 10 minutes on the elliptical and then an hour bath to soak the muscles and rest them so that I reduce the possibility of soreness or injury. After the bath, I take a 5-minute cold shower (this takes practice and I'm not kidding extreme discipline at first but gets easier). I won't go into the numerous benefits of a cold shower as they are quite numerous. Possibly a later blog post, just trust me they are super good for you.

After all this, I sit down and eat a well-portioned healthy supper usually 1 protein, 1 starch, and assorted vegetables. Then the rest of the night is free for just relaxing and spending time with my love. We usually watch one movie or a couple of episodes of a show that we are watching at the time. And then bedtime by 10 no later.

Now that I've been doing this routine for about 50 days I've noticed a few things 1. I don't wait just for the weekend or the next payday or holiday, I've become quite present and just enjoy every day for what it is. 2. I've become way more focused on my goals and what I want to achieve and they don't seem so impossible or hard anymore and the journey has even become enjoyable and exciting.

Okay, now that I've shared my routine I really hope that when you visit you'll either leave a comment or share your routine. And if the blog is starting to interest you please become a member and join me on this journey.