Routine: boring or amazing?
I always thought it was boring. Lately I think it’s amazing.
This is the perfect time of year to take an honest look at your routine. You probably have some goals for 2010. Maybe you want to lose 15 lbs, save $5,000 or pay off $3,000 in credit card debt. Our daily habits become our reality. How are your daily actions moving you towards or away from your goals?
Here are a few honest examples from my own life.
1. My money seems to run away from my wallet like a bat out of hell. Where the hell is it going? And why the hell do I still have credit card debt? I stopped carrying my credit card all together and now operate on the Grandma system: I only use cash. When it’s gone, it’s gone. I’ve been allocating cash to different envelopes, and guess what? I haven’t used my credit card and I haven’t over spent. Hmm. Apparently I needed to change my routine of carrying and swiping plastic (even if it’s my debit card) every where I go.
2. My blog posts were starting to be inconsistent and mood driven. Adding Monday Must-Reads and Tuesday book reviews has given me structure and guarantees that I start the week off right with blogging. Now it’s just part of my routine, I don’t even have to think about it. Blogging on Monday and Tuesday means I’m likely to blog on Wednesday and Thursday as well.
3. Although working out has always been part of my life, lately I cannot STAND it. I will think of any excuse to avoid it. About 6 weeks ago, I started going to a Monday night kickboxing class. I hate it. But it has become part of my routine, so I go. Entering the gym on a Monday helps me go on other days. This week I’ll be adding class two to my weekly routine. I’m working up towards going a consistent 4x per week. Baby steps, baby steps.
4. My new office has a McDonald’s in the building. FML. I never really liked McDonald’s, but then I discovered their freaking breakfast burritos. The past few weeks (OK, month+) I’ve been eating those damn burritos 2-3 times a week. Time to break this habit before it gets ugly. I like math, and math doesn’t lie. X calories times 3 visits per week + crappy processed toxins= not good. Today I brought Oatmeal with Flax seed and a bunch of yogurts to leave at work, need to change the routine up for my health.
You get the idea. We all have our weaknesses, but have we stopped to recognize them?
In the fast paced world we live in, it’s really easy to swipe your plastic, skip the gym, run to McDonald’s, and operate on a “when I feel like it” schedule.
Do you feel that our bad habits are conscious ones, or have they just become part of our routine?
Managing your routine means putting yourself in the drivers seat and driving towards your goals rather than around and around in circles. I didn’t say that routine is always fun or glamourous, but I know for a fact that it works.
What parts of your routine could you re-design in order to improve your life?
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If anyone can relate to where you're at in your career, it's Nicole Crimaldi: Nicole spent 5 years in corporate America, switched career paths, worked at a start-up, survived a layoff and is now self-employed. Nicole believes that career satisfaction is a huge part of overall happiness. Therefore, she started Ms. Career Girl to help other women get off the treadmill and onto a more fulfilling path.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
What about taking another class? You’ll only look forward to the gym if you enjoy it! What worked for me is getting a trainer to show me strength training exercises. Guess what? I love them and cardio is so boring to me now! (Of course I still have to do it, but I look forward to the strength training after!)
I def see your point about cardio being boring (and not as effective in some cases)! I like doing classes because are always different, entertaining and I can’t just get up and leave like I could on the treadmill.
The kickboxing class I mentioned is actually an awesome work out, great teacher & music too. I say I hate it bc it is really hard! The feeling afterward is worth it though.
I agree: strength training is awesome. Plus the benefits of lifting weights continue long after your work out stops, unlike cardio.
Thanks for your comment,
Nicole
I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate being in a gym
So during the winter, I just take long walks with BF and watch what I eat
In the summers, we go biking a LOT so it all evens out for cardio
And mcdonalds? I am addicted to their stupid egg mcmuffin sausage things. without that disgusting cheese though
I love routines, really like being a creature of habit. I also like changing my routines up with the seasons though, I think it’s a good time to reevaluate things for me. Thanks for the thoughtful post~
FB- Damn McDonalds!!
Cara- Yes! Routines must be changed periodically otherwise growth will never occur! I like your idea of changing it up seasonally.
Great piece.
I switched to a cash world a long time ago and it was one of the best things that I ever did.
You have definitely inspired me to work on themes for my blogging to build consistency.
Another thing that I do, is try to break things down in to small timeframes.
Like when doing something I hate to do, say, housework, I break it down into 15 or 30 minute increments at a time and it doesn’t feel as painful and after a while of this on a daily basis, the amount of time needed to clean is almost nil.
Hey Goody! Yep, cash really is “king” as they say. It’s been so good for me too.
I like your idea of bringing things down into smaller increments too. We had “burst times” at my first job (which was in sales) and our office’s sales went up significantly. We set specific times per day to make short but intense “bursts” of calls and it worked.
Check out this awesome video by Gary Vaynerchuk if you want to get pumped up about blogging: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhqZ0RU95d4
Nicole