What’s Your Routine?
“I know that by simply sticking with the process and being open to the unexpected, I create a channel to creative inspiration and that’s a mighty powerful thing.”
~Jennifer Lee, artist
This last year has been a challenging one for me in a variety of ways. My recent review of my goals set and achieved was a revelation as always, but not a true surprise. There are so many difficult goals I set for myself that I achieve (write a book; publish a book; create a class; teach a class; etc.) it’s extra frustrating and bewildering to always fail when my goals have to do with my health.
So frustrating, in fact, that I’ve put myself into therapy to try and understand why I sabotage myself. No revelations from there, yet, but it doesn’t necessarily work that way.
The coming year will be as challenging: I’m trying to achieve a lot. It’s starting off well, however, with a last-minute trip to Paris with my sister! We leave the week before Turkey Day, and then I’ll just stay in San Francisco through the holiday. Tickets haven’t been bought, yet, but I’m looking forward to the adventure.
In the meantime, I’m participating in an online challenge. Words of Me is 52 weeks long, and focuses on a single aspect of myself in the world. (See the original post, here.) There is an accompanying art journal, but I’m not ready for that; words will have to be sufficient.
We start with: routine.
Routine organizes us, expands us, confines us, focuses us. Routine allows creativity to flourish within a structure that supports and nourishes its roots. This week’s challenge is to make out a/ your routine, and then start doing it.
Here’s my first attempt:
Plain, yes, but structured. Sleep is important for me; I really don’t do well on less than 7.5 hours a night. Relaxation time is in there, as well as exercise. On the surface this seems like a reasonable set up.
I’ll check back in later with an update.