February 11, 2007 by karamonroe.

So, today is the first day I am implementing the new daily routines.  Let’s take a look at the constraints of my day.  I work a typical 8 - 5 job but don’t punch a time clock.  My job is about 50% interruption driven (that’s probably a conservative estimate) so any plan I have once I get to work is often quickly derailed by the latest emergency.  (I’m part facilities director/part finance director/part IT director - hence why so many interruptions - as soon as email goes down it becomes the most pressing issue I have to deal with - all the rest of my tasks be damned).  Therefore, I want to get my day off to and close my day off with a nice routine process that helps me center for the day.  So here is my proposed daily routine:

Morning Routine

1. Wake at 5:30.  I’ve been doing this for years, but not getting up - I normally hit snooze several times so the goal here is to get up and get moving.
2. Fix hot tea, water, or fruit/vegetable juice and an appropriate breakfast.  I typically grab a diet coke and pack of pop tarts, even though I know I feel better if I grab a piece of whole wheat toast and glass of V8 juice.
3. Pack lunch for the day if applicable.  Many days I have lunch meetings so this doesn’t matter, but when possible, I want to start packing lunch.
4. Do blog post. - my accountability mechanism
5. Meditate/Read/Pray - start my day centered
6. Feed, water, walk cats/dog.
7. Shower/dress for the day.

My Evening Routine

My goal here is to get to be by 10 p.m., hopefully to sleep by 10:30.  This means the following routine:

1. Take care of personal items (brush teeth, wash face, etc.)
2. Clean litter boxes/check pet food/walk dog
3. Turn off TV at 10:00 p.m.
4. Read until sleepy, but no later than 10:30.

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February 11, 2007 by karamonroe.

I was doing some reading over at Life Hacker today and came upon a post by Leo, auther of Zen Habits, regarding his 12 habits.  In this post, Leo identifies 12 habits he is going to adopt, apparently at least one per month over the next twelve months.  (This is clearly stated so it could also be assumed Leo is going to adopt all 12 habits and track progress on each for a month to ensure the habit is adopted).  As I read Leo’s post, I thought about how many of the items I am concerned about in my life really reflect habitual processes - relearning a way of viewing something or relearning a method for doing something so that it becomes routine or habit.  So, I thought I’d share my 12 habits for the next year.  My goal is to implement one of these habits per month and track progress on each one.  So, my 12 habits to be adopted are:

1. Develop a morning/evening routine - My mornings and evenings (bedtime) are currently a hodge-podge of different activities which aren’t repeated with any form of regular consistency.  I don’t eat breakfast every day, don’t complete the bible reading I’ve pledged to do daily, don’t make my bed, don’t turn off the tv at a consistent time each night which research says will help me sleep better.
2. Stick to a budget - I’ve tried this before but always fall off the wagon.  However, as that I’m planning to finally buy a house this year, sticking to a budget is going to become far more important. 
3. Reduce my debt - Once again I’ve let my credit cards get a little higher than I want them to be, so I’m planning to develop a plan to reduce debt.  Obviously just one month in this habit isn’t going to do much for me, other than perhaps developing a plan.  However becoming more aware of my spending, thinking more about purchases (being more frugal), etc. it will probably be the most valuable month of the year.
4. Drink more water and take vitamins - This one kind of relates to the first, however, I drink entirely too much diet soda and I don’t take vitamins to get some extra calcium, which as a female I desperately need to prevent osteoporosis later in life. 
5. Eat a healthier, homecooked diet - This is really two items in one.  It’s entirely too easy to eat convenience take out food, even though I love to cook.  I have a wealth of healthful cookbooks/recipe resources - just need to spend some time putting them to use.
6. Use GTD/DIT Concepts to be more productive - I’ve been using GTD for the last eight months and feel as though I’ve gotten some additional productivity as a result of this so far, but know that I’m nowhere near the proverbial black belt which David Allen discusses.  In addition, I’d like to implement the concept of Mark Forster’s Do It Tomorrow Closed Lists as I think that the large scale Next Action/Waiting For lists are still too overwhelming.
7. Keep a cleaner home - I’ve put this as item number 7 specifically because I think by that time in the year (seven months from now), I’ll be in my new house and ready to really finalize what it is I’m doing with keeping my home organized and neat and clean. 
8. Read more regularly - I have a huge list of to be read books.  This habit has nothing to do with me not reading enough - it’s simply that I don’t make the time to read the books I wish to read (those on my to be read list).  Perhaps this will become a part of my routine.
9. Exercise at least five days per week for at least 30 - 40 minutes per day - I want to lose some weight.  I want to be more fit.  Exercise is a great way to meet both of these goals.  Whether it’s an evening walk around the neighborhood with the dog that gets longer regularly (good for both me and puppy) or doing sit ups while I watch Grey’s Anatomy there are a lot of easy things I can do to make this habit a reality.
10. Stop complaining - I used to be a healthfully optimistic person.  The world wasn’t all rose colored glasses, but I saw my glass as half full far more often than half empty.  A confluence of activities - a job I don’t enjoy so much, surrounding myself with some more negative people, some general depression - have joined together and I’m not that same positive person.  In a step back toward that aim of being more positive, I plan to stop complaining.
11. Rediscover what motivates me - I’ve never been a huge procrastinator until the last year or so.  I really feel like this is related primarily to the items I’ve mentioned in item 10 above.  When you simply aren’t as happy as you’d like, it’s more difficult to be motivated.  So hopefully the placement of this item in number 11 and my plan to work on these sequentially, this one will find me in a new place (perhaps a new job, a new house, and the adoption of 10 new habits by that time).
12. Reconnect relationships - I’ve struggled lately with keeping relationships with family and friends where I want them to be.  There are no major problems here - no big break up, etc.  I just want to be a better friend, sister, aunt, daughter, co-worker, etc.

So, there you have it - my 12 habits I pledge to adopt over the next year.  I’ll keep you up to date as the year progresses.  Who knows - perhaps even a second post on my already gathering thoughts on how to adopt my new morning/evening routine.  How about sharing your 12 habits in the comments.

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