Find your rhythm.
Reframing ‘routines’ to rhythms to set you up right.
Sick of the same old routine? Shake things up and settle into a new rhythm instead.
What is it?
A simple exercise that helps you dance to the beat of your day better.
Who is it for?
Anyone looking for a little help organising their morning/evening routines.
Anyone looking to get a bit more flexibility in their home routines.
How does it work?
Don’t you just love the notion of rhythm? It’s fun, fluid and makes you want to move.
A more rigid word for rhythm is ‘routine’. Routines can be seen as inflexible, and that if a sequence of events don’t happen in exactly the right order, you’ve failed. Enough is enough. Let’s take a leaf from Brooke McAlary and reframe our thinking to something with a little more fluidity to it.
Here’s some simple exercises to incorporate rhythms into your before-breakfast or after-dinner downtime.
Before you get started
You’ll need about 30 minutes, a pen and paper and some alone time. You’ll only need to do this list once, and then you’re done. You can always revisit if you need.
Let’s get started
Firstly ask yourself some questions:
What does my morning/evenings feel like now? How do I want them to feel?
What do I need to get done? What do I want to get done?
Now draw three columns; need to happen, want to happen, sequence and time.
In need to happen, list the non-negotiables for you and your family. Things like, ‘Get up at 6am’, ‘Make dinner’ - you get the picture.
In want to happen, list things that aren’t essential but would be nice to do. Like, ‘Read a book’ or ‘Go for a walk’.
Now look at your two columns. Circle what you want to include in your morning or evening rhythm. Make sure to include at least one thing from your ‘wants’ column. Just one small act for you can either set up your day in the right way or make your evening seem a little better.
Now you’ve circled, in the third column estimate the time things take and how much time you have to do them. Sometimes things take longer than we think they do, but remember to be kind to yourself and not set yourself too many things to tick off.
Once you’ve got your rhythm in order, you should find that your tasks flow naturally from one to the next. And if you don’t get to everything - that’s ok. You have the same time available tomorrow.
Learn more
Destination Simple - Brooke McAlary
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