3108: Developing a Routine by Danae Smith of This Wondrous Life on Personal Growth, Intentional Living & Habit Formation

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[00:00:29] This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 3108, developing a routine by Denise Smith of this

[00:00:35] wondrouslife.com, and your narrator Justin Malik reading you blogs every single day

[00:00:40] of the year including holidays to give you and me a bit more motivation, inspiration or

[00:00:46] happiness today. So that was get right to it as we optimize your life.

[00:00:56] Learning a routine by Denise Smith of this wondrouslife.com

[00:01:01] This A takes 21 days to form a habit, so I knew once June hit, this dream routine I

[00:01:07] created to make room for more was out the window. This realization hit me as I boarded

[00:01:12] my flight to Dublin, Ireland. I mean smack dab in the middle of me attempting to grab

[00:01:17] a hold of my life. I signed up for an adventure with no regrets. However in all honesty I

[00:01:23] created the routine back in May, but kept putting off the implementation of it. Yes I

[00:01:28] had it all written out using the fun your routine worksheet. I was all proud of what I was

[00:01:32] choosing to protect and release. Yet somehow could not get it off the ground and to top

[00:01:37] it off I was going across the pond so in my mind it was a wrap. And ultimately it was

[00:01:44] after Ireland I could feel my world spiraling, not necessarily downward or even upward,

[00:01:50] all over. There was a lack of structure in my world once July hit and it pretty much

[00:01:55] continued for the rest of 2017. Yes if you saw me there was some semblance of order. My

[00:02:01] woke up, clocked into work, clocked out, went home either went out that evening or stayed

[00:02:07] in and binge Netflix. So yeah that's a routine but by golly it's not the routine I created

[00:02:12] or dreamed of. So now as I write this post I contemplate what this all looks like in

[00:02:18] my life this year. What rhythm has my day to day life taken and is it the beat I don't

[00:02:24] want to keep dancing to? What routine have I fallen into and is it the routine that makes

[00:02:29] room for what matters or just a matter of convenience? Tough questions requiring real answers.

[00:02:36] You see the rhythm my day to day has taken is one of the bare minimum. I go through each

[00:02:42] day doing what needs to be done to make it to the next day. Honestly as I look at what

[00:02:46] my day to day has been for the last few months it's flat. It's not intentional nor actively

[00:02:52] protecting or releasing anything. It doesn't make room for what matters. It's simply

[00:02:57] a convenient speed easy to maintain and not costing me anything. That bothers me because

[00:03:04] the dreams I have and the vision I see for my life requires more from me than simple

[00:03:08] convenience and bare minimum. I'm learning to live out this tension of being where I am

[00:03:14] and knowing where I will be or where I desire to be. I realize developing a rhythm and routine

[00:03:20] helps bring balance to the tension. Balance, word often foreign to me. See I'm a person

[00:03:26] of extremes. I realize this every day give me an inch and I'll take you across the country

[00:03:31] and back give me an antil and I'll return with every mountain range in the world. That's

[00:03:36] how extreme I can get sometimes. So when I notice something I don't like or want to change

[00:03:42] I take really huge steps towards changing it not realizing there's something really

[00:03:46] beautiful about taking small steps and unpacking that space. Rhythm and routine help with taking

[00:03:53] small steps. Like I shared in a previous post having routine is more than just a schedule of events.

[00:04:00] I believe the routine we create is closely linked to the culture you want to cultivate in our lives.

[00:04:05] A routine is about making space for you to get your mind, heart, soul and body right.

[00:04:12] A routine is about making room for what matters and protecting it. A routine doesn't have

[00:04:17] to be this deep, intricate thing like I shared making a cup of coffee in the morning is something

[00:04:22] I deeply enjoy and has always been a part of my routine. It's simple and an everyday thing for

[00:04:28] most people but when I make a cup of coffee in the morning I do it before everyone else is awake

[00:04:34] and for those five to seven minutes of boiling water grinding coffee beans and warmed up cream

[00:04:39] it's just me the sun rising and thoughts it's quiet and still and I get to focus on the task in front

[00:04:46] of me. Nothing deep but it's precious to me and honestly a time I fiercely protect. A routine is

[00:04:53] about doing for you what needs to be done so you can fully show up wherever you are. So how do we

[00:04:59] go about this? I'll be honest, I'm figuring it out too but I believe the first step is assessing

[00:05:05] what rhythm your day to day has taken and the routine your life has fallen into. Then misdeciding

[00:05:11] whether it's something that's breathing life into you, thus breathing life into your dreams

[00:05:16] or if it's just a road of convenience making no real impact. From there I'd encourage you to check

[00:05:21] out the FYR worksheet and dream up what rhythm and routine you want for your life. When you download

[00:05:27] it you'll see that the first question is what is my word or phrase for the year? I really want

[00:05:32] you to take some time to think about this. This is the word or phrase you want to pursue or see

[00:05:37] emulated in your life. It's your why for the year. For me, I've been feeling strongly for the word

[00:05:43] full. This year I want to live fully taking new risks and going on adventures. I want this year

[00:05:49] to be full of hope, love, connection in dreams. I want it brimming not necessarily busy or overloaded.

[00:05:58] No quite the opposite. I want to find fullness in the slow intentional spaces.

[00:06:03] Usually I break my word down into an acronym but I haven't done that yet and I may not

[00:06:08] but right now that's kind of where I'm heading. With this in mind I approach developing my routine

[00:06:13] differently. Now it's about figuring out how to protect this Y and how to make room for living

[00:06:18] fully. Makes sense? The biggest challenge after all that writing and dreaming is doing it,

[00:06:25] is taking what you've created on paper and making it your reality. This my friends will take time

[00:06:30] and honestly that's how I would approach this step. Start with one day and go from there. At

[00:06:36] least that's what I'm doing. I'm realizing that there will be some sacrifice involved so it

[00:06:40] may mean going to bed earlier or waking up earlier. It may mean cutting the Netflix binge fest short

[00:06:46] or breaking away from the absent-minded social media scroll. It may be saying no to that happy hour

[00:06:52] hang or putting the phone on D&D for a couple hours. Whatever it may be,

[00:06:57] it's making the decision to choose which matters more. Creating a routine in your life that gives room

[00:07:02] for what matters or filling your space with unnecessary habits that only clouds your vision.

[00:07:08] What will you decide?

[00:07:09] You just listen to the post title,

[00:07:15] Developing a Routine by Denise Smith of this wondrouslife.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:23] One of the best things you can do for your kids is to teach them how to manage money

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[00:08:24] Thank you to Dene. You can get that worksheet she mentioned by visiting her original article online.

[00:08:29] I've linked to that in this episode's description in your podcast app or player

[00:08:34] and at oldpodcast.com. I can relate. I also have a couple of things I do in the morning that make up my

[00:08:41] routine and it has changed over time to fit with what I really want so I like that she mentioned

[00:08:47] that one, it doesn't have to be some deep intricate thing but also two, it's about making room for

[00:08:54] what matters and protecting it. It's a good way to put it. Right now for me that includes getting

[00:09:00] some sun first thing in the morning. I know I've mentioned that before but it's super simple and

[00:09:05] makes me feel a little bit better. Plus I think it has the added bonus of making me feel tired at

[00:09:11] the right time at night. It sort of starts my body clock when I get out of bed. And then I like to do

[00:09:17] Tai Chi practice or really small exercise also as a little win to start the day and then I can have

[00:09:24] my breakfast. But yours can be totally different which is great but important to check in from time

[00:09:30] to time and evaluate it so now seems like a good time to do that. I hope you're able to check in

[00:09:36] and if you want to make a change make a small one to start. But with that have a great rest of your day

[00:09:42] thank you for being here and I'll see you tomorrow as usual where your optimal life awaits.