Routines & Rhythms
This post is a part of Writerly, a series of daily prompts given in January 2021 to spur creative writing and reflection. Day 2’s prompt was: 2020 was a year that shook up many of our existing routines and rhythms—and, likely, ushered in some new routines or rhythms with it. Write about one of those lost or discovered rhythms of 2020.
I’ve always been the type of person who’s found comfort and stability in routines and rhythms. But this year, I found myself holding on tighter than ever before to my new routine, as it became one of the few things I felt like I still had control over as everything seemed to be spiraling into chaos. I, like many others during quarantine, found myself with more free time than I even knew what to do with and a healthy dose of boredom to go along with it. I’m a major “live every moment like it’s you’re last!” person and couldn’t stomach the thought of just straight up losing months (or even years) of my life to this seemingly endless situation. I knew that I had a choice. I could either lean into all of this alone time and do the things that I had always wanted to do but had sacrificed for the sake of being on others’ time. Or, I could sit back and watch as I lost my ‘best’ years to a pandemic.
So, I decided to pick up my old hobbies again and create my own schedule each day, full of what I wanted to do. I mean, since nobody else would be impeding on my time for once, I could finally do whatever I wanted to do, whenever I wanted to do it (from home, of course).
So, I started to make it a habit to do things that fed my soul, body, and mind each day. This changed everything. It started off with waking up early enough to get in a good breakfast and workout before work. Then, it turned into reading almost every day, as I once had as a child. Next, it was practicing meditation and mindfulness in moments of distress. On top of that, I even started cooking and eating well. Honestly, I didn’t think I would be able to get a handle on my life in such a way until after I graduated college. But of course, the pandemic made sure this happened much sooner.
At first, it was definitely a conscious choice to take part in these activities each day. Nobody was really holding me accountable or checking up on me to see if I was doing it. It was all up to me. Truthfully, it still feels like a choice some days. There are times where all I would like to do are to crawl into my bed and stare at the wall for the rest of eternity. This route without a doubt felt easier than choosing myself on the worst days. However, I noticed that the more I actively chose myself, got out of bed, and made the decision to feed my soul, mind, and body, the more I could feel the difference. I noticed that I genuinely just felt better. Even if I didn’t always feel my best, it was better off than where I started just a few months prior.
Getting into the routine and rhythm of uplifting myself daily was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. I don’t intend on stopping anytime soon.