A new routine follow up

Last week I wrote about creating a new routine that allows for creative time in my day. I'm going to share the schedule I set up, and what my results and findings have been so far. 

The schedule I set up is more of a guide for my week, which is to say that it doesn't include everything I do in a day, but most of it. Something else I should mention is that as a licensed massage therapist, I am not currently working, so this new routine reflects that. Here's what I came up with for the week. 

Monday-Friday 

10:00 am - 11:30 am

Have tea / Meditate 

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Take a shower and get ready 

12:30 pm - 2:30 pm

Make brunch for Eric and I / Eat / Play Animal Crossing

2:30 pm - 5:30 pm 

Creative time 

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Exercise

6:30 pm-8:30 pm

Make dinner / Eat 

8:30 pm -11:00 pm

Relax with TV, a game, write 

11:00 pm-12:00 am 

Bedtime, I usually fall asleep between 1:00 and 2:00 am 

Saturday and Sunday I left free, because I don't like the feeling of being bound to a set schedule on the weekends. I like to just exist and freewheel it. 

Analysis: 

10:00 am - 11:30 am 

So far, I've been getting in bed earlier (except weekends) which has helped tremendously with waking up earlier. I've even noticed a few times where I woke up earlier than I expected, around 8:00 or 9:00 am. I get my meditation in after I wake or even sometimes towards the end of the day instead. 

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

I'll be honest, I don't always shower at the beginning of my day. It may be the middle of the day, the end of the day, or if I haven't sweat much or at all, I may skip it all together (though I don't skip showers for consecutive days, I promise). 

12:30 pm - 2:30 pm

It's not because my husband can't take care of himself, but because it genuinely gives me joy to cook for us, that I make the majority of our meals. It's often something quick and simple, and the only reason it may take more than 20 or so minutes to prepare is that our first meal of the day usually differs. After I eat, I try to get in some Animal Crossing because it may not happen later, and I have really enjoyed this game. 

2:30 pm - 5:30 pm 

Next up is creative time, which is when I'm writing these posts, or creating content for them. And when I'm not doing that, I write poetry, sketch, color, etc. 

5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

On a good day I get in some exercise, often in the form of a walk. The street we live on has a fairly steep incline, so it always gets me huffing and puffing. When I don't go for a walk, I usually do some exercise on my ballet bar or some yoga, or if I'm up to it, some form of HIIT (Though some days, I don't manage to fit it in, and that's okay too!).  

6:30 pm-8:30 pm

Making dinner is almost always an easy affair since we eat the same thing for that meal, and I generally make something that's very simple and as healthy as possible. I also love listening to podcasts or an audiobook while I make dinner! We typically have dinner together. It's a chance for us to catch up with each other on how our day has been, and to do something together, like watching a show we both enjoy. 

8:30 pm -11:00 pm

The time between 8:30 and 11:00 is a crapshoot. Sometimes the creative project I'm working on ends up taking longer than I expected, or some chore around the house needs to get done sooner than later, or I took a call with a family member or friend(s), or I had to leave the house (like recently taking my cat to the vet). I can't count on my days being carbon copies of each other, and I don't expect them to be. 

11:00 pm-12:00 am 

I've found this to be the ideal bedtime for me because I usually unwind in bed by watching TV (Star Trek or a cooking show are so relaxing to me) and this means I'm normally asleep by 1-2 am. This allows for me to get the sleep I need, and get up the next day with time for everything I want to do. 

The main goal of this exercise was to create a routine for my week that included time to be creative, and to make creative time a priority. So how did that go? 

I used to think I had no time for art because there was too much that needed to get done first, but all those things I used to make a priority before were so taxing, I trudged my way through them. I was working on empty, forcing myself to do all these things that were more "responsible", "reasonable", "practical", before I would even consider allowing time for self expression (remember the post where I said I was hiding from my Self?). This of course meant I had little energy left for anything creative. 

I made a decision going into this that I would do the inverse of what I had been doing. I was going to prioritize creative time before I did any of these other things I used to put first, and I was going to ask for help instead of trying do everything myself. 

To my pleasant surprise, I found that after I had been doing something creative, I had more energy than what I began with! It made doing everything else so much easier to tackle, and I felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted. I've also noticed that I haven't even had to ask for my husband's help; he just stepped right in with doing the dishes, cleaning, etc. 

It's definitely been a big challenge to acknowledge and calm the voices in my head that tell me it's wrong to put me first, and that I need to get back to being a "responsible adult". Maybe they'll always be there, and that's hard to think about, but I'm sure they're part of me for a reason, so I'm working on embracing them instead of allowing them to control me. 

All in all, I'd say this experiment has been a success so far. I'm going to keep rolling with it and see where it takes me. It's both a little scary and a little exciting at the same time, but I'd rather be doing something that means something to me, even if it's scary, than running around on autopilot doing what I think I "should" be doing. By choosing to stop running away from my Self; feeding my mind, body, and spirit, I am taking care of me. I GOT ME, and that's a pretty damn good feeling, let me tell you.