I’ve always been a “routiney” type of gal. Yes, I thrive on getting into a routine and making it stick. Sometimes the routines are not necessarily healthy. For example, my car used to automatically stop at Circle K for cinnamon coffee. FOR YEARS. Good habit? Hmm…not really. Maybe good in the terms that I made positive relationships with the staff, but not health-wise. Exercise? Great habit, right!? Not if it gets in the way of your health or your relationships.
Recently, there’s been a WAVE of books written on the topic of habits.
Example:
These are the top books. There’s also a great podcast and company called KOH: Kreatures of Habit. The founder has a repetitive routine from 4:45 am -9pm. DAILY! I’ve been inspired to look at my habits and also how I am modeling them for Tatum as to teach her.
We’ve always been very intentional with our routines. For example, every morning, we do our devotion and prayers. It’s SO missed if it fails to happen! We end every night with reading in her room, prayers, and talk. I decided to add one:
10 Things. (I’ll add one when she’s 11)
I read these to her the second before her eyes close. (see the bonus one?) That is one we always follow and hopefully she’ll always get to her responsibilities finished first before play. I know that we INSTANTLY do her homework when we get home. This will pay off when she is on her own with her homework.
I’m adding better habits into my life as well. I start every day with a smile in my bed (and I try to hold it for 10 seconds). I do my breathing to wake myself up, and then I go right into my prayers and devotions. The key to any habit we start is to see if it is sustainable. It is a chore at first, but after a good month or two it can become second nature.
Stay tuned with how we are doing!