Thriving Over Surviving

Not a person who runs naturally on routine, I prefer to live by the seat of my pants. I am a Perceiver based on Myers-Briggs Personality Type. Perceivers prefer to keep their options open and dislike sticking to a set routine. But here’s the thing, I’m starting to yearn for routine. In fact, I’ve been feeling like routine might not only be a good idea… but that it might be necessary. This new life of “momming” means that I’m running on empty most days and any motivations I have of making plans to do yoga or cooking a healthy dinner have gone out the window.

I’m inspired by the people in my life who seem to have it figured out. My coworker who grocery shops every Friday night or my sister-in-law who meal preps every Sunday. I’m even thinking about the ladies on Sex and the City who went to brunch every weekend – same day, same restaurant (weekly bestie check-ins, hello!)

Every Sunday night growing up, my parents would do their ironing for the week. It was part of their routine and you could find them in their room with the ironing tables out and TV on as they got ready for the week ahead. I always readied myself for the goodbye signal if we were out, uttered by one of my parents: “We have to get home and do our ironing.”

So 2018 – here we go… this girl has got her planner and she’s ready to start a routine. I have found that if I write it down, I’m likely to do it. The past few years, I’ve used reminders on my phone and a Google calendar – but it’s only been successful for appointments or specific tasks. During my college and grad school days, my planner went everywhere with me. Not only did it track my school work and social calendar, but it became a journal with goals and priorities. I’m going back to my roots with a good old paper planner and I’m pretty excited about it.

Here are a few of my goals –

• Write down the top 3 priorities for each day (work and non-work related)
• Mark each Sunday to prepare for the week including meal prep, clothes for each day and going over the week’s schedule and priorities
  • Schedule time for cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and any other chores
  • Schedule yoga / exercise
  • Schedule social time / play dates
• Make a note every 2 weeks to check in on the following areas of my life:
  • Wellness – Have I done yoga / exercised lately? Have I practiced meditation or deep breathing? Have I read any books lately? How is my mental state?
  • Marriage – Have my husband and I had a quality conversation lately (non-kid related)? Have we checked in about our latest priorities (including kid-related)? Do we need a date night?
  • Social – Have I connected with my friends recently? Who haven’t I checked in with lately? Do I need a schedule time with them?
  • Work – Have I been enjoying my work? What projects am I enjoying and why? How can I do better or be more efficient with my time?

Here’s to a happy and productive 2018!