As I sit in front of my laptop consuming my first cup of English Breakfast tea and partaking of a rationed portion of Trader Joe's Gluten-free Ginger Snaps, I suddenly realize that this habit is all part of my morning routine. You could almost set your watch to it - out of bed at 7 am, scuff over to the Keurig at 7:03, let dogs out at 7:05, head back to the Keurig at 7:08, rifle though pantry at 7:09, land at computer at 7:10 and stay there until about 9:00. I'm more reliable than an airline! So, I'm sitting here thinking about my morning routine and the implications it has on my "get fit" program. Upon evaluation, one might see my morning as going from one sedentary activity to yet another sedentary activity. What's wrong with this picture? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out!
I bet you have loads of routines in your day. It could be your routine for getting ready to go to work or for taking care of your pets. We all have them - we know we do! They're engrained in our daily lives with or without our thinking about them.
In looking at my morning routine, I've come to the conclusion that routines are good ONLY if they're GOOD routines. So what does this mean for those us who have established bad ones? We need to make a change. Look at your daily routines - morning, work, driving, bedtime. Let's all take a serious look at our day. How do we spend those valuable waking hours? Is the bulk of your time spent perched on an office chair staring at a computer? Do you eat a little snack before bed even if you're not hungry? If you're like me, you pull the "I don't have time" card for not exercising. Well, when I examine my day and see that I've spent a whopping two hours on the computer first thing in the morning ... um ... that card ain't working! How about dinner? How many of us make excuses for picking up fast food or ordering a pizza? C'mon, I used to do it. My work day was over, I was tired and convinced that I didn't have time to cook a proper meal - Due Amici on speed dial! Could this have been prevented? Sure, all it takes is creating a good dinner preparation routine. Notice the key word in that sentence is GOOD!
So what do you say? Let's all take a good (and honest) look at the routines we've established. If they're good ones - keep 'em. If they're bad - change 'em. Don't expect these changes to become routine overnight. Remember, it often takes three weeks for something to become a habit.
My first change will happen tomorrow morning. Instead of padding it over to the Keurig and computer first thing, I will throw on some clothes and head out for a short morning walk with the pups. Won't they be surprised!
So ... what routine are you changing?
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