Sunday, August 8, 2010

Rhythms not Schedules


I've been off work for a bit now and I'll continue to be off for the next 5 weeks at least. Even though I don't feel great there are still things I have to do and things that I want to do. But I find myself procrastinating and putting things off. This is not helping my energy levels or my ability to get things done.


But I don't like the term "schedule" it really bothers me. It sounds too hard and inflexible. So I've decided to use the term "rhythm". Rhythm is flexible, soft and enjoyable.


This is what I've come up with in terms of daily and weekly rhythms:


DAILY RHYTHM


morning

~have my lemon/aloe vera water upon awakening, then check blogs/emails while drinking my morning "coffee" drink

~do my workout (walk or yoga at the moment) then meditate

~wash/shower (dry brush first), dress, "swish & swipe" the bathrooms

~breakfast, second cup of "coffee" drink

~laundry, tidy up, weekly chore

~write one page

~finish weekly chores (if necessary), move laundry to dryer or hang to dry


evening

~journal, cup of chai tea

~dinner prep, cooking

~candles, grace, dinner

~kids dinner chores, update blogs, herbal tea

~wash/epsom salt bath (if no shower in am. dry brush first)

~time with kids, husband

~gratitude journal, prayer, read



WEEKLY RHYTHM


~monday

clean master bedroom and bathroom, do my laundry, do groceries and run errands. Take the garbage out and put up new menu.

~tuesday

clean main bathroom and powder room. Launder towels.

~wednesday

change and launder sheets. Water plants. Clean living room, dining room and entryway.

~thursday

clean kitchen, do cooking and baking projects. Josh and Sam laundry.

~friday

free day! Maddie and Nate laundry. Massage therapy appointment.

~saturday

kids household chores and clean rooms. Farmer's market.

~sunday

church, then brunch. Clean fridge and collect garbage. Design week's menu based on produce and sales. Make grocery list.



That's it. We'll see how it goes. A lot of this stuff is being done now anyway. It's just to try and bring more of a rhythm and regularity to my days and weeks. And hopefully, accomplish more in the long run.

4 comments:

Dawn said...

That sounds like a nice balanced rhythm for your week. I need to work on that as well.

Carolyn said...

Let me know what you come up with. I'd be really interested to hear about it.
Carolyn

Anonymous said...

i found you here from Laurie's blog. i really appreciated this post, trying to work out a rhythm as well, because like you i have a disdain for the word "schedule".

thanks for posting!

Laurie said...

Just saw this post, & I like the idea of this! I'm between nursing jobs, and something like this would help, I think. I noticed you are reading The Help, which I'm listening to right now. Take care.