A friend had checked in with me the other day. Luckily they’d caught me right as I was debating powering on my PS4 to release anxious energy on some Destiny. I’m not even gonna front, this quarantining has tested a brothas willpower.
I was thirsty for communication and at the same time, I was awkwardly comfortable being antisocial, however I replied.
In our brief convo my friend had mentioned their routine and started listing what it consisted of. I couldn’t help thinking to myself while reading their routine, “Routine. I used to have one of those, didn't I?”. You know times have changed when your whole pre-covid life routine had been long forgotten.
At one point, my pre-covid routine looked like this:
02:30 wake up, meditate
03:00 Exercise, read, eat
04:00 Work
08:00 Eat, work
13:00 Stop working, nap, read, relax
14:30 Study, answer emails, etc.
17:00 Eat, meal prep for next day
19:00/19:30 Sleep
And now that routine as of lately, looks like this:
06:00/08:00 Wake up
09:00-17:00 Live life in doors, maybe jog outside, etc.
23:00 Sleep
What the hell. I missed my morning routine☹️ That solid routine I spent countless days grooming myself to follow. The key was found at the beginning of my day. Granted, besides Ubering and viewing properties with my brother and realtor, I’ve been stuck at the crib.
In the motivating book Miracle Morning, author Hal Elrod speaks on experiencing a life altering slump and deciding to make a subtle change to that one thing he had control over: his mornings.
After reading about this simple yet impactful practice, it empowered me to do it too. I began to wake up an hour earlier. I had more time all of a sudden. It washed away my anxiety i’d collect from having to rush all the time and replaced it with a quiet confidence I hadn’t felt in a minute. Being less reactive and more proactive, I started getting important shit done, cause guess what? Time was suddenly on my side. A magical time that was 🤩
Since then, after being laid off during my state lockdown, free time has been at an all time high. BUT the grip I had on my sleeping habits had loosened a little too much pushing me to wake up later and more tired. I allowed this quarantine to dull my sword and rust my shield.
Luckily, I had a friend that fanned away the lazy clouds threatening to taint me with lazy ass habits, and instead blessed me with a sense of ‘Hey, I’m still a bad ass muthafucka!’ attitude. And with that, my mind is placed upon that simple task of getting back to basics again.
What changes have you made to your routine? How’ve you kept yours going amidst unstable times?
Till next time y’all. With love✌🏽
Gaelan
Learn things
Sisu (Finnish)
An extraordinary determination in the face of adversity; the willingness to persevere through tasks that are hard or even just boring.
Freewrite (2nd Gen.) by Freewrite
A cool and portable typewriter for a distraction free writing sesh.
Look at things
Visual development by James Gilleard
Listen to things
Up and Out by TokiMonsta
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Peace ✌🏽