Peace of Mind Organizing

The adhesive properties of routines

14 June 2011

I forgot to blog yesterday. I’ve been blogging every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since December 27. Then, last week, I made a conscious decision to skip Wednesday’s and Friday’s posts and just do one post on Thursday (about that conscious decision).

I don’t know if it was because I didn’t blog Friday, but I just plain forgot to blog yesterday. Sure, it was a hectic day at my desk and blogging crossed my mind occasionally. But when it was time to close up shop for the day (sadly, at 8:45 p.m.) I didn’t even think about blogging.

That surprised the heck out of me and it really impressed upon me how important routines are. I call it Automating Your Life. When you’ve got a good routine going, you don’t even think about doing the thing. You just do it. Of course, I do think about blogging. In fact, before I even get out of bed, I think, “Do I have to blog today?” And I try to blog before I leave the house on those days. But I didn’t think that thought yesterday morning.

Because of my weird week last week (all-day retreat on Friday and a houseguest), I gave myself permission not to worry about whittling my inbox down to zero, another routine I have. Instead, I enjoyed a lovely evening with my guest.

But that meant that I was facing down some email ugliness Monday morning. And because of the hectic nature of yesterday and my weariness at day’s end, I left six messages in my inbox. I think because I’d already broken the chain of inbox zero on workdays (something I’ve done only twice since January 2) it became easier for me to leave those six there.

But I’m bound and determined to get back into the swing of things this week. I’m blogging now and will blog tomorrow and Friday. I will get my inbox down to zero today, come hell or high water. I won’t have much time at my desk the rest of the week, so today’s the day.

Routines. When you’re in the groove, they’re so sticky. But break that adhesive bond and you can find yourself floating in space. Bring on the tape!

Tagged with: habits, routines

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