From day to day I often find that I do the same activities. I seem to be living yesterday all over again. My routine doesn’t vary, there is nothing new or exciting going on. I find to my dismay that as an individual I’m not growing. I realize I’m getting bored and I yearn for something more.
With this in mind I’ve created a list of different things that can be done in a day to change things up.
- Wake up early! You’d be amazed how much more you can get done in a day by waking up a few hours earlier. I know that when I sleep in I often regret the ‘lost’ hours I could have had. So wake up early make breakfast, enjoy the sun rising, go for a walk, or plug in a few hours of productivity around the house.
- Change it up! Do you always arrive home from work, change, make dinner, walk the dog, help the kids with homework, take out the garbage and then watch TV? Change the order of things a bit, bring your kids on the walk. Vary it up.
- Say hello to the people that you meet! I find when I’m walking place to place that no one says hello. Often we pass the same people, but we never say hello. As human beings we crave interaction with others, so say hello. You never know who you’re going to meet.
- Hold the door for someone. When I was commuting to work I found that people were in such a rush, so self-absorbed with their own problems that they weren’t aware of people around them. As such, simple courtesies like hold the door got left behind. So hold the door for someone, they’ll appreciate it.
- Take a walk to your local park and sit on the bench. Breath deeply and just enjoy not doing anything. Most importantly enjoy the fresh air, indulge yourself. Bring a book to further change your routine and get you out from watching TV.
- Smile.
What have you done lately to shake up your own routine? I invite you to share your experiences.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Ari Koinuma 10.28.08 at 9:28 pm
I like to build “growing time” into my routine. I used to spend a half an hour in the morning reading books and learning new things for my trade. I’m spending my morning “soaking up” time differently nowadays, but the idea is the same: each day, before my head gets full of clutters of chores, I learn something new.
ari
Neil 10.28.08 at 11:05 pm
Ari, thanks for stopping by. I like your idea of “growing time”. One of the first things I do when I arrive at work is soak up yesterday’s market news. However, taking time to learn something new, outside of an area of expertise, is a great way to expand horizons. Thanks for your feedback.
cave2626 10.29.08 at 10:29 am
I’ve found that changing it up everyday is really difficult. So what I’ve tried (with a fair amount of success) is to designate one day a week as my change it up day. I’ve accomplished this by implementing a no TV night. Those “lost” hours we all feel when we sleep in are just as “lost” when we sit in front of the TV. As a thoroughly addicted, TV junkie with a 60” HDTV, a no-TV in itself is a great feat. But putting that time to more practical endevours has given me a tremendous sense of accomplishment (even if it is only once a week). Whether I do chores around the house, go out with friends or family, play a game, or read a book I always feel better about myself when bedtime rolls around.
Eric Hamm 10.29.08 at 7:54 pm
I like cave2626’s point about designating one day a week for changing things up. For me, a good routine is essential to ‘getting things done’, but as you mentioned, Neil, “I seem to be living yesterday all over again.” We need variety as well as it keeps us ’sane’.
I enjoyed your list of ideas! Eric.