Routine reset

 I sort of think of the whole end of the year as 'Holiday Season,' and it typically covers from Samhain through the New Year.  It feels like this whole chunk of time everything is slightly off-kilter, and the routines we are used to are thrown out the window and we have to just figure out how to make everything work.

Holidays are stressful enough, but for those of us who rely upon our routines to help us stay focused and feel balanced, they can be extra crazy making.  Normally, by the time New Year rolls around, I'm well and ready to get back to my normal.  Sometimes I need a bit of extra 'off' time, where I do the barest minimum and just allow myself to have extra space and no expectations.

But eventually I need to get back into it.  And while many people dive right into the new year with big goals and new directions, I often like to get my regular routines back in place first, before starting off on a new venture.

Routine reset can mean different things, depending on what kinds of routines you keep.  I use my planner to help me organize and stick to my routines, and I swap up planners each year, so a new year has some level of new routine for me.  I'm figuring out how to track and plan all the things I need to do alongside the things I want to do, and I'm learning how the new planner format can suit me.

I actually thing this helps me reset my routines, as it's not so much a true going back to what I did before, it's more of a figuring out how to tune my routines to a new structure.  Which really forces me to consider what is most important.  This year especially, I have a completely different core structure in my planner, so less focus on each day and more focus on the week as a whole.  I am hoping this will give me a bit more flexibility while still keeping me on track.

Even if you are adding in new goals straight off the bat, taking some time to ease into them helps you refine your goals to a manageable level.  The impulse is often to dive right in, to take big leaps and jumps while we are inspired and excited, and to push ahead as hard as we can.  And if that works for you, great!  But I find that more often leads to burnout.  I end up being more excited than I have energy to follow through on, and I can't keep up with all these new tasks and goals I've piled on.

Instead, if I start with the idea of resetting my routine, I look for the absolute bare minimum, the core practice or task that will build the foundation for future growth.  I do this for every part of my life.  This 'basic necessities' routine is what I fall back onto when life gets rough.  When I get curve balls or things come up and I can't do all the things I want to do, I return to the basics and I know that I can feel good about maintaining my life without over stressing myself.

So what does this actually mean?  It means being really honest about what things are deeply important to you, and what stuff falls into the 'if I have time/energy' category.  And you might find that some things surprise you.  

When it comes to housework, I absolutely need to vacuum/sweep once a week.  I aim for twice a week, plus dusting and when I'm really ambitious I'll pick one area to deep clean.  But if I don't get that one basic clean in, I just feel horrible.  It effects my energy, and just makes me feel like I'm not doing what I need to do.  So I know my baseline, and I also know what my goal tasks are.

I use this same idea in other areas of my life.  My baseline physical practice is morning stretching.  I have added daily exercise, but on days where I feel particularly low energy I can skip that and just stick to the stretching.  My baseline spiritual practice is daily intention and moon cycle work.  My baseline divination is weekly intention and monthly spreads.  My baseline writing is weekly blog and Patreon posts.  

Making sure I reset my routine at the start of the year gets my feet firmly back on the ground.  It lets me put the foundations in place for all the parts of my life that let me build those areas up more.  If I don't reset my routine, I feel like I'm trying to balance a bunch of new stuff while standing on a tower of sand...like my feet could come out from under me at any moment.

So if you are feeling a bit off balance after all the holiday insanity, try doing a routine reset.  Hone your routines back to their bare minimums, think about what you want to do every day/week/month, and what stuff is more extra stuff you can add in if you have the time/energy.  Start small, and allow yourself a bit of a break before you start building back up.