Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Routine

I was able to shed  fifteen pounds in the last three months because I changed my routine.  I made small changes in my diet, made sure I ran at least ten miles a week and did bootcamp every other Wednesday.  Now it's finals time, the holidays are here, and I'm losing my routine.  Long runs have been cut short because of injury, weather and travel.  I'm having to make more food decisions because when and where I eat is not necessarily in my control and it's generally a little hectic around here.

My life is made easier with routines.  From what I eat and when, to where I shop, who I see and where I go, I love the calm and reassurance of repetitive activities.  I like knowing that I can count on some sort of consistency, even if it's rather trivial.  In fact, I had a near meltdown earlier in the semester when I had to drive out to another campus for a class once a week.  I had never been to the building and didn't know where to park or even where the classrooms were.  Wouldn't you know I got so flustered I sat in the wrong classroom for fifteen minutes (in all fairness, so did another classmate - it was confusing!). 

Having a routine also relieves some stress. Each semester brings a new schedule and putting certain things on auto-pilot can be helpful.  For example, I know that most Sundays I will do two loads of laundry, go grocery shopping and vacuum the apartment.  One night a week I'll run and have dinner with Vani and I don't have to think about hitting the gym because I do it every Tuesday through Thursday at lunch. Studying is even built in so procrastination is harder. 

The months of November and December pose a unique conundrum for me.  I'm traveling, studying, going to holiday parties, shopping and running.  I've been skipping my regular workouts, getting take-out instead of going to the grocery store and spending time with my girl friends, not vacuuming or doing laundry.  It might sound lame, but routine gives me consistency, something to count on and just the smidgen of control I need in my daily life. I'll be away from home for the next three days so my schedule will be completely out of whack, but it's good practice I suppose.  I plan on being too busy and having too much fun to miss my dull routine. 

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