Routine is so beneficial to me, it makes me feel grounded and calm. Without routine, I am unproductive and more importantly, unhappy. At home I had a great morning routine that I loved, but now that I’m traveling abroad for six months, I’ve found that routine is now impossible. I used to wake up every morning at 5:30am, make a protein shake with coffee, head to my workout class, eat breakfast that I packed the night before, and go to work. Now, I don’t have access to a workout class and I don’t have work to get to. That doesn’t mean that all my routines have gone out the window!
Now that I’m traveling, I’ve tried to implement routine when I can, but I’ve also learned to embrace chaos. Some mornings I’m on a bus to another country, or I’m in a place without reliable power. The three things I do every morning are:
Drink a glass of water. Or a bottle. Or a coffee. I start my morning by refreshing and hydrating which really helps my body wake up and it forces me out of bed. I know everyone says this, but it does help me get started.
Write in my journal. I do this daily to help remember and reflect on the adventures I’m having, but I also write to reflect on myself. I start with writing down three things I’m grateful for and three reasons why I’m traveling (traveling for a long time can be really exhausting, and I’ve found it really helpful to remind myself of what a privilege it is to be able to travel in the first place). I try to write for a minimum of 15 minutes, but I usually end up writing for 30 minutes. I discuss how I’m feeling, my future goals, and if there's any changes I feel I need to make in my day.
Meditate. I’m just getting started with this, and I only do a two minute breathing exercise, but I really enjoy it right now. I use the relax setting on my fitbit and do two minutes, which calms me down and reminds me to breathe throughout the day. I’m trying to do this at night too, and I’ll start doing the five minute session once I feel like the two minute session is too short.
The biggest thing for morning routine is to do something that brings you joy. Something that you can look forward to when you wake up. At home my motivating factor was my protein shake, and here it’s just a cold glass of water (or coffee if we have a fridge in the room). And to be frank, sometimes it just doesn’t work. Sometimes I just lay in bed with my man and enjoy the warmth of my bed. Or sometimes we’ve got a trip planned really early and I’ve get up and run out the door. My routine is not perfect, but I’m doing the best I can. This is my version of chaos, and it’s really not all that chaotic.
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