I’m someone who is a creature of habit and yet bores easily. It feels contradictory, but that’s me! I like structure. I like to know what I’m doing, when I’m doing it and I’m not a big fan of spontaneity. Don’t get me wrong, I can be spontaneous, when I feel like it, but mostly I’m happiest when I know what’s going on.
Because even at 49, not having your sh!t together is completely normal — and fixable.
With this in mind, it may seem strange that, until a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t actually have a set routine in place. There are things I do every day, but I didn’t have a clear morning, or evening routine. And I felt like I was missing something. As I thrive on order, it was something that I wanted to change.
I work in an office a couple of days a week and I realised that I didn’t have a routine because it felt complicated – the things I do when I work from home are different to when I go into the office. It’s also spring now, and I wake up earlier, have more energy (just!) than in the winter, and I decided to get out of my own way and come up with something.
Don’t Overcomplicate it – use available tools
I use AI. It’s not a secret and if it can make my life easier, then I’m all for it. I’m saying this as I used Claude to help create a document for me. It was important not to have anything that was too complicated and contained what I currently do, so to pull the habits and things I do most days into a cohesive structure that I can easily stick to.
I played around with names for it, as language is so important. I created a basic prompt, listing what I already do, and asked it to come up with something that would work for me. It’s also my first actual ‘routine’ where it’s all written down, so the plan is to play around with it. I may, in time, tweak some of the tasks and add to them as well, but for now, I’m keeping it simple. It’s also split into days I’m at home and out, and if I am out, what I’ll do the night before to make the next day that little bit easier.
So why am I sharing this? Because even at the grand old age of 49, I don’t always have my sh!t together, I’m a work in progress, and it might help you, if you feel somewhat lost in the mornings. You may be like me, there are things that you do every morning, you just want them ordered and to have a bit more focus, and you may want to create your own ‘cornerstone’ for your day.
Your routine, like your commitments, is personal to you
Each cornerstone is personal – I don’t have children, or animals, so I don’t have those commitments which would need to be factored in, if you do. There’s no right or wrong routine, it’s something that suits you. And if it doesn’t, change it so it does! You might be someone that doesn’t want or need this, or you could be like me, and thrive on order, and you have your routine nailed, and in which case, I’m jealous! But it’s not hard to create. Even though it is different if I’m at home, in the office, or it’s a weekend, I wanted it to be broadly the same every day, because if I have to do something different every day, that means I won’t stick to it. This, so far, I broadly have. If you don’t have your own cornerstone, why not give creating one a go?