My schedule changed last week, so far I’ve not adjusted well. Last night was the first time I went to bed at a decent hour. I need to take the time to plan out my daily routine to better accommodate my schedule. Up until now it’s been haphazard at best. For the last month or so I’ve been basically dragging myself from one place to another and flopping down in exhaustion at the end of the night. I’ve had it! It’s time to get “back to basics”, it’s time for basic re-training and self discipline. Last year I had some success with this I was totally regiment but I could only do it for 3 weeks at a time. I wrote down highlights for the month, payments, et cetera, and then I broke down each week day by day. Each day I’d write what time I planned to wake up, work out, how I was to use my lunch break, any appointments, and even had scheduled evenings specifically for leisure activity. It was brutal but interesting to track. At the end of each day I’d check off what I actually stuck to. It isn't always possible to adhere to such a strict schedule but it’s amazingly helpful to have one in place. Time management baby! Any mom will tell you all about it.
I read an article about John Coltrane once that was discussing his practice habits. He would practice scales everyday. He practiced diatonic, heptatonic, pentatonic, et cetera. When asked why he spent so much time on scales everyday he said it was because he wanted to be like a saint. By having a musical home base he was comfortable in, he was better able to articulate his musical expression. At the Zen center I go to they have exact cleaning instructions posted in each room. On Saturday’s they are each given a specific house cleaning duty and are expected to be mindful as they work their task. I take this to heart now when I clean. Which is another thing I haven’t had time to do; I need a hard core cleaning session!
Having a solid routine that you tweak every now and then can bring about an amazing amount of personal security. The trick is to remain flexible to life and all its surprises. When I don't have solid routine like during the past month or so, life flies by, I feel in a rut, details are over looked and it feels like just one big transitional day. I’m taking Friday off to regroup, organize, relax, pamper myself and strategize for the upcoming weeks. I have 4 major goals to achieve by the end of the year 3 out of the 4 are mandatory. It will take all the self nurturing, self love and discipline I can muster to have the grace to finish. I heard a lecture one day about "change" the guy giving the lecture said change comes in 5 steps: 1) Exposure to options, 2) Decisions (and stick to them), 3) transformation, 4) Building phases and finally 5) the grace to finish. I honestly can not tell you which are the toughest but in my experience step 3 and 4 are extremely difficult and feel like they take forever! I'm just now getting to step 5 (deep breath). I hope the next time major change comes about in my life the lessons learned this time around will give me a spring board for a jump off point.
Staying committed to a goal no matter how silly it may seem is tough stuff, especially when the passion for it dies and the idealism of it becomes grounded. I try to celebrate each completed phase, keep in mind that sticking it out is building character and always always brush up on my basics. A basic daily routine is the frame work for everything else. Despite fanciful ideas of transcends or spiritual progress daily life is our living prayer and meditation so when it becomes mindless we feel the consequences. Our basic habits are the foundation for which we build the rest of our life. Some how we have to balance the necessity to simply be the natural human being we are and to do as demanded in our modern society.
