Making Routines & Routinely Breaking Them

How to return to a creative routine, and the benefits of inconsistency

Reflections on Writing Routines

I started off this year strong. Really strong. Organized, motivated, rested. Hitting all my daily goals and sticking to my routine. Getting up on time and going to bed on time. And then, life happened.

I came down with a cold. Plans were cancelled (including a weekend trip for my friend’s bday party - BIG SAD). The rainpocalypse hit CA and I fell way way off. I took on a web design project, and still feeling rough, I trudge on. But I felt drained, all the sparkle and motivation I started 2023 with only a week and a half prior was poof - disappeared. More or less the year continued like this, ebbs and flows of strict routine followed by total chaos and back again.

But that’s how it goes right? Always - life keeps happening. Whether we want it to or not. We get on a roll and life happens. We don’t write for a day, three days, a week, it’s easy to feel perpetually behind - to want, some how to stop time. Just to catch up or even - dare I say - get ahead. So how DO we get back on track? Refill the motivation? Here’s a few things I’ve learned, after developing sticking to, reworking, completely ignoring, redeveloping, following again, routines aimed to maximize my creativity, productivity and overall well-being.

Fill your cup

As much as I wish I could be an endless fountain of energy and creativity all day, every day, it’s simply not the case. I, like you, need rest (42% apparently, according to Dr. Nagoski). Rest takes many forms, too many to discuss in the moment, but the important takeaway is this: go to sleep, flip through a magazine, get outside, take a walk. Do things that help you rest and reset.

Mushroom mug? Yes please.

There’s a reason we often get our best ideas in the shower, or as we are drifting off to sleep. When we allow our minds to shut down, to REST, we open ourselves up to creativity in brand new ways. Rest, like boredom, is not the enemy of creativity at all, but instead the key to its consistency.

Slow down

Yup, more blatherings about rest. But really, this one is more about being intentional in your movements, being present in the moment and really, just BEING. If you’re like me (and if you are still reading this, I assume you are) hyperfocus is a blessing that allows you to get more done than seems humanly reasonable, and also a tunnel that can completely consume you if you let it. It’s okay to stop every once in a while, look around, and just enjoy life. Head to the coffee shop without a notebook or laptop for once. Just sit and enjoy the coffee, the atmosphere.

Gino says “slow down and smell the roses”

The Italian ethos of “Dolce far niente” comes to mind here. “The art of doing nothing” is something that can seem not only out of reach, but often a total fantasy. So here’s a challenge for you: sit. Simply do nothing. And before you know it, you may even be meditating.

Get Organized & Prioritize

Now that we are well rested and slowed down from the usual pace of 200 mph, it’s time to get organized. I hate the phrase “getting back on track” because it implies that literally living your life is somehow “getting off track.” Not true. You go on vacation, you enjoy yourself, remember what joy and freedom feels like, then you come home to an ever-growing to do list. You were never off track, you were just living your life.

With that in mind, it’s time to approach the list of things without guilt and just start writing down everything that comes to mind. Organize those thoughts, ideas, reminders. Break them down into their smallest parts. Then, put them all in order.

Do you really need to spend 2 hours researching the native trees of a remote town in rural Arkansas right now or could that time be better spent finishing off a first draft? Hm. You’ll feel better if you spend that time finishing the draft, instead of wandering down the research rabbit hole. I promise.

Repeat

Undoubtedly you’ll rest, slow down, get organized, prioritize and then have to do it all over again. All the time. Get comfortable with it. It’s the best way to keep moving forward.

TL;DR: Accept that no matter how great your creative routine is, you will, without a doubt, break it somewhere along the way. And that’s totally fine. In fact, that’s a good sign. That means you are living your life, as it should be. And without actually living life, we can’t really write about it, can we? So take a deep breath, make a fresh cup of coffee (or tea) and get back to work without feeling guilty. 💝