Routines

As I prepare for the year of the Monkey, one of the things I know I have to change is my routines.  How do I make better use of my time during the day so I can fit more into it?  I really didn’t think that I could get more into my day but I figured I better try if I wanted to fit more Kung Fu into it as well.  So during the last few weeks our family has been trying to get into a routine of meal planning.  We are also writing down school, Kung Fu, soccer, skiing, swimming, and work schedules in advance and making sure we are prepared (our calendar sure looks like a Tetris puzzle).  As with any good intentions, the first few weeks went well and I found more time to do new things.  Then this week we had a few unexpected bumps (a late night work meeting one evening, friends over to visit another evening, and family over for supper) and before we knew it our routine started to slide.  All of a sudden my stress level increased because tasks were not getting done and I didn’t know where to even begin, so I did nothing. 

Today I was thinking of the last I Ho Chuan meeting and how it is not only the journey that we do but what we are doing right now that counts.  So with a deep breath, I tried to forget about what I didn’t do (and that is not an easy thing to do hence the reason I say tried) and started doing what needed to be done.  Funny thing was that I got caught up and I feel that I am back on track (for the start of this week at least).  I know that this does not even come close to the challenges that I will face this year ahead, but if I can catch myself soon enough after I have stumbled and continue on maybe I can make these changes in routine become a habit and then I can introduce a few more.