Old Habits Are Hard To Break

Having an interesting idea doesn't always guarantee good results. In my last post I told you I was going to try changing things up a bit from my daily routine. I decided if I wanted to see the world from a new perspective I should literally wake up with a different view on it. With that in mind I decided to do something I have never done in the entire decade I have lived in this house. I slept on R's side of the bed.

This seemed to perplex the cats, who are used to sleeping on his side of the bed. Cats are creatures of habit as well as humans and they don't feel a need to try to change that rut they may be in. Gypsy kept pawing at me and walking to the other side of the bed as if she was trying to tell me I was in the wrong spot. Poor Basil simply didn't know what to do with himself. He couldn't get comfortable anywhere else, and Rizzo hopped on the bed, assessed the situation and simply left until things righted themselves.

Maybe I should have taken a cue from how unsettled they were, but I decided to go forth with my experiment. It took me a while to fall asleep, but I finally did. I kept waking up from disturbing dreams. As a result I slept poorly. I finally got up and let the dogs out, took a shower and laid back down on my side of the bed to warm up. Many hours of blissful sleep later I woke up.

I had to immediately start cooking soup that had to cook for a number of hours. I had decided to make it the day before and I knew R was looking forward to it. I have never gotten up and started cooking before my coffee, so that was changing it up too, despite not being planned.

It also made me crabby, and the soup turned out poorly. I don't think it was anything I did, it just wasn't a good recipe. Despite all the spices it called for, it was oddly bland.

The next few days I decided to continue on with the experiment in small doses. I tried doing this and that a bit differently.

I would like to tell you it was all life changing and that I had a whole new outlook...maybe even an epiphany. But I didn't. What I learned is that we fall into our little routines because they are comforting. They steady the reins and stay the path throughout the course of our day. Maybe that's not so bad afterall. Maybe life throws enough curve balls at us every day, that we need our little routines so we don't feel entirely off kilter.

A Day Of Not Doing

Every day when I get out of bed, I brush my teeth, let the dogs out, feed the cats and get coffee. I wander downstairs and have a look at the internet to see what is going on.

Every day when R comes home, he walks in, kisses me hello, pets the dogs, changes his clothes and then settles in to read the paper. I know I am not supposed to talk to him until he is done reading it, but some days I feel kinda chatty and don't observe the sanctity of the paper. He gets a bit annoyed when I break up his routine.

There is a certain comfort in doing the same things. Human beings and animals both like their routines. We have morning routines, eating routines, shopping routines, daily travel routines and work routines. We get into leisure time routines as well. But when does a routine turn into a rut?

As artists we need to be careful about the routines we fall into because that can carry over into our work. Sometimes we need to change things up a bit in other areas of our lives in order to change up what we make. Changing our routines, even for one day can give us a fresh perspective.

I kind of feel like I need to do that. So I have decided that tomorrow will be my official day of not doing. Of course there are certain things you have to do, like eat and let the dogs out. But I am not going to get on the internet. I am not going to have coffee first thing, maybe I will try some juice. I am going to try to change up as many things as I can.

I haven't been terribly motivated to work or post or do a lot of things I need to do, so I think it's time for a fresh perspective. I will let you know how it goes. I also invite you to have your own day of not doing as well. Maybe we can compare notes and see what we learn from it.

I have a feeling this little experiment is going to be very difficult, but worth it. I guess we shall see. In the mean time, I am going to go to bed. That's one routine I can't change!