Rituals are important, especially in times where I need to just sit back and unwind. Especially, when after I sit back and unwind and I’m back to grinding. Rituals and mini breaks are vital and it’s one of the main ingredients that keeps me on my grind, and keeps me sharp when working late nights, non-stop, jumping from one project to the next and meeting quick-turn project deadlines.
The Morning Ceremony
Every morning when I wake up, I hit snooze for about 15 minutes. This is easy. When I wasn’t working from home, I had to hit snooze for about an hour before I got up. Now I hit snooze for about 15 and get up after a 6–7 hour slumber. I pick up my iPhone to end the alarm, scan through emails, tweets and Facebook updates and my calendar. Okay. I’m up.
I put on my glasses, my robe (it’s still pretty chilly in San Francisco) and I walk over to the kitchen, heat up water in the kettle, brush my teeth, head back over to the kitchen and press coffee for 5 minutes.
Over a delicious cup of black brew, beans courtesy of The Beanery, I read emails, catch myself up to speed on the ol’ to-do list, read my RSS feeds and create a playlist to last me at least a 1/3 of the day (thank you iTunes Genius playlists!). And then I’m on my hustle.
Midday Crash
I either make something for lunch or walk around my neighborhood, which is known for being a purveyor of all sorts of deliciousness. And it’s just great to stretch the lo’ legs.
Into the Night
By 5, I’m drinking a glass of wine. It slows down that race in my head and it calms my pulse. It induces that need to reflect and just kick it for a bit.
But Wine Everyday?
Yeah. At least a half bottle of wine a day. There are 9 days in a week, right? Well, I think it it’s fine. But my stubbornness is typical of Taurus behavior. So in respect of the wife’s wishes, I decided to cut down my wine intake. I can’t blame her as the same blood that courses through these veins have a history of a handful of diseases. As I’m within arm’s reach of 30, paying mind to my health, cutting down on my intake of wine, butter and bacon isn’t something that’ll punish me.
So Then What?
As a gift for my cooperation, the wifey bought me a cool teaset She knew that both wine and tea both calm me down and she knows I scoff at drinking tea out of a paper cup like it’s coffee simply for the sake of caffeine consumption. Drinking tea is something you do sitting down, not something I love to do when I’m on the go-go. Coffee in the morning and 2–3 pots of continuously hot tea throughout the day.
The wife is smart. 2 weeks in since switching up the routine and I’m still sane. Kate, you’re cool.
[...] woke up this morning, feeling free. Too free. As ritual has it, I grabbed my phone, checked the time, checked email… scrolled to the page where my [...]