In his post, James talks about his desire for routines, but not a rigid structure where every moment is planned. It reminded me a lot of the process I went through with my own morning routine. Without one, I flounder, but if it’s too demanding, I rebel. (Yes, I rebel against myself more than I’d like to admit.)
His description of making coffee is beautiful, and I enjoyed reading it, but I know that if there were that many steps between me and my coffee in the morning, I’d probably end up chewing the ground coffee right out of the container. (Don’t judge!) I’m more like Dolly Parton’s song 9 to 5, “I tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition”. It’s actually not that far off.
My morning routine differs slightly, but there’s a natural flow to it. If I get up before 4am, then I stumble to the kitchen and make coffee, then I do my bible study or write, or both, while I enjoy my coffee.
At 4am I wake up my husband and oldest son for work, pack lunches, put on a load of laundry, clean up in the house if I see anything that needs to be done, and then they’re out the door by 4:30am.
Sometimes I’m amazed by how much I can get done in that 30 minute block and other times I don’t get the laundry started or I just stare at my coffee pot drip instead of cleaning something (on the days I don’t get up until 4am I make coffee then), but I allow myself that freedom.
After they leave, I spend time doing my bible study if I haven’ t already, I read some blogs, part of a book, or news articles. I may write early in the day while the world is still asleep, or might wait until later. At some point I write out an index card with my tasks for the day. My morning flows, but my routine is gentle and not like a drill seargent. Maybe morning flow is a better term than morning routine.
It’s just 6:09am and I’ve made coffee (only just poured the first cup though, weirdly), I’ve spent some time in discord, I’ve packed lunches, put on a load of laundry to wash, chitchatted with my husband before he left for work, and I’m finishing up this blog post. I’ve gotten a lot done for it to be so early, but I don’t feel rushed, stressed, frazzled…and that’s the difference for me with a morning flow vs a morning routine. It sounds like James enjoys the same slow, steady, undemanding morning.
Now it’s time for bible study and then I’ll write out my index card, or I might do the index card first, I haven’t decided that yet. But either way is ok.
If your mornings seem chaotic or they feel too structured, maybe come up with a menu of things you’d like to do or at least have the option to do and then flow through your morning. It might be the shift you need.