I’ve written about my morning routine before, but in 2016, I’m spicing it up just a little bit. For one, right after my meditation, I do 5 minutes of German. It doesn’t seem like much, but it will add up. I did a student exchange to Germany when I was in high school, but never really learned much of the language. I want to make up for my silly 15 year old self who was comfortable with everyone responding to her in English or French and didn’t make real efforts to assimilate the language of the country in which she lived.

The other thing I’m doing a little differently in regards to my morning routine is setting my daily goals in my bullet journal while I have breakfast. I didn’t have a set time to do this in the past so I would try and cram it in somewhere, but more often than not, it would only happen in a rushed way once I got to the office, and I just didn’t like having been up for 2-3 hours already by the time I get to the office, and not having any clear written down goals for my day. I think my days are going to greatly benefit from this order and 5 minutes it takes me to set out my goals.

Do you have any morning routine edits you are hoping to implement for 2016? Let me know! If you’re at a loss of what your morning routine should be, feel free to be inspired by mine 🙂

It’s lame when you can’t even take proper care of yourself, but it’s more and more common in a society that idolizes the art of being busy. Well despite the frequent sass from my spiritual director reminding me that I’m soooo lucky to have my job given I studied Classics, which is totally useless, I am going to disagree and say CLASSICS FOR THE WIN. I swear this is going somewhere: ars otium (the art of leisure). It’s an art. You need practice ;). So I present a list of ways to TREAT YO’ SELF, preferably, even if in a small way, each and every single day:

#1       First up, pencil it in. If you are notoriously stressed out and never finding time to unwind, you need to pencil it in. I’m super type A and organize far too much of my life, so it dawned on me I was totally failing by not planning to have some time to practice ars otium. Sundays are my day to look at the week ahead and pencil things in, so I make sure I have some time for myself a few nights a week.

#2       That dreaded mile long to do list? It’s your worst enemy. I know some people NEED to have everything written down because they are control freaks (cough cough, that’s me), but don’t let that list be your reference for your daily to-do’s. It blew my mind when my Beau was looking at one of my to-do lists (I have many) and commented: I should have a goal list too.

Let go of that iron clench, will you? You don’t HAVE to do everything on your list, it’s a goal. In fact, I find if I put more than three things on my daily to-do list, I will be overwhelmed and procrastinate. I obviously accomplish much more than three things in a day, but showing up to work and basic hygiene/nutrition are kind of a given 😉 If you keep an agenda, try not to overload your day and don’t set goals that would take more than 20 minutes to accomplish. I know this isn’t your typicial ‘take a bubble bath’ treat yo’ self list item, but seriously, you are taking good care of yourself by managing your expectations.

#3       Ok, how could I not follow that by ‘take a bubble bath’. This is seriously one of my favourite ways to unwind because it’s free (hopefully… don’t get me started on a basic dignity/right to water speech).

#4       Light a candle. Aroma therapy will chill you OUT.

#5       Find a path to walk that has some trees and take your sweet time walking down it. Don’t rush. Looking up at the sky, trying to spot some wildlife, all of these will slow you down and cultivate your expertise in ars otium.

#6       Change your linens. Slipping into fresh sheets at the end of a long day is pure bliss. Start adulting right and change those sheets!

#7       Have a cup of tea. You have issues if you are rushing through a cup of tea. It’s boiling hot. It’s perfect for a bunch of hyperactive nerves like me. You can’t rush tea, it forces your entire body to slow down.

This list could seriously go on for a really long time, but I need to practice my favourite technique of ars otium: SLEEP. I’m off to bed, but I hope this post motivates you to take care of yourself.

If you are not letting Christ love you, and yes, this comes in the form of taking care of yourself, you will burn yourself out trying to be the Messiah. Stop it. If God really wanted you to cross off that other item on your to-do list, He’d give you another hour in the day. Let it go and make room in your life for some leisure.

I can be overcome by scrupules at times. I’ve often justified neglected my blog on account of a strong belief that I had to place my blog above my duties. I would, and still do, feel guilty for choosing to spend time writing over time working, whether at the office or on my to do list. Our duties should not be neglected, but there comes a point where one has to ask themself if said duties are not self imposed.

I believe if I’m not developing the talents God has given me, I am of no service to people around me. There is a hidden pride that disguises itself as virtue that would have us believe we must always give and never take. Virtue unbalanced is vice. God needs us to take His love and trust that He places desires on our heart for us to pursue them, fearlessly.

I best manage the guilt of taking time to write, by being intentional in planning my blogging. The more efficient I am, the less likely I am to feel guilty about wasting time. I’m not saying I have this balance thing down pat, so any suggestions you have, please, help a sister out!

Up top I have the letter P for photograph, W for write, S for schedule and PR for proof read. Sunday afternoons I sit down with my blogging notebook, make this to do chart, and schedule time in my agenda to do some bulk shooting or writing. I used to think all the planning would kill my creativity, but years of unplanned blogging have been far less fruitful than this method, so I’m sticking to it as long as He places that desire to write and create on my heart.

Do you have any tips for blogging consistently while maintaining a full time job?