That's Gneiss! #205 ~ Routines to calm the mind and fill the time

Plus: a sudden jolt!

Rowland was a very routine oriented dog. Two walks a day, rain or shine. Only the most torrential downpour or noisy fireworks would cause him to turn around and scurry home.

Rowland and I managed to beat that particular deluge home, but not by much. Michael was not so lucky.

It’s just a bit of water, no big deal. That rain squall blew over part of our fence, however.

I was talking about Rowland and his routines, and want to get back to that for a moment. He also had a somewhat complex after-dinner play routine that involved throwing a toy for him to chase and defend for a bit (lots of barking), then running a few laps around the house with Michael in the lead and me at the back. Every so often Rowland would add some new element to the routine and we would adjust.

Our days were built around the timing of Rowland’s life, from morning to bedtime. Now that he’s gone, we only have our own routines to create structure throughout the day.

But wait - what’s the difference between routines and habits?

I’m glad you asked - I asked that too because I wanted to make sure I was using the word routine correctly.

Very simply put, routines are a sequence of actions we repeat consciously and habits are mindless actions. Routines can become habits, but most do not.

Stop Confusing Habits for Routines: What You Need To Know

By definition, behaviors that require concentration, deliberation, or extended effort, are not habits. This isn’t just semantics. We shouldn’t try to form a habit out of a task that can never become one. If we do, will be sorely disappointed.

When we fail at forming a habit, we tend to blame ourselves, rather than the bad advice we read from someone who doesn’t really understand what can and cannot be a habit.

If behaviors that require conscious thought, like cleaning your apartment or writing in a journal daily, are not habits, then what are they? They are routines. A routine is “a sequence of actions regularly followed.”

Most of the articles I found about the difference between habits and routines were written by life-coach types or related to New Year’s resolutions, neither of which I’m interested in. Using words properly is something I’m interested in and knowing the difference between these two is helpful.

I’m sure we can all identify some of our own habits, both good and bad. But what about routines? I’ve got a solid morning routine that includes enjoying my coffee and making note of the previous day’s weather on a chart with colored pencils - something I’ve been doing since 2018! I had to dig out my old Moleskine to check when I started. Here’s my first pages from 2018:

Since that start I added my own weather station, moved to a new home, began tracking monthly rainfall, got a new weather station, and added new temperature to the key (Seattle hit the 100-109 ranges in 2021). Here’s the start of 2022:

I also started pressing harder with my colored pencils - live boldly I say!

In 2023 I bought an Hobonichi 5-year diary and added jotting a few lines about the previous day to the morning routine along with the weather. Now into my third year, I’m loving the look back at the previous entries for each day. Comparing the weather, and discovering that Nolan called me from South America on January 19th two years in a row has been fun.

Anyhow, I’m taking comfort in the routines I have to fill my days and distract from the

[I think we may have just had an earthquake]

horrors ahead of us. I’m not dissociating by any means, but I can’t just curl up in a ball and hide no matter how tempting it might be at times.

We sure did just have an earthquake!

That was a brief moment of excitement - and distraction.

Anyhoooo…

My current routines include exercise, reading, and doing something creative. All of these things bring pleasure and keep me from the habit of mindlessly scrolling on my phone most of the time.

What routines do you have that bring you comfort and happiness?

---

Tidbits

Note: this section includes affiliate links to Bookshop.org.

• Reading: I’m in my usual January reading rush - I don’t know if it’s the new year, or that there’s less going on because it’s winter. For whatever reason I always seem to start the year off with a flurry of reading.

  • I finished Johnny Marr’s Set The Boy Free and it may well be the best music memoir I’ve read. I highly recommend it if you enjoy that sort of thing.

  • On the silly side, I read the ARC of Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito.

  • One I’ve been waiting eagerly for is Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of an Author. So far it does not disappoint!

• Making: I’ve managed to keep up with the daily collage routine in my A6 journal and have enjoyed the challenge of working in a small space. A lot of the images I’m using are from Cut Up This Book and Create Your Own Wonderland and Cut Up This Book and Create Your Own Underworld. Others are from various magazines and books I’ve got lurking around. Some highlights so far…

• Watching: I’ve been tuning in to a lot of different webcams lately while I work on my creative projects. One of my favorites is the Snowman Cam from Gaylord, Michigan. Regular visitors to the camera now are deer, wild turkeys, flying squirrels, and a variety of birds.

It’s time to get to work on today’s collage, so off I go. Thanks for reading this edition of That’s Gneiss! I love to hear from you, leave a comment about your routines, or share a favorite webcam.

And more important than anything right now, take care of yourself. Rest, and take breaks from the firehose of life when you need to.

Cheers!

~Anne