It's now August 1st, and this week I've figured out my summer routine. A little late you think?
Truthfully, I think I've had the routine set all along, but just wasn't ready to declare that this was, indeed, the way my days were going to run.
I have this fantasy about living life on a strict schedule. I know that's weird, especially in the 21st century when most people espouse the "go with the flow" mantra. But if I'm OCD at all (and I might have to admit to a touch of that disorder), it's about a schedule. Like my two dogs, I much prefer to have everything go off like clockwork. They have an inner timepiece which rivals the atomic clock. From walks to meals to bedtime, they are dead set on completing certain daily activities at specified times, and woe to the person who fails to comply with the schedule.
My mornings have become pretty predictable. I get up, have coffee and read for an hour, then I exercise for another 30-45 minutes. After that it's breakfast for me, followed by walkies/breakfast for the dogs. By 10:00, I like to be at my desk for the next two hours to write. (I'm trying really hard to actually write during that time...not Facebook, Twitter, email, or any of those other ever-present distractions.)
Then it's lunch time - which is my favorite meal of the day, and if you wonder why, you can read about it in an essay I wrote earlier this summer. Weather permitting, I'll eat on the back porch and read, although sometimes (like today) I got distracted by a butterfly flitting around the trumpet vine and had to cut the reading time short.
In the afternoons I either work on office work, spend time with my mom, or do things around the house. I've been working on a closet/drawer cleaning project this summer, and now I'm about ready to take that a step further and tackle the basement (pray for me, people).
By 4:30-ish, I'm ready to stop and rest for a bit. This is where I'll start getting things ready for dinner, maybe settle into my favorite chair and check in with the ol' Social Network.
So it appears that I have my schedule pretty well in hand. I think I needed to write it all down to prove to myself that it really exists, and that I'm following it about 80% of the time - which isn't a bad percentage for someone who's only a teeny bit OC. So if you've read this far, I appreciate your interest in the minutiae of my life, and your willingness to be a participant in my little personal therapy session.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I see by the clock that it's nearly 5:00, which according to the schedule is time for a glass of wine, an activity that is not to be missed.
How about you? Are you a compulsive schedule keeper, or do you prefer to go with the flow?