So for day 6 of the Minimalist Challenge I'm supposed to follow a morning routine. That could mean follow a typical morning's routine, or start a totally new, more meaningful morning routine. I chose the latter, although it's not all that different from what I've been doing for a few months.
I woke up at 5am. It's supposed to reach 110 today, so around 104 by noon. That means in my routine, 1) Anything to be done outside, like yard work or manual watering should be done as early as possible. I went out to pick up the oranges that the birds ate at the top of our tree (that we couldn't reach to pick) that have now fallen on the ground. They (and the occasional other critters) typically leave a hollow shell. I picked up about 3 handfuls with gloves on and was bit over a dozen times by the ant coming out of the new anthill I noticed about a foot from the tree. It's the best place for them to find water and food, so they're everywhere. They bite - hard! So I stopped pretty quickly after killing at least 10 of them on my ankles & hands. They move quick too! Guess I'll be buying some ant killer for the ground today.
I went back inside and washed the bites which were now tiny little welts, like a mosquito bite but much smaller, and no, they didn't itch or hurt, just as they're biting. Since I was already up, it made sense to do my workout. For the challenge, 2) Workout for better health, strength, flexibility, and a leaner body. I've been using the Trim Healthy Mama DVDs set. It's an intro DVD, 7 DVDs with a different workout on it, and the 8th DVD is the smartest thing ever - it lets you pick the beginning, middle, and end (warmup, strength, and cardio) parts of different workouts - you can mix & match to create your own favorite workout. It also has Gentle Fit starting moves to do if the regular ones are to hard in the beginning, and there's a third section to keep them challenging. I feel the sore muscles after almost every workout so I know they're doing something, and I'm working out different muscles as I switch them up.
After my workout I always immediately head to the shower and get dressed for the day. Not very exciting, but it's my #3 of the routine: 3) shower/dressed.
Next I'm trying to spend more time on something important to me, my faith. Feel free to insert your own routine or steps in your own challenge. But for me, 4) Read my bible while taking notes. Sometimes I go through Psalms randomly and pick out things it says about what God does or who He is. Other times I go through and pick out things Jesus said in the New Testament about how we should live to have a better life. It's whatever's on my heart that day.
5) Read - although I like to take a little time to read throughout the day, I like to start the day in whatever good book I'm into at the time. (I've almost always got a book going.) It helps me start the day with a topic, or metaphor, or something to think on throughout the day. I try to figure out how what I'm reading can add value to my life, regardless of if it's a How-To book or some kind of fiction.
That's a pretty good start for a morning routine of intentional living, simple but meaningful. Where it goes from there may vary from day to day, but it's a good routine for me.
What would your routine look like?
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