Prepping for Back to Schoo/Work: Routines

So as I may have mentioned before/is viewable in that little profile blurb to the left -->, I'm a teacher. More specifically, a high school English teacher. All teachers would probably agree with me that a major component of classroom organization is ROUTINE. Kids love routines - even older kids that don't like to be called kids, a.k.a. teenagers. Heck, it's human nature to prefer routine - there's comfort in familiarity and the expected, and it makes life easier to know what to do in certain situations.

Love this, but didn't make it. Fitting, though.

That said, I've never been great at establishing routines outside of the classroom. Or, I guess I should say I've never been good at establishing EFFECTIVE routines. I routinely wait until the last minute to do things or hit the snooze button - so it's not like I don't have routines, they're just routines I don't want. ;p There's some dysfunction in my personality that rebels against the idea of HAVING to do things; it drives me nuts, and at the same time I'm like "UUUUGH DON'T WANNA." Now I'm trying to be better.

Since I'm a grown-@$$ woman and need to get my shtuff in order, I've been trying to get used to a morning routine. I'm currently working at a camp for international students, and I teach ESL in the mornings, so it's similar to the scholastic setting to which I'll return in about 3 weeks. (In other news, HOLY CRAP I ONLY HAVE 3 MORE WEEKS TO PREPARE.) So I've been trying to create a routine in the mornings that I can work with, and get used to it for the next 3 weeks so I can ease into the school year, rather than it be a big ol' shock, y'know? The first weeks of school are always tough when you're getting used to the routine again, so the easier I can make it on myself, the better.

This is the morning routine I'm trying to establish:

• Wake up, 10-minute workout (yes, just 10 minutes - I'm easing myself into it)
• shower, hair and make-up done
• make and eat breakfast
• take Daisy out for a nice walk (about 20 minutes)

I've been getting up about 2 hours before I need to leave for work for this routine... it's way more time than I need, but I like it because I don't have to rush. Which, when I leave for work at 8:30, isn't so early... but in 3 weeks, I'll be leaving for work at 6:30. Getting up 2 hours earlier, which would be 4:30... yeah, I don't know. Might need to work it into 1.5 hours earlier. Probably could save myself some time by jumping out of bed, not dilly-dallying on my phone trying to wake up.

So far, I've managed all but the workouts. Heh. I need to work on that, obviously - so that's my focus this week; the idea is to get 3 separate 10-minute workouts of decent intensity done morning, noon, and late afternoon (like when I get home from work). Eventually, I'd like to up the workouts to 20 minutes. It's not a vanity thing - it's literally doctor's orders... but I've never been one to workout for the sake of working out, which is why I'm trying to do it in short spurts. (Unless I find a class I like, then on days I take an exercise class I'll excuse myself from the other workouts as long as it's equivalent to the time I'd normally workout.) Again, though, this is why I've given myself some time to establish this routine - the more habitual it is when school starts, the less problematic it will be to keep it up, hopefully.

The other routine I'd like to establish is a kitchen-related one. First is that I want to prep my lunch at the same time I'm making dinner, like get dinner in the oven/prolonged cooking time, and in the in-between time, prep whatever I need for lunch the next day so it's ready to grab and go in the morning. I would also like to take that in-between time, or after eating time, to do the dishes. I have good weeks and bad weeks of doing the dishes daily, but I also hate the dishes piling up. They still DO, but man do I hate it. ;p

The biggest thing I'm fighting here is myself and that natural reluctance do things that I HAVE to do, or that I'm EXPECTED to do; I'm not normally a rebellious person, but basic housekeeping/chores has always been something I've fought. Yet I prefer living in a cleaner house and having life be a little easier, so I need to do little things throughout the week rather than big overhauling things once in a while, which is more exhausting and frustrating. Right? Right.

Makes perfect sense, and yet I still drag my feet kicking and screaming. I am noticing a little less kicking and screaming, though. Maybe I'm finally growing up!