Daily habits are the secret sauce to a productive and efficient life. Had I found stoicism as a child, and had I not suffered from so much abandonment and abuse as a child, I would never have chosen the church and never stayed inside it for so long.
But now I am an adult, aging on this beautiful island and so, as this new year begins, here are my daily habits, written out and posted in the bathroom and kitchen so that I see them many times each day. They are measurable (did I do them?) and they are what seems to give me the life I want. What are yours for 2022?
- Turn off all devices at 7:30 pm, listen to a book in the dark and get to sleep by 8:00 so that I have great hours of creativity, exploration, and enjoyment before my work-day begins and when I am at my most creative and curious.
- Sleep for 9 hours each night with no morning alarm.
- Wake naturally around 5:00 am and enjoy tea, snuggles with Sugar-the-dog, and youtube videos that team me things about which I am curious.
- Make the care and love of my dog Sugar a top priority of the day.
- Begin each day with three books: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, The Daily Stoic, and The Daily Stoic Journal by Ryan Holiday.
- No caffeine after mid-morning, 32 ounces of water each day and no alcohol except with close friends (but only before 6:00 pm.)
- Make pots while listening to books no less than 8 hours weekly. They fill me with joy.
- Set eyes on “The Garden” – my list of my closest friends – tend the garden every day (what needs feeding, what needs weeding, what needs tilling, what needs planting, what needs nurturing?)
- Walk on a Whidbey Island beach every day in the high sun and at low tide with Suga while listening to books. It fills me with joy.
- Ignore what is not in my control, focusing only on those things over which I have control.