I also used to (and still) struggle with routines and consistency. I think I perceive routines as behaviours and actions that curb my freedom and I hate that. So recently I stopped calling it routines and started thinking of certain behaviours as rituals that I do to enrich my life.
Strangely it's made me look forward to doing them and there's no pressure or shame if I forget to do it one time. A ritual is special and additive. A routine is just so blah.
Also just accept you suck at routines and aim for continuation rather than consistency. To err is to be human, but what matters is that we continue doing it.
Related Recs
🫂
kudos for sharing!! i really feel this too. i think personally, i’ve struggled a lot to try over a weird disregard for consistency, as if having a structure or a routine would somehow make my activities/work/hobbies less enjoyable.
consistency in my head has always implied stagnation. but really, that’s also the outcome of this burnout that happens when life is chaotic and not consistently focused. to avoid that, i’ve tried to build community around my goals !! i think talking with other people about what i do helps me to keep it feeling organic, even as i try to stay consistent and end up suffering through the same steps over and over again. it helps me not to run away from making the mistakes you need to progress at anything. i guess via making it tangible ?
Feb 18, 2025
🤔
I’ve been thinking about this a lot regarding my plan to purge/organize my home, because the way I used to do projects like this just doesn’t work anymore. I can no longer wait until I have the energy, then do as much as I can in one go. I do not have the gift of uninterrupted time anymore. Instead, I’ve had to adjust to a more slow and steady way of working. I choose *one* space to work on each day. Often times it ends up being one drawer, or corner, or step in the process.
Logically this is great and the best way to meet my goals. Mentally/emotionally I kid of hate it because it’s not how I’ve worked for my entire life. I have big ideas and want to do them right now!!!! But, when is growth or change ever without a bit of uncomfortability or pain?
So, I am actively changing my mindset. I speak positively to myself about the one small thing I did that day. I share that one small thing with my husband and friends. Because in actuality if it was so easy for me to do, I would’ve done it before. So my effort deserves some recognition!! Positive reinforcement, even when it’s to our own selves, can carry us a long way 🫶
Jan 13, 2025
🌪
i began to make more intentional decisions, aligned with what I truly wanted for myself, rather than what others expect from me—whether those "others" are real people or more abstract societal expectations that i had internalized. This meant sitting down and listening to what i needed, wanted, and could give to myself. having an idea of what i want my life to look like in a few years really helps—especially if it’s got a mix of realistic and crazy aspects in it i guess
my life is far from perfect, it doesn't have to be. It's all cyclical, i think.
I’ve started treating myself with more compassion, which, like everything else, is a work in progress. I try to do this because guilt can be too defeating. i fuck up all the time, but i try again and again and again. And when everything feels overwhelming, I try—if I can—to step back and view my life from an observer's perspective. Detaching a bit can really help.
Dec 4, 2024
Top Recs from @theeyah
🐦
i don't think anyone ever intends to become a recreational ornithologist. but i've noticed that it definitely creeps up on you slowly in your mid-twenties. it starts with noticing how funny pigeons are, then learning pigeon lore, and suddenly you're feeding your neighbourhood birds every morning and buying books on birds. as a child i idolised the pigeon lady in home alone 2, and i woke up this morning and realised — i AM the pigeon lady 🐦
Mar 6, 2025
📖
reading is a habit of building and developing your empathy and critical thinking skills. you’re forced to sit with an idea for however long you are reading it and forced to contextualise it and comprehend it within your own life and perspective. You can’t just scroll away or pause or put it on 2x speed. you have to sit with it. it’s super underrated, but genuinely I’ve made this a habit for the last year and feel like a totally different person. also you come out of it having learned something new or seeing the world in a slightly new way. I literally do not see any downsides to reading. make reading cool again! also you don’t have to do it in one big block, you can space it out — 15 mins here, 45 there — whatever works for you!
Dec 9, 2024
🪞
our cultural obsession with being perceived as cool is a disease. its peak capitalistic/consumerist propaganda. fuck being cool. like what you like and who cares if it's cool or not. it's tiresome and we need to leave it in 2024. literally nothing gives me the ick more than people who betray themselves in an attempt to be perceived as cool by the masses. be yourself — even if it means you're 'uncool'.
Jan 3, 2025