Routines | Paroxysm of Giggles / Critical Mass

When I adhere to it, I really am loving my quiet morning routine. After getting ready for the day and having some breakfast, I sit down for some spiritual reading time. This morning I continued reading in Pope Benedict’s Infancy Narratives, concerning John the Baptist.

Music helps to influence your emotions, so while I tend to listen to upbeat music when getting ready (this morning, it was classic Christmas tunes), when I’m reading in the morning, I like to switch over to something more … churchy. This morning I put on some Gregorian chant.

The best mornings were the mornings that I got to go to morning Mass on my way in to work. We would gather at 6:30 am in the Day Chapel at Our Lady of Good Counsel and pray together. At the end of Mass, Jesus would be put out on the altar and we would sing O Salutaris Hostia to Him. That’s something I miss, so I think at the end of my spiritual reading time, I’ll bring that song back.

I find that it always helps my work day when I pray first. I feel that I am more kind, more productive, and more focused, than days where I don’t take explicit time to pray.

There’s always something printed on my vitamin packet, whether a quote or a question. Today, it was:

“We don’t realize that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme self who is eternally at peace.”
Elizabeth Gilbert

I’m not sure who Elizabeth Gilbert is, but I feel that supreme self is the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

Have a blessed morning!

I attended a Zoom meeting last night with Laken and some members of her PlanWithLaken community and for 2 hours we discussed topics related to goal setting and personal growth. I love the encouragement and inspiration which comes from this community.

A particular app came up in discussion (which, to be honest, has come up before and I’ve downloaded it, but I never actually got around to setting it up) – Routinery. Spurred on by the discussion, I finally opened the app and set it up with a Morning Routine, Lunch Routine, and Evening Routine.

I don’t really have anything too surprising in there right now, but I did add in some skin care, time set aside for spiritual reading, and making a habit of doing the dishes during lunch (it just has been a successful time for me to do them).

At first go, I’m seeing that there are things I can do to prep for my routine that will make things go smoother, like making sure that you have pre-opened the box containing your vitamins, and having an idea of what you want to wear for the day (probably also having clean clothes, LOL). I baked into my Evening Routine some things like putting things away. I love coming into the office to start the day and having a neat desk. I’d rather do that at night than quickly cleaning it up in the morning before I log in to work.

I added some reading time in to my Morning Routine. Not that I – in general – have difficulty finding time to read, but that I don’t necessarily make time for spiritual reading and reflection. At least, not a consistent time. One of the things that I miss about the pre-pandemic life is that I used to be able to attend Mass at 6:30 am before work. I liked the idea of starting off the day with God.

I know it’s not Advent yet, but I thought it would be good for me to read Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI. Reading it now will set the stage for me to enter into Advent with a prayerful heart and really experience this season of hopeful waiting that we are about to enter into.

Do you have anything you are doing to prep for Advent?