Consistency

This month I recognized the gift of consistency. On my job, every couple of weeks, I end up doing something entirely different. That might mean working in a new location, with new people, learning new skills, differing hours and expectations. It is mentally taxing to constantly be adjusting to this change, and then change again once you are starting to get used to a routine, starting to figure things out. I remember years ago learning that President Obama made his life less stressful by having the same clothes over and over; he needed to use his brain for other decisions so he had to save the brainpower from having to make all these tiny little decisions daily which add up. I looked back at the Obama article now and found it (see below). I like that it also talks about grocery decisions because who hasn’t gone in and thought why are there so many types of salad dressing!! I love different styles of clothes as an expression of who I am, but I have found that putting out two outfits the night before and giving myself an easier choice than looking at my entire closet helped. It prevented that morning paralysis where I just stood there thinking this would be too cold, and that's too uncomfortable, and that doesn't match. A couple of months ago I wanted to continue the spark of energy I got from being around sangat on vacation and develop more of a routine. I realized that over the course of the day I had a lot of trouble remembering the things that I had wanted to do. They were in the back of my brain but would come back to me in pieces- oh yeah I was supposed to do my exercises, and oh no I was supposed to have practiced my singing in the morning. Part of this was that my rabab now required daily singing and instrument practice so I needed some sort of routine. I think the pressure of having a checklist can sometimes be crushing but this time, after having tried this for so long, I found it empowering to have some things that I would accomplish each day and could look back on and see the progress. I created a checklist of things that I could do in the morning, and another for sometime in the day. It has been such a blessing to have some consistency when the rest of everything is chaos. I think this is the gift that Guru Ji gave in giving us a morning bath, Nitnem, Ardas, as well as exercise; in addition to an evening routine of Rehras and Kirtan Sohila. It gives us a solid foundation of consistency. I can’t say that my morning sadhna is perfect yet, I am still working on something simple that works for me and then adding to it once I know that I can do this even in the worst of schedules for the next few months. I’ve done this a lot of times before and then given up because of the disruptiveness of 24 hour, 30 hour shifts, but I can try again, and I’ll keep trying until I figure out. Next year I’m looking forward to being able to manage my own schedule, with less change and more consistency. There’s a real gift in having a routine and a way of having your day flow, because it keeps your brain from being overwhelmed. Someone I worked with last week had a daily checklist at work – stand for 1 hour, drink a glass of water, go for an afternoon walk, etc. which worked very well for him through the day as he felt he was caring for his health in addition to doing his job. Can you think of some ways to introduce consistency to your day? Think about your daily routines and what they mean to you, whether that's a bedtime routine, or something you do after work or at lunchtime. 

The Obama article https://www.fastcompany.com/3026265/always-wear-the-same-suit-obamas-presidential-productivity-secrets