The Routine

Bah, the paralyzation of perfection strikes again.

Well guess what, I can’t find it and I’m still going to write this.

Basically the quote said, routine is what creates not only balance but expertise in life. So for someone to give up that routine for someone/something, for them to rock the boat for a week trying to climb back up on to their routine, it better be damn well worth it. (Cue all athletes, masters at their craft, etc.)

Routine has proven key to maintaining my mental health. A consistent bedtime, rise time and what I do those first few hours of everyday has become crucial to keeping my energy high and my negative thoughts at bay. Many people reading this that know me will be rolling their eyes right about now, I am a fierce keeper of my routine and sometimes that doesn’t make me the most popular person at the party.

But you know what? A lot of this journey to balance may cause nay sayers along the way. Have you ever tried to quit drinking? Avoid certain foods? Value sleep over a late night soiree? I’m sure you’ve heard the sighs and experienced the pressure to give in “just this once.”

Here’s the reality for me, if I give up on my routine for more than a day or two, I have to fight ten times as hard to get it back. That fight creates more negative thoughts that spiral into less sleep, more internal condemning and makes everything I do to create this balance suddenly feel like a chore. It can be a short lived struggle, or it can last weeks. That’s the price of pushing past my routine.

From what I understand, most people that maintain a balanced routine are in some version of this same boat. People who work out in the morning don’t typically pop out of bed ready to take on that next squat. They have a mini negotiation with themselves while warm and cozy in their slumber and have to remind themselves the WHY behind that workout. I’ve read countless stories of amazing writers that still have to talk themselves into one or two of those scheduled writing times each day. I’m sure there are people who buck this trend, but for most, routine isn’t easy. It is the payoff that makes the temporary battle worth it.

Are there times I give in to bending the routine? 100%.

Those times where I’m sitting with friends or family in warmth, camaraderie, joy and probably a few too many glasses of wine. Where all feels right with the world and the conversation is on fire, you bet I’m not going to bed quite yet. But if I’m sitting in a room watching the clock roll by and wondering how late I can get up and still fit that work out in, those times, as I lean more and more into the value of this routine as KEY to my balance, are becoming less. And I’m feeling less and less sorry for it.

The topic of routine is fresh in my mind. As I’m writing this, I’m laying on my couch recuperating from a bit of a back and neck injury caused by, you guessed it, messing with my routine for several days over a holiday weekend. Less sleep caused me to work out half exhausted which caused me to lift poorly, get injured, attempt to push past that injury by getting back on my routine and working out too soon and viola.

What’s your routine? That’s the other trick to this, what works wonderfully for one might be awful for another.

The key is to figure out a routine that works best for YOU and that could look wholeheartedly different than the person sitting next to you.

Know thyself. I encourage you to find routines that bring you energy and focus, that allow you to sit and breathe for just a minute or two at the end of the day feeling a hint of accomplishment, gratitude and lightness.

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A woman is running with two dogs in a park.

Balancing a Brain that’s Fighting Back

By Katherine Warren • April 6, 2025

Your brain will straight up lie to you. There’s no way to sugar coat that, friends, there just isn’t. But your brain also creates beautiful ideas and inventions, and well, everything you see that surrounds us. It’s the power of the AND. Your brain is the king of the “and.” The first step in finding balance is recognizing this. The second step is discerning the beautiful part of your brain from the beast. The third is not reacting to, judging or negotiating with the beastly part. It’s tough, tough work. It’s lifelong work. And even if your friends start calling you things like the “definition of balance” (a term so kindly bestowed on me by some friends recently). You’re still gonna have to work your a** off on this part for the rest of your life as you sway back and forth, in and out of balance. Does it get easier? Yes and no. The beauty of understanding the feeling of balance is that you don’t have to rely on your brain so much. You know how it feels to be in a place of solid, grounded peace, no matter what your brain is shouting you “should” or “could” be doing. The harder part is that the more you find balance, the more likely it is that you are upleveling your life. Your focus and pure presence have likely brought about more of whatever you define as a successful life--mentally, physically, or materially. That uplevel can mean those brain lies cut a little deeper, make you question every decision you make to protect your peace. If you’ve learned to sit with that pain in your belly, it might fight a little harder to make you pay attention to it. It might put up a bigger fight to try to force you to listen to those untruths. This is when you have to remind yourself, your brain will straight up lie to you. Under no circumstances should you negotiate with these thoughts. That’s where spiraling lives, that’s where lack of balance lies. Sometimes holding hard to your balanced routines will do the trick.