I was just away for a long weekend with some colleagues to gather around business and strategy discussions. That merits its own blog post another day, but in the meantime, the weekend also served to remind me of this thing I’ve long known but sometimes temporarily forget:
The start of my day has a huge impact on how my day unfolds, no matter the course of events that takes place.
A couple years ago, I decided there were a few crucial components to my morning that set me up for the rest of the day: make my bed, meditate, exercise, and read while having tea. They’re small, simple things, but when I don’t do them, I’m far more likely to lose hold of my day and my intentions for it.
The sneaky lesson of the weekend was this: being in a new space, even for a short period of time (maybe even especially for a short period of time!) re-grounds me in the way I start my mornings.
When I’m at home, it’s so easy to slip. To get tempted to boot up my computer or check my phone or just “do that one quick chore”. The little things that dangle right in front of me and pull me away from that strong start to my day are all around me at home.
But when I leave my home, my “normal”, and go to a new place, it strips away those distractions. I’m not in my usual same four walls, walking the same route of my morning routine in the same pattern…I’m doing those elements in a totally new place, requiring a whole new pattern. It makes me look up, slow down, and focus in.
The dangly distractions don’t come with me. They fade into the background of the everything-is-new-everything-is-different setting.
And I am reminded that, no matter how well we set ourselves up with our routines and intentions, it’s also imperative to go out and away to the places that hold none of those things to let them refresh…
