5 daily habits that keep me sane

When I was really little, I played this imaginary game in my head that I was born with a strange power that meant I was only able to breathe when I was touching plants. I would carry little leaves and twigs in my pockets and always run my hands over plants whenever I went past.... I have long since left this imaginary reality, but still to this day I subconsciously reach out to touch plants when I walk by.
Habits are powerful cycles of cues, routines and rewards, with much research having been done on the process of making and breaking them.

Here are 5 habits that I have formed (one that's still in the works), over the past few years that I don't even think about now but save me time, money and sanity every single day. Simple things, powerful life savers in mundane disguises!

1: Airplane mode in the morning. Mornings can be difficult for the best of us, even as a morning person!    When I go to bed at night I put my phone on airplane mode (I'm not a mum and everyone else can wait till morning), then when I get up in the morning, I don't turn it off until I have dressed, made my bed and washed my face etc. The temptation to lay in bed and read emails, Facebook or the news is a huge stealer of time and motivation. This way, by the time I turn it off, I am awake enough and have started the day enough to actually deal with anything that came through in the night. There's nothing worse than getting a "low balance warning" from the bank or a cancellation from a good friend when you're still half asleep... my coping skills aren't too awesome just then.

2: Clearing my inbox every night. I realise this one is a different ball game for people who send and receive a lot of emails for their job or personal life. I probably receive about ten emails on average per day, which is a manageable size to maintain this habit. As I am getting ready for bed, I clear my inbox completely... I put emails in folders if they have been dealt with, or I reply and file them, delete them or use the snooze function to make them come up as unread when I will have time to address it. There is lots of important information that comes through via email, and with a crowded, maxed out inbox, missing important dates, information or deadlines is bound to happen.

3: Put my clothes out at night. This is the one I get teased for at home... but it feels like a super power. I grab the clothes I want to wear in the morning and leave them out on my desk, and when my alarm goes off and I roll out of bed, my brain isn't forced into decision making mode before it's  fully functioning. There's not much more I can say about this one. Try it for a week at least.

4: Using cash for nearly everything. In this current season of life, I'm not working much and I'm on somewhat of a tight budget. I have tried recording what I spend each month and keeping track of what I buy... I can't seem to stick with it. So instead, I have made a budget that works for the month, and at the start of the month I get out in cash the amount that I have available to spend. When the cash is gone, there's no more spending, which is hopefully in the last couple of days of the month (doesn't always work but I'm getting better).

5: Scheduling things to take longer than they will. This is the one that I am just in the process of making a habit, but I have seen it's benefits already! When I plan something in my schedule (I use Google calendar), I set it starting earlier than it will and finishing later than it probably will. For a long time I consistently planned things back to back, not considering the physical and mental time it takes me to transition between things. By extending how long something will take, I am learning to protect that margin time, give myself time to transition or if needed, the time for things to run longer than expected without making me late for something else.

I would love to hear what habits other people have built into their life as savers of time, energy and sanity!

An ordinary kind of holy

Lord in your mercy, may I be awake to the life around me

Every breath, a welcoming of that which cannot be contained or defined

The embracing of being here, becoming a prayer in real time

Could we live in each minute with intentional presence,

Considering the mundane to be vessels of holiness for those who choose to see

Everyday moments to be given weight, to be held as precious.

Making space to completely show up in the ordinary,

To bear witness to life that knows no boundaries but will flow, like spilled wine, filling every crack.

Jesus, wrapping ancient truths in stories of seed and fields. Birds and thieves.

Adopting embryo as home, climbing down down down

When last is first and the coin comes from the mouth of the fish

Mundane removes it’s mask and you lock eyes with the ordinary kind of holy.

If God has filled the universe with himself,

Can not every room, every road, every hour be an alter, a scared meeting place?

Would Christ who cooked fish and drank wine, lock holy inside cathedral or clergy?

Every breath, a welcoming of that which cannot be contained or defined

Lord in your mercy, may I be awake to the life around me

Enoughness

This morning I got up at 5:45 to go to work and when I got there, a scheduling miscommunication meant that we had two people thinking they were working... So I left again and for a few minutes felt grumpy. The worry of missing the day of pay and of not having enough work nearly stole the opportunity for great joy.

I realised though that God wouldn't allow a scheduling error to mean I didn't have enough. There will be enough money and enough work. So this day turned into a free gift.
I went to the river nearby and sat on a rock down amongst the trees, the sun coming through the leaves onto my face.

I have been recognising a voice recently in my mind... of not 'enoughness' when it comes to my work, a subtle disapproval of only working a couple

Lynn Creek, the river I found myself at this morning 

of days a week for months now, of having time for things I enjoy when most of my friends work much more.
I've noticed this voice, or more so the feelings of inadequacy and worry the voice invokes in me, before now... but today was the first time I really shined the light on it, exposed it as a lie intended to steal life. It says that to be a real adult, to be responsible and valuable, I need to work more. To have this much time for the things I love is irresponsible.

Today I rebuked that voice, and with deep gratitude I accept and receive this season of time, slowness and freedom. I speak back to it, saying that my value and my being enough are in no way tied to my work situation or productivity. I am enough simply because I am alive within relationship with Jesus. Of course I will take opportunities to work, so I can pay bills and contribute to my workplace, but I can receive that as a gift too, not as a duty or something necessary to be valuable.

I knew that in this moment, right now, the absolute most important thing in the world for me to be doing was to be present at that river. To watch the pollen dust float down through the sun beams and be caught up suddenly in the current. To allow the constant melody of the water heal my ears from the jarring noise of the city. To be still and to breathe and to let the Spirit remind me that I am enough. Just like this. I am enough.