I love routines and structure in my day. I keep a monthly, weekly, and daily schedule of things I hope to and plan to accomplish. I EVENTUALLY complete about 95% of what I plan to do each week and month...just maybe on a slightly different timeline.

I also love the concept and notion of hacking my days with optimal routines. I see things all the time with titles like “5 simple morning moves to get you going” or “the ideal bedtime routine for your best night of sleep” or "buy these products for the softest skin of your life," and I think I WANT THAT! I Want the Best Morning! I want the best sleep! I want the best skin! And then I do these things for a few days or a week, or whatever. Then I'm back to my old habits prioritizing coffee in the morning, forgetting my nighttime face mask, and watching Netflix until too late at night.

When COVID-19 hit, I started experimenting with a few routine changes, additions, and enhancements that resemble slight tweaks to my daily routines rather than a massive overhaul. Below are the upgrades I’ve managed to maintain in my daily routine over the last few months, mostly because they are simple, easy, and effective.

So here are my new habits. Nothing fancy. No new products to buy. I’ve broken them into 2 categories – General Well-being, and Musical Well-Being. They are simple and effective. I’m sharing them with you because who doesn’t need more things to add to their daily routines? LOL

Rituals for a Smooth Daily Existence

•  Drink 1 glass of water before bed

• Drink 1 glass of water first thing in the morning

• Read for 15-30 mins (preferably a real book, not a screen) before sleep.

• Overnight, plug your phone in on the other side of the room (or a separate room altogether).

• Rub each foot, ankle, lower leg every night for 1-2 minutes before going to bed - ideally slowly and unhurried.

• Write down the daily TO DO list the night before and plan WHEN you will do each item. This makes me less inclined to put things off until the evening.

• 20-30 mins of light-moderately strenuous in the morning (preferably yoga or a walk around the neighborhood followed by 5-10 minutes of meditation/quiet time.

• Go on at least one long walk (60+ minutes) per week.

• Avoid coffee after lunch.

• A cup or two of herbal tea in the Evening
  

Routines for Optimized practice time

• Get at least some, if not all, of my practicing done before lunch.

• Foot rub

• Timani Warm-Ups (more on this soon, but check out my original Timani blog here)

• 25-45 minutes of Violin Technique warm-ups AFTER Timani routine.*

• Put the phone on airplane mode during practice time.

• Use Pomodoro Method to organize practice times and breaks (I wrote about this for corpSonore, you can read it here)

• Plan my practice per week – select technical exercises, repertoire, long term, and short term goals at the beginning of the week and write them down.

*If you’re thinking, “what the hell is this Timani stuff she’s talking about?” don’t worry! I just completed the level 1 teacher training course, and I would be happy to tell you all about it. You can now read the blog post I wrote about it last year when I first discovered it and fell in love with the Technique. I’ll be sharing more soon.

My Ideal Day

This is the day my Wellness Dreams are made of. These days don't happen often, but I feel like I’m living my best life when they do.

• Wake up early

• 20-30 mins of yoga in the morning

• Violin Practice for 2-3 hours

• 3 delicious meals

• Moderate to Long Hike in the Afternoon or Evening (or Morning).

• Time to journal and reflect.

• Read a Good Book

• Hot Tea in the Evening

• A Warm Bath before bedtime.

What rituals and routines work for you?