I remember I used to write short snippets just to get something out there. I think that’s what this is going to be. A free-write, with no goal at the outset other than to quickly get a snippet up on my website. I’ll mention there are a handful of ideas I have been thinking about. Travel is one. What a busy summer it’s been. Routines are another, as in my last snippet. These go hand in hand of course; travel is the opposite of a routine. At home, in those rare moments of normalcy, routine is a rhythmic structure. Travel disrupts this, creating space for new experiences, but possibly risking losing habits that took time to form.
One change I’ve noticed in myself over the last few years is a conscientiousness about this when I travel. I find I’m aware of the possibility of disruption to my habits, and this helps mitigate this disruptiveness. This stems from having had habits disrupted by travel in the past, and making a conscious decision the next time I traveled to set a date for after my return to check that I had rebooted my habits.
I was about to write “I haven’t done that since”, but I realize, in a way, I have. With my most recent bout of travel, I did tell some friends my intent to resume a certain habit by a certain date after my return. And though I momentarily forgot I took this action, I can confirm it worked. I returned from my travels a couple days ago and indeed have already restarted this particular habit (it’s the morning routine one from the previous snippet).
Now that I’m back and am getting into a bit of a standard routine (at least for a couple weeks before travel picks up again), I’m considering extending this morning routine routine to also include a morning work routine component. The idea is young, but perhaps I will explore it more in a future snippet.