Do you have a plan for your days or weeks? I don’t usually make many plans, but my mornings do follow a similar pattern.
My Morning Routine
When I first wake up I check emails, weather and a couple of other things on my phone. Then I do some stretching before getting out of bed.
[bctt tweet=”After that I get dressed in my exercise clothes, the reason being that I’m more likely to actually do it if I am dressed for it.” username=”GaylWright”]
Then I head down to breakfast where I might have cold cereal or oatmeal. Many days I will have eggs from our chickens along with toast and meat.
Plan for Reading
After breakfast my husband reads a chapter from a book in the Bible. We are going through Hebrews right now. Then I read aloud a chapter from another book. Presently we are reading ORTHODOXY, by G.K.Chesterton.
Next I go upstairs to read from the Psalms and work on a page in my gratitude journal. I also write a haiku as a response to the reading of the day. Then I write a few lines to express what I am thankful for that day.
My Exercise Plan
After that it’s time to exercise, so I get out my mat and go to a pilates routine on YouTube by Robin Long from The Balanced Life. I’ve found her workouts to be very helpful, and I only need to spend about 15 minutes a day.
Sometimes we do a longer full body workout, but mostly it targets specific areas. The good thing about the pilates that no matter what you are doing, you are still working the core and gaining strength. I still find some of the exercises too difficult, but there are ways to modify.
And speaking of exercise, my husband and I have started walking together on a trail about 10 minutes from our house. It’s called the Doodle Trail, and it used to be a railroad track. But now it is paved and provides a nice place for people to walk or ride bikes. It’s also refreshing to spend that time out in nature.
No Other Daily Plans
After that I have no particular plan for the rest of the day. Sometimes there are chores or projects to work on. Other times I have plans to go out to shop or visit someone. Often I need a break after exercising, so I’ll sit down with a glass of water. While there I will either check things on my computer, listen to something or crochet.
Even though I have a morning routine, I don’t have a good plan for keeping the house clean. There is still a lot of clutter, and I think if I made a plan for systematically getting rid of it, I could make it happen.
It would also be helpful to plan out certain days for the cleaning chores so that everything would get done weekly. I’m working on that and hope to come up with a good working schedule.
I seldom know ahead of time what I am going to make for supper. So it would benefit me a lot if I planned menus for the week. Then I could shop for exactly what I need and never wonder what to fix.
Plan Making is Helpful
[bctt tweet=”Even though creating these plans would take some time, in the long run I would be less stressed if those were set in place.” username=”GaylWright”]
So, maybe I need to think about how much better I would feel and use that as motivation to make those plans. But in all of this I need to remember that God holds the future. That doesn’t get me off the hook for making plans, but I am aware that my day may take a completely different turn than I had expected.
What about you? Does it help to make plans or are you better at just taking what comes? Or, do you have a schedule already set up such as school or work, etc?
What if You Can’t Plan?
Maybe you aren’t able to plan, because of not knowing how you will feel each day. For those of you with chronic illness or pain, how do you navigate your days? Is there a way to plan for times when you just aren’t up to doing anything?
Plan is the prompt word for Day 3 of the Five Minute Friday 10 Day Writing Challenge.
I’m linking up with: #TuneInThursday
Oh Dear Gayl, I love the Scripture and photo that you chose for the end of this post. Truly God is the One who will help us set our days. I used to be a great planner, and usually had several things multi-tasking at once. But when chronic illness slowed me down, I began to learn to surrender the pace of my days into His hands. Instead of feeling discouraged over all the things that I could no longer do, He began to show me just the one thing that was necessary that I could do, moment by moment. It’s still a process for me, but when I move at His pace, I have so much more peace and joy watching Him bring fullness to my “plans” that might not be any plan at all! 🙂 I am so glad that He knows what is best! Thank you for always being such an encouragement dear friend! Love & Hugs to you. xoxo
Dear Bettie, I’m sorry to take so long in replying to your comment. Thank you for sharing part of your story. It’s hard to have to stop doing things we used to think nothing about but now seem so hard. But I am glad that you are learning to move in God’s timing and to trust that He is your strength. I’m glad He knows what’s best, too. And I am so thankful for you and your encouragement daily. Much love to you with hugs and blessings, my dear sister/poet/friend! xoxo
Dear Gayl,
I love getting this window into your days. It’s beautiful how you are so intentional in seeking God alone and together with your husband: both through His written Word and those walks together.
So true, isn’t it, that God determines our steps. That photo is breathtaking of the trail with the sun streaming in. May God bring help you to clear the clutter. You have had so much going on, it would be so good if those around you reached out and helped to clear the clutter to give you more breathing space.
Sending love and hugs xxx
Thank you, Anna, for your encouraging words. Yes, we plan, but God directs our steps. I’m so glad we can trust in Him even when we don’t know the next step. I’m glad you like that photo. It was breathtaking to see the sun that day on the trail. And I didn’t mention, but the first photo shows a bit of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. I know God will help me figure out the clutter and that others will pitch in. I need to relax and not worry about it. Blessings, love and hugs to you, dear friend! xoxo