Good Habits

A New Morning Routine

First, a big hello to my new subscribers from the Collected Book’s workshop. Thanks for joining me here and good luck with the writing. Also as promised, a link that may well be of interest to all readers, writers and artists, to the wonderful Sam Clarke’s Substack and her conversation with Anna Chapman Parker, about her new book, Understorey, A Year Among Weeds. I’ve yet to read it but I’m looking forward to it very much, from all I’m hearing, its quiet but powerful, and has a lot to say about attention, observation and creative practice.

Last week here in my newsletter, I gave you bad habits, the things that we need to avoid as writers. Judging by your messages it struck a chord. This week in contrast, here’s something about breaking bad - nothing to do with manufacturing crystal meth - and establishing good, habits.

For a long time in my working life at HMP Low Newton women’s prison, I would get up at around 6 a.m. in order to leave the house before seven. Leaving at this time was imperative if I wanted to negotiate the early morning traffic in Durham city. In the latter stages of my working life, after managing an education department and all the attendant stress, I took on a Senior Manager’s role and became responsible for large parts of the prison. This meant I could easily find myself facing a mini crisis by 7.30. a.m. - a flood in the kitchens comes to mind. Such problems had to be managed before the Governor’s Morning Meeting which took place every day at 9 a.m.

This was a meeting fuelled by testosterone and the last thing you wanted as a, ‘civilian,’ and as a woman, was someone else reporting a problem in your area that you didn’t know about or had failed to solve.

And this was just the start. Days were stressful and long, and I didn’t always get home before 6 p.m. I think this explains in part why, in retirement from the prison service, my habit for some years now has been to linger in bed in the morning, propped up on pillows with that first cup of tea followed by the iPad, the Guardian online, a scroll through the occasionally uplifting but often dangerous territory of social media, falling into a mind numbing rabbit hole, where I have idea of what I’m even looking for or why I’m there.

For some time now, I’ve been unhappy about this morning routine, especially when I don’t sleep well or wake in a low mood which can often happen. A week ago now I decided to do something about it. I decided to change my routine and reclaim the morning.

Reclaiming the morning is very fashionable, the trend is everywhere - Robin Sharma’s 5a.m. club - advises a 20/20/20 approach: 20 mins of intense exercise, 20 mins reflecting on goals, 20 mins learning a new skill. NO thank you - far too intense, and 5a.m. is not a time of day I like to see, but I did want to break my existing habit. I settled instead on this…

I no longer stay in bed in the morning drinking tea, instead when I wake I get out of bed pull on joggers and a t shirt - lately also a jumper - make a cup of tea and take it with me out into the garden. If it’s raining, as it has been, I open the doors to the garden and stand on the threshold. I stay here for five or ten minutes soaking up the early morning light, though it’s been predominantly grey. I follow this with ten minutes of yoga which is mainly stretching but during the short practice you are also invited to set your intention for the day. I like doing this, it seems to work for me. I can decide what my day will be; a self-fulfilling prophecy. Then it’s breakfast if I’m ready to eat and only then do I look at the iPad. Interestingly I find I’m looking at it less and as a result, I’m reading more - always a good thing.

I could not have predicted quite how positive the effects have been. I am aware that it’s early days. Estimates for how long it takes to break a habit vary from 18-254 days. Of course a lot depends on the habit. I know from experience how difficult some habits are to break - smoking for one, which if I’m honest, took me years. I’m not sitting here with a smug, self-satisfied grin, that says I’ve cracked it. But to date I find I am happier for this change. I don’t have time when I wake to be down or anxious. I have control over the morning and this slides into the day itself. I am more mindful. I’m happier and calmer. Setting intentions for the day has been great for my writing. I’ve got more done, likewise with my exercise.

I have a feeling that this routine will last. Perhaps because it’s realistic and not demanding, because I actually look forward to it, because it makes a difference, a difference I felt from the very first day. Small changes can have big impacts.

It’s the same for writing. Set the intention for your day - an hour’s writing in the morning, or for your writing week - 500 words. You don’t have to devote hours you haven’t got, those words will soon begin to mount up. And who knows you may enjoy it so much that you find you’re doing more than you could ever have imagined.

Thanks for Reading

Avril x