I saw this post over on Kyria’s blog and thought it was really interesting to learn about people’s habits. There are things that I am not really particular about and then other things I try to do the same way, because they have proven efficient ways to do things, they are convenient, or just feel good (or all of the above). So, here are mine:
Coffee: I have a programmable coffee maker (best invention ever!), so I always set up the coffee before I go to bed. It starts brewing in the morning, when I am in the shower, and when I am finished getting dressed, it’s ready for me to enjoy my first cup of coffee on the couch catching up on Twitter and Facebook before I leave for work.
Meal planning: every Saturday morning, I sit down with J and we talk about what we want to eat the following week. I research some new recipes, look for sales and coupons and then we write our meal plan for the week and I simultaneously write my shopping list. Before we started meal planning, I thought it was going to be such an effort and very time-consuming, but it turns out that the 30 minutes I invest on Saturdays pay back over the course of the week big time!
Evenings: I usually come home from work any time between 6 and 7 p.m. and I love to come home and wind down watching the news for a bit before we start preparing dinner. J usually records ‘The Rachel Maddow Show’ for me (which is on at 6 p.m.) and when I get home, I start watching it and can fast-forward through the commercials.
Keys: My keys have a specific spot on the shelf and I (usually) try to remember to put them there immediately when I get home. I hate nothing more than searching around the house for items that I need every day.
Calls home: Due to the time difference to Germany, it’s not always easy for me to call my family or friends whenever I feel like it. It’s not like I can call them in the evening for a chat (like most people probably do), because when I get home from work, it’s in the middle of the night for them and they’re sleeping. I often have a quick catch-up call with my parents or sister during the week on my lunch break, but my main ‘calling Germany’-routine is multiple longer call or skype session every Sunday morning (for me – evening for them) with friends and family members to talk about our respective weeks.
Gym: Since I work fairly long days, my workout routine currently is hitting the gym twice on the weekends (mostly Fridays and Sundays). I always hope to fit in one more workout session during the week, but with the evenings getting shorter, I haven’t really found the motivation.
Laundry: When we moved into our current apartment a year and a half ago, we were set to finally get a washer and dryer. We were so tired of sharing the laundry room with other people. Then, it turned out that our apartment hook-ups were only 120V (it’s an old building) and that we wouldn’t be able to get a regular washer and dryer that would work with the outlet. After the initial disappointment, we decided to not invest into a small, inefficient machine that would work with the 120V outlet, but look for a laundromat again. We did find a nice laundromat and now do our laundry every 3rd Friday afternoon. It works for us!
Do you have any habits that you stick to? Tell me one that you feel like is the weirdest one!
Melissa
November 13, 2012 at 6:25 amOh this is a fun post! I think to a certain extent we’re all creatures of habit- that is, we must all have these *things* that we do every day, especially if you have a work routine and you wake up at the same time every day. The only thing I do with CERTAINTY every day is when I wake up I check my phone. And then I go upstairs and make myself a coffee. Without these two things, my days cannot go on. It’s so strange how that works!
Travel Spot
November 13, 2012 at 6:26 amI love this! It is fun to see what other people do! As you know, I put my keys in the same place too…also I totally get what you are saying about the workouts. I try to go three times a week but that weekday one is HARD! After work, the last thing I want to do is put on workout clothes and go out into the dark. A couple other habits that I didn’t put on my list: Shower at night, (trying to) drink only 3 cups of coffee a day, cook a big meal (for the coming week) on Friday night…
Nilsa @ SoMi Speaks
November 13, 2012 at 7:32 amHoly heck, you only do laundry once a month? Seriously? I’m so jealous. Even before Gavin, I was doing a couple loads a week. Now? The laundry is never ending and I easily do 5 loads a week. It hurts. It really hurts.
Gina
November 13, 2012 at 9:19 amI really like your method for meal planning. I just might steal your idea. :)
Kat
November 13, 2012 at 1:37 pmWill be stealing the idea for this post, hehe – such a fun read! I can’t believe you manage to plan an entire week’s worth of meals and then actually stick to the plan. And YES on the keys thing: I always put my keys in the same place when I get home, right by the front door so I don’t forget them on my way out. ;)
Chrissy
November 14, 2012 at 8:58 amI loved reading about your habits. How awesome to have a programmable coffee maker! And I love planning meals for the whole week. It makes things so much easier and more fun, to know what to cook each day and that way no one can complain about the meals since we all picked them! haha
B
November 14, 2012 at 1:55 pmI’m not sure I have any solid habit. A bad one though is that every morning at work I have a Mountain Dew instead of a coffee. I kicked it for a bit but sadly fell back into it!
Lisa of Lisa's Yarns
November 14, 2012 at 4:50 pmThis was fun to read! I am such a creature of habit and love reading about others habits. I have such a morning routine, it does not change! And then I have a different routine when I am traveling. I can’t think of a weird habit I have, but I know I have plenty!!
terra
November 19, 2012 at 11:09 amI have a washer and a drying in my house and yet I’m still terrible at doing my laundry.
My morning is pretty set though – I get up, shower, get ready, let the dogs out, feed the dogs, feed the cats, feed myself, poke around the internet and then get to work. If I deviate from the plan, I feel totally lost.
Eleni Zoe
November 23, 2012 at 3:59 amI think my weirdest habit is that I have to do a New York Times crossword puzzle on my phone before I fall asleep. Well, I start before, but it’s actually while I’m falling asleep. Sometimes, I wake up during the night and my phone is still in my hand. :D