Getting Back into Routine

I’m not very good at returning to work after a holiday or a time doing something wildly different. It’s not that I dislike work, but the change of pace and switch of rhythm can be tiring. After reading friends’ facebook posts about preparing to send kids back to school yesterday (or not if your bus was canceled because of a dumping of snow), I know I’m not alone. Whether it’s Christmas break or summer holidays, it’s the same. Sometimes I even feel some anxiety that I’ll forget how to return to routine after what seems a luxurious down time (or perhaps a really hectic time that wasn’t at all restful).

Here we stand at the start of a new year. For some the Christmas break was more like a whirlwind, and perhaps any personal reflection time and deep centering of ourselves was a pipe dream. Or, if we found that spiritual focus, it may feel like we have to give it up, trading it in for the demands of our schedule and all those resolutions we made about how to live better for this year to be our best yet.

As I prepare to go back to my secular work, I’m going to try to do the following things. If they resonate with you, then feel free to borrow what will be helpful to your journey:

1. Pause to breathe and give thanks for the holiday shift in time that may have taught you some things or opened up new space within you. Maybe there was less conflict at a family gathering, maybe some part of your planning went fantastically well for a change, maybe someone gave you a gift of significance, or maybe you felt blessed and close to Christ in an indescribable way. The Christmas break has been fleeting – savour whatever God offered to you in this sacred time, and perhaps even journal about it so you can stay mindful of it.

2. If you have already packed up decorations, take a moment to stand near the boxes and to remember the meaning and stories of them and how they point to God's greater story. Use them to think of special moments from this year’s festivities and celebrate the connections you have through anyone who sent you Christmas cards or other greetings. If you haven’t already taken down the decorations, when you do use it as reflective time to talk with family or think about the meaning of what you experienced this year.

3. Ease back into this transition by setting yourself up well. I have a pot of soup on the stove and the act of chopping onion and garlic and potatoes has started to restore my rhythm and both muscle and cognitive memory of what a regular work week feels like. Doing routine tasks like the laundry helps to prepare me for what is coming. Pace yourself doing these things that begin to get things back to 'normal'.

4. When I go in today, I’ll be tempted to be like a racehorse at the gate, trying to do a million things as though my holiday time was “time lost”. But I’m not going to let myself go there. Luckily e-mail isn’t a big part of my job, but there are endless things that need doing. I’m going to fight the urge to save the world in a day and instead do what is reasonable after a well-deserved break, no matter what is happening around me. I will remember God’s provision of seasons, of time to work and rest, and of reliable cycles, all of which ground us and remind us that the Creator is in control, not us.

5. Word has gotten out that I love chocolate, and not only do I have a stash as gifts but also leftover baking kept for ‘just in case’ last-minute gifts. I have over-indulged, though not as much as other years (perhaps I’m being optimistic) and so I’m rationing these out to extend the season and allow my physical exercise to catch up. Each time I eat or share these or use other gifts I received, I will try to be conscious of the work put into their creation, and will be drawn back to the many varied gifts of God given to us.

6. I’m not going to have resolutions this year, per se, but I do hope to be more intentional in spending time with God, in regularly seeking the rest I so needed this holiday, and in being mindful and more aware of my choices that impact my health. My goal is to feel less like I’m on board a runaway train and more like a grounded, beloved child of God.

I pray that this holiday time filled some kind of need in you, even if it was a realization of how blessed you are to have work to return to. May you also find intention and focus and a greater ability to sense God’s priorities for you.

Happy New Year!