One of the things my husband remembers most about his growing up years in their small California town is Mondays. Because on Mondays, his beautiful Italian mother made pasta.
It was a whole day event and included Old World recipes and hours of simmering sauces and hand cut noodles. He would be the helper when she let him, and he loved watching and learning at her side.
He also loved guessing which neighbor would stop by because they just ‘happened’ to be out of eggs or needed a cup of sugar. The doorstep conversation turned into ‘Wow, what is that smell?” to which Marion would kindly answer, “Oh, It’s Monday! I’m making pasta – are you hungry?”
Pretty quickly the neighborhood figured out that Mondays at the Kelsos meant Marion’s homemade Italian cooking. With enough to spare.
Research shows that setting even one weekly routine has benefits – your stress level will fall, you’ll sleep better, you’ll enjoy better health, you’ll be happier.
Why? Because having regular processes in place allows your brain more room for focus and creativity, more likelihood of control, and more m e a s u r e d meaning.
What’s more, there is evidence that the best routines are connected with something you can do well. Marty Nemko told Headspace that “having a routine you do well can be comforting during tough times: Modern life, increasingly defined by unpredictability, can be anxiety-provoking, and routines provide an anchor of predictability.”
The temptation, especially at this time of year, is to tell yourself you’re going to make everything a routine!
“It’s been a crazy summer,” you say. (In fact, you probably said that this week!) “Give me all the routines!” And that, unfortunately, leaves you prone to all-or-nothingness. Since the likelihood you’ll stick to ALL of them is slim, you end up doing none of them.
But for a routine to ‘work’, it needs to be something, as Marty stated above, that you can do well.
I suggest adding one new weekly routine. I suggest making it around a certain day.
Here are some super simple examples:
On Fridays, we order pizza.
On paydays, we go out to dinner and take turns choosing where.
On the first of the month, we write gratitude notes.
On Tuesdays, I bring a treat to somebody who needs it.
On Sunday nights, we have a family planning meeting.
On Thursdays, we visit Grandma.
You get the idea.
PICK ONE.
Make it creative. Make it something you’re good at. Make it mean something.
Although I can’t ask her now, my guess is, Marion kept Pasta Mondays for the routine of it.
She was creative. She was good at it. She made it mean something.
I’m sure that her little California neighborhood would agree.
I can’t wait to hear about the weekly routines you’re putting into place.
And if you need some ideas of how to make them mean something, I’m here to help!
