The Most Dramatic Season Yet | Two Weeks Without a Routine

No, this is not a Bachelorette recap. My Bachelor Nation recaps will be back with the premiere of Bachelor In Paradise in August. For now, if you need a recap, check out “Will You Accept This Recap” by Kellie Marie. This post is about the two weeks between my last job and my current job.

If you know me, you know I THRIVE on routine, on schedule, on plans. I would plan every moment of my life if I could. You should see the excel spreadsheets/google docs I make prior to a trip. Most recently, I planned a staycation in Chicago when my friends Olivia and Sabrina visited last weekend. I planned a daily itinerary complete with travel times. Why? Well we had a short visit so I wanted to show them as many of my favorite sites as possible. Did we get to them all? Nope. Did we still have a great time? Absolutely! Have I learned to live without a routine? Certainly not.

So let’s rewind. Two weeks without a routine, you say? How did this type-A crazy handle it? I’ll tell ya! It was wild! I’ve worked almost every weekday since I graduated college aside from when I’m traveling and when I didn’t have a full time job, I was working part time jobs and looking for a job. But that wasn’t the case this time. I’d accepted a new job four days before my old job ended. So I was granted a two week vacation before my new routine started. You’d like I’d take it easy but I don’t know how. Santa Monica Beach is one of my favorite places on earth and I can only lay there for about three hours before I get bored and need to get up and go somewhere else.

So if you’re like me and are in need of structure between structures, here are my tips to creating a temporary routine so you feel grounded in your new space:

1. Get Moving! I made a commitment to work out every weekday I was off. Nine of the 10 days, I hit the gym for some focused cardio. Day 1o and a bonus workout on the 4th of July featured a few loops at Swallow Cliff Stairs. Hitting my step goals every day helped me feel accomplished.
2. Be social! Now, there are many days I don’t necessarily enjoy being social. One of my favorite things to do is to come home, put on sweats, and watch Netflix or Hulu with my mom. But despite having the immediate future figured out, sitting at home every day wouldn’t have been good for my head or my heart. The first week, I made lunch plans every day with my friends, both professional and personal. I said goodbye to a few of my favorite restaurants near my old work and “See ya later!”-s to the people who made my every day memorable.
3. Plan ahead! The day after my job ended, I treated myself to a little shopping day with my friend Ashley. We spent the day at the mall and I got some cute new pieces for my new job. Later that night when I got home, I considered all my new clothes and planned out my outfits for my first two weeks of work, down to shoes and handbags. It made my mornings and evenings so much more relaxing and lent more time for Hulu and sleep.
4. Release yourself from guilt! I decided to put myself in the headspace of “I’m on a two week vacation.” It kept me from sitting around feeling guilty about my free time, about not working, about not asking for an earlier start date. I was meeting my Fitbit sleep goals. I was meeting my step goals. I was able to breathe more deeply. I went to Florida to see my sister. I didn’t feel stressed for the first time in a long time. By the time it was my first day at my new job, I felt so centered and ready to conquer my new opportunity.

Let me know what helps you ground yourself when your routine is broken or when things feel topsy turvy! I’m always open to new ideas!

xo.