mercurial scribe

Routines. Schedules. These are the words that make more artists shudder. But as a mother, a business woman and someone with bipolar, I recognize that there is power in the proper implementation of routines.

In fact, regular routines especially regarding sleep cycles can seriously help reduce the occurrences of manic and depressive episodes in bipolar patients (Psych Central). It’s pretty well-known that people with bipolar have more highly sensitive circadian rhythms than the average person which means that disrupting that cycle can have much greater consequences. But what if a patient were to take this concept a step further and make daily routines essential to every day life?

It is a common occurrence among patients in mental institutions and drug rehabilitation centers: they do better in treatment than in the real world because in treatment everything is regulated. Meal times are set and are followed, activities are planned and down time is scheduled. There is order in daily life. But on “the outside”, patients often fall back into their chaotic lifestyles of irregular meals and sleep, all of which screws with a person’s ability to function logically.

Knowing this information has given me a special motivation to make sure my day has routines. They are not strict but they are regular. In my previous post about being a night owl versus an early riser, I wrote about how there is no way I can regularly get up at 5 a.m. Instead, I am following my own circadian rhythm and waking at 9 a.m. But I do have a routine once I get up so my day starts properly.

• After I get out of bed, I prepare a bottle for Miriam before changing her diaper and feeding her. We usually watch Disney’s House of Mouse or Sesame Street (both of which I have DVRed), which I explain to her while she eats.
• After about twenty minutes, she’s done and so is our TV time. We take Zoe out to use the grass and feed her breakfast.
• Next, I read scripture while I eat my breakfast and Miri is in her swing. It’s a lovely time of morning.
• I unload the dishwasher and load what was in the sink along with my breakfast dishes.
• After cleaning up breakfast, I brush my teeth, get dressed and settle in to watch an episode of whatever show recorded the night before while Miri naps or I play with her in her baby gym.

It’s no super-powered, Get Things Done type of routine but it gets the day started on the right foot for me. I have time with my daughter, I have time to myself and my day starts out slow and easy.