Routine is very important for me and keeps me settled and focused. But right now, routine has taken an extreme turn and I am stuck in a rut. I do the exact same thing day in and day out, week in and week out, with very little variety, and I’m tired. Something needs to change, so I need to find a way to shake things up.

Currently, I wake up and start my rotations for the day with my phone (email, games, audio books, social media), then move on to my computer (email, job search, surveys, more games, blogging, streaming), next is cleaning (general pickup, dishes, laundry). I do all of this in the same location (my bed) with the exception of meals, which I eat in the main rooms where mom is watching TV. 3-4 times per week, I drive my sister-in-law to work and pick up my brother. On Fridays, mom and I go grocery shopping. The only real flex in my schedule is mom’s doctor appointments, we average 2 per month with her various specialists, but they change day of the week.

There are limitations to what I can do right now. Since I am currently unemployed and have no money, I can’t really go anywhere or join most organizations/clubs/classes. I am also limited with the car situation. Yes, I’m the primary driver of the vehicle that we are all using, but it’s having some engine issues, so I don’t want to drive too many extra miles, I don’t pay for the gas right now, and I have to be available in case my sister-in-law gets called into work early (it happens a lot). So I have to keep all of this in mind as I look for something to spice up my life.

Even with those limitations, however, there are some things that I can do. First is adding some movement to my days. I spend a lot of time sitting, and because I have some chronic pain, I tend to shy away from too much movement during the day. But, if I start small with some gentle stretches and very low impact cardio, I should be ok. Plus my focus for the next month of my 53 project is health, so it fits perfectly in line with that.

I will also be focusing more on crafting. I stocked up on supplies before the money ran out, but have drifted away from working on anything recently (a bad depressive episode knocked me off track and I haven’t picked it back up). In addition, I am looking for some free classes and/or online communities that could spark some new interests as well. I’m even looking at downloading some more games that might be fun just to engage my brain differently.

In addition to all of this, I have actually already done one thing to shake things up a little. I started a second blog devoted to the lifestyle change I am trying to make. I will continue to use this blog to talk about books and mental health, as well as tracking the minutiae of each day on my Life Begins at 53 pages, and I will use the new blog to talk about the details of what I’m doing within each monthly focus. You can check it out here if interested.

I’m also considering setting up a third blog (crazy, I know) to post my poetry. I’m trying to come up with a good title that fits the “reinvented” theme, but so far have only come up with “Reinvented Poetry” or “Poetry Reinvented” and those make it sound like I think I’m doing something avant garde and I’m really not. Maybe “Reinvented with Words” I just thought of that one. We’ll see.