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Episode 106: The 5 Rules of a Solid Daily Routine
188 Plays4 years ago
Disclaimer: We are NOT providing the professional services of a coach, nutritionist, doctor, or any other kind of licensed or certified professional. While we discuss things like exercise and sleep in this episode, we are sharing from our experience for informational purposes only, and not for the purposes of medical or fitness advice.
Here it is, finally! The first episode recorded in our new digs. As many of you know, we just moved from Maryland to Virginia into a house that we've been waiting to build for about 2 years now. And even though we're in the midst of huge transition, Krista and I, today are chatting about daily routines, what we think are the five rules of a good routine, and what our daily routine looks like.
This is a topic we really enjoy chatting about, so if you have questions, be sure to send us a note and will try to cover those questions in a future episode.
For the show notes, visit https://daveyandkrista.com/btb-episode-106/
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Transcript
The Importance of Accountability in Routines
00:00:05
Speaker
As we talk about routines here, it's been nice to have a little bit more accountability in some aspects of my routine that typically slip away, especially as the winter months roll around. And so one of my big goals, and I think just the accountability of putting out there on the podcast, one of my big goals is to keep a good routine throughout the winter months.
Introduction to Brands at Book Show with Davy Jones
00:00:27
Speaker
Welcome to the Brands at Book Show, where we help creative, service-based businesses build their brands and find more clients. I'm your host, Davy Jones.
A New Beginning: Recording in Virginia
00:00:38
Speaker
Here it is, finally, the first episode recorded in our new digs. As many of you know, we just moved from Maryland to Virginia into a house that we've been waiting to build for about two years now.
Exploring Daily Routines and Key Rules
00:00:49
Speaker
And even though we're in the midst of a huge transition, Chris and I today are chatting about daily routines, what we think are the five rules of a good routine and what our daily routine looks like. This is a topic we really enjoy chatting about, so if you have questions, be sure to send us a note and we'll try to cover those questions in a future episode.
00:01:06
Speaker
Be sure to check out the show notes at DavianChrista.com for the resources mentioned during the episode, and I want to hear from you. Let me know what kind of content you'd like to see on the brand separate podcast as we move forward. So leave your feedback, just send us a DM on Instagram, at DavianChrista. Now, on to the episode.
Settling into New House Routines
00:01:27
Speaker
All right, welcome back to another episode of The Brands That Book Podcast. Our first episode, finally, in the new house. It's been a hot minute since we've been able to record an episode. For those of you who don't know, we've recently moved. We've moved into a new house, so construction wasn't quite done. And then in addition to that, we didn't have internet for about a month. So it's been a little bit of time since we've been able to record
00:01:49
Speaker
recording a bunch of episodes this week that interviews that have just been rescheduled and all.
Unexpected Hectic Lifestyle Post-Move
00:01:54
Speaker
And regardless of all of that going on, it's been fun to settle in or start settling into a new routine. And that's a little bit of what we're talking about today.
00:02:03
Speaker
So since we moved for some reason before we moved, I had this like vision in my head of moving to the country and things slowing down, but life has not been like that. We've had lots of guests coming to visit, which has been a ton of fun. We've had a lot of house construction and projects going on. And so I feel like it's been quite the adjustment to settle into our new routine.
00:02:23
Speaker
Yeah, I think for, and again, because a lot of you probably don't know, we've been living with family for the last two years. And while it has been a blessing to live with family, we're one excited to be in our own space. And then two, we haven't hosted a lot, you know? So because we're in family's house, we haven't had friends come out and visit and stay with us. So in the last three weeks, we've probably hosted more and have more people come out and stay than we have in the last two years.
00:02:51
Speaker
Yeah, which has been a ton of fun, but it's also kept our schedules really full and it's been a lot of cooking and prepping for more guests and taking people to explore our new town. That was another reason that recording this episode of the podcast was a bit of a struggle.
00:03:05
Speaker
It's kind of fun though that we're recording this episode in particular because this episode, it's about routines. We did an episode about block scheduling, I think sometime in the spring. So this is going to be a little bit of a different angle.
Balancing Work-Life Routines
00:03:15
Speaker
I think the block scheduling episode, a little bit more context of work. And I think today's routine sort of approaches it from, you know, work and life and maybe even a little bit more life than work. Although, I mean, really on a practical level, it's hard to separate the two out.
00:03:30
Speaker
But the point is the routine that I got into probably late spring into the summer, it was great. It was very structured. And then of course I wrote this content out right before we moved. And I think when I was really firing at all cylinders and since then, of course, you know, I mean, moving is just what one of the most, if you look up the list of most stressful life events, moving is typically on that list.
00:03:54
Speaker
Yeah, there's what is there that list of like things not to do within a few months of like marriage and moving is one of them, kids, new pets. It's like one of the top life stressors and I could totally see why. There were so many moving pieces and even though I thought that I had everything coordinated perfectly and like time perfectly, our move got pushed back a week and then everything shifted and life was just a little chaotic for a while.
00:04:19
Speaker
you know, slowly over the last month, things start falling into place. But again, things are, it's been awesome being in this new season, we've moved across the street from friends and by across the street, I mean, they're about a mile almost exactly down the road from us. In the country though, that's pretty much across the street because I feel like nobody's close enough that they're actually literally across the street.
00:04:39
Speaker
And it is technically across the street. So as the crow flies, it's probably shorter and we can actually see their house and their property from where we live. So it is, you know, it does feel fairly close and it's nice, you know, seeing your neighbors every single day and getting to know your neighbors a little bit more. And as we talk about routines here, it's been nice to have a little bit more accountability in some aspects of my routine
Maintaining Routines in Winter
00:05:01
Speaker
that typically slip away, especially as the winter months roll around.
00:05:05
Speaker
One of my big goals, and I think just the accountability of putting out there on the podcast, one of my big goals is to keep a good routine throughout the winter months. Dave normally does what he has termed hibernate in the winter. And so he hates running in the cold. Anything below 60, he describes it as freezing and that people, I've actually heard you say that people can't survive in those temperatures before.
00:05:30
Speaker
I wasn't made for sub 60 temperature. I don't know how I ended up in the mid-Atlantic, the Northeast, but I wasn't made for sub 60 temperatures. It was 42 degrees this morning and you put on all of your cold gear and you went for a run and I was really excited for you because that's like one step towards avoiding hibernation.
00:05:48
Speaker
That's right. And that's the nice thing about having neighbors. So Buddy texted me last night and said, Hey, we still running tomorrow. And my initial inclination is no, I don't want to get up and run in 40 degree weather. It's pitch black outside, just having that extra bit of accountability. So we went out, we ran 10 miles. Of course I was in, like Chris has said, all of my cold gear, under armor, sweats, a hat, my running gloves. And Buddy was in a sweatshirt and shorts.
00:06:12
Speaker
Yeah, so the point being is we got it done. We tackled
Impact of Lockdowns on Routines
00:06:15
Speaker
it. And so that's one of my big goals this year is really heading into the winter months, having a solid routine, right? So there are five rules that I think that make for a good routine, especially as a reflect back on this summer and the routine I was able to get into. And I think this year has been unique. I don't think I have to go into why this year has been unique.
00:06:33
Speaker
I do think coming out of around June, just around that time period, coming out of sort of a creative slump and just felt like I was in sort of a funk. And I think it was in part because once the lockdowns happened, I just assumed that they were going to be much shorter than they were.
00:06:49
Speaker
Well, I mean, at first, everyone was saying two weeks and then all of a sudden it was 30 days and then 60 days. And I think by June, we were all kind of like at that 60 day point in Maryland, things started to reopen at that point. So it felt like it was very slow. Yes. And it was the governor would say something and then the counties would ultimately decide. So it was like, hey, we're opening. No, just kidding. We're not. And so you go through that cycle a couple of times, you know, throughout June and July.
00:07:16
Speaker
But the point being, you know, not to get into all that because, you know, nobody wants to talk about that. But just to say, just feeling maybe a little exhausted, you know, because I think that once all that started happening, there is sort of this, like, at least for me, it was, okay, what can I do to sort of hustle right now? And, you know, creating a lot of content. And we were doing different Facebook lives and everybody's moving, you know, virtual conferences and stuff online. And childcare and the gym closed. So those throw off our routines at that point.
00:07:44
Speaker
Again, we don't have to go into all that because I think everybody listening right is at home saying, yeah, you know, we get it. But, you know, just looking back at some of the things that I think changed and helped me turn a corner and just kind of get back into a better headspace. And one of those things was right around July 4th deciding, you know what, I'm going to I'm just going to do something a little bit drastic. I'm going to start getting up at four thirty in the morning. You know, I wouldn't say it was super drastic for me, but it was probably a two hour difference. I'd say I typically get up around six, six thirty.
00:08:13
Speaker
you know, to that point. And then starting around July 4th, decided, you know, I wanted to start getting up at 4.30 in the morning. And I think from that point on, it sort of launched me into a new, better routine and lifestyle. Right. Because you get up and you have a very specific set of things that you do each morning and I'll let you talk about those. And then one thing that you've also been able to do is add in working out in the morning.
00:08:36
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And I think largely I wanted to get up so early because Jack gets up at 7.30. He does. And so it's three hours in the morning that I can do really whatever I want to do. And before just the demand of taking care of another human being, right? I mean, I was already getting up at five and so it wasn't too crazy for you to also start getting up. Well, you beat me because you get up at 4.30.
00:09:05
Speaker
I do. As you can tell around here, it's all about winning. Yeah. I mean, that is one of the reasons why I get up so early in the morning. For me, I like to do my most focused work in the morning and no one's emailing me. The rest of our team is still asleep. So no one's asking me questions and I can really get the work that I need to accomplish before he's even awake.
00:09:26
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So this episode, and we're going to jump in here right now, we'll start with morning routines and what that looks like. We're going to go over these five rules as well, but really what we're doing here, reflecting a little bit on our routine, what that looks like. Also what that looks like in this new season. So comparing it maybe to this past season we're in and going into this new season and you know, how we're trying to stay flexible.
00:09:46
Speaker
And then also I think just kind of throwing it out there for accountability for me seeing if I can really keep a very intentional routine as I typically do in the spring and summer months into the winter and early spring months. Now that you've said that it's gonna be like January 15th and snowy and people are gonna be messaging you asking if you went for your morning run. That's right, that's right.
00:10:06
Speaker
So anyways, here are my five rules that I think make for a good routine. And we'll talk about each of these a little bit in the context of the actual routine. The first one is not working against the season. And season change for everybody. I mean, life for us looks a lot different now that we're in our own space again versus when we were staying with family. It looked a lot different throughout Jack's first year of life.
00:10:31
Speaker
you know, going from it just being the two of us to all of a sudden having this other human to take care of and the, just the changing schedule, especially of a one and two year old and nap schedules and things like that. So trying to work with the season and again, just talking about our morning routine. That means for me, getting up at four 30 is pretty crucial because I can't just decide that, you know, noon. Oh, I'm just going to go for a run now.
00:10:57
Speaker
Right. Talking about seasons when Jack was a tiny baby, getting up at 4.38 for both of us, I don't think would have been a possibility. That's something that has come as he has become a better sleeper and was sleeping through the night and we were past the newborn exhaustion phase. So I think that within any routine, you have to be realistic about what
The Importance of Sleep by Matthew Walker
00:11:18
Speaker
is healthy for you and your family in that season. Yeah, absolutely. Point number two, prioritizing sleep and trying to sweat every day.
00:11:27
Speaker
So I listened to a podcast episode that it was an interview with this guy, Matthew Walker. He wrote a book called why we sleep and the episode was fascinating. And I think it very much changed my perspective on sleep.
00:11:43
Speaker
combined with, I've started wearing this wearable. It's like a fitness wearable. So for people who are probably familiar with wearables like the Apple Watch or Fitbit, right? But this is, it's called a whoop and it's W-H-O-O-P and really gives you a lot of really interesting data into cardiovascular strain on your body, but then also your sleep metrics and sort of a wake up call thinking that I was getting enough sleep every night when maybe I wasn't getting the same quality sleep that I thought.
00:12:12
Speaker
So that combined with this episode launched me down the rabbit hole of researching sleep and how important it is. I've always liked to sleep. You love to sleep, but I feel like since you have prioritized sleep, you go to bed much earlier, which I love because I'm always ready for bed early. You also wear an eye mask, which is just hilarious.
00:12:33
Speaker
I only wore the eye mask during the occasional afternoon nap. I'm not ashamed. You were taking a lot of naps pre-move but post-move that's one of the things that's kind of come out of your schedule too. Sure and a lot of that's come out of the schedule which is because we have a guest, the construction crew is still in and out so I can't just be
00:12:56
Speaker
in the room they're working on taking a nap. So that is something though. And naps, I just try to strategically work into my day, especially if I didn't get a great night's sleep. But again, just going back to, if you haven't heard of Matthew Walker, you should check out his book. He's been on a number of different podcasts as well. So you can check out some of those episodes if you just search in Overcast or Apple podcasts, wherever you listen to podcasts.
00:13:19
Speaker
And take a listen, just very, very eye opening to me, but tried to prior to sleep and then making sure that I sweat every day. And again, I get into a good routine in the summer months when it comes to exercise, really trying to carry that into the winter. And that's going to look different for everybody. So I can talk a little bit about what I've been doing, but I'll leave it at that for now.
Key Tasks for Productivity
00:13:37
Speaker
Number three, not trying to change everything at once. And what I've found is making one big change can launch me into a better direction. You can also, you know, launch me into a worse direction too, when you make a negative change.
00:13:48
Speaker
That's true, yeah. So that one change for me was waking up at, I think at 4.30 in the morning, consistently saying, hey, no matter what, I'm getting up at 4.30. And so that really helped me, I think, launch into this new routine. Number four, focusing on linchpin tasks.
00:14:06
Speaker
So I can talk about that a little bit in as we get into our routine, but I think those are the tasks that really they build on itself. So it's like those tasks in the morning that if you get done, they really help you get to the next thing. Being strategic about those, I think like, you know, for instance, having a having a really big task to complete right after lunch for me would be just
00:14:30
Speaker
sort of miserable and I probably procrastinate a lot before getting into it. But if I have a really simple task that I can do right after lunch that leads me into a bigger one, that helps a lot. Yeah, I think for me, I have trouble designing when I'm in that afternoon slump. So if I can get some of my most creative focus energy out in the morning, I definitely feel better about my day and I can do some of the less important tasks that are
00:14:55
Speaker
I don't want to say more mindless, but that you don't need as much focus or creativity to do. I feel like those are better for me to do later in the day when I am starting to get more tired or when more distractions are likely to pop up. So builders coming, Jack waking up early from an app and so on.
00:15:10
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I think comparing these lunchman tasks to something like sleep hygiene. So, you know, for those of you who are going to end up listening to a Matthew Walker podcast or, you know, doing some research so guilty about your sleep, it's not guilty. I mean, it is motivating because of all of the different
00:15:27
Speaker
Oh, yeah. The health benefits? The health benefits of getting good sleep. Right. And then the potential consequences of getting bad sleep. Mm-hmm. Comparing it to sleep, those lunchman tasks, that is, there's just certain things that you can do to make sure that you get a good night's sleep or to ensure that maybe you get a better night's sleep. So they talk a lot about sleep hygiene. And so that's having a consistent bedtime routine where you're doing the exact same things every night before you go to bed.
00:15:52
Speaker
certain things like lowering the temperature of the room and your body can help. Turning down the lights, not looking at your phone, all of those things, reading a book. Yeah, all of those things help you get into sleep. And I think you can take the same principle and you can apply it to work. And so looking at different parts of your day and thinking about, okay, well, what's going to help me really get into whatever I need to do during this part of day?
00:16:18
Speaker
So that's what I mean by linchpin tasks. And then the last thing, and I think maybe the most obvious thing is just to have a plan. I think that for me, this
Diet Planning and Daily Strategies
00:16:27
Speaker
was really important in this past season because I was doing a cut, which is basically a diet where you're cutting weight, as opposed to a mass where you're trying to put on weight or maintenance where you're trying to maintain weight. Which all of the women listeners are thinking, why would I want to put on weight? Sure.
00:16:45
Speaker
Well, I mean, point being, I mean, it's when you mass, typically the idea is that you want to mass by putting on muscle. So anyways, the point being is for me, especially in the season, especially with Jack, if I don't have a plan, if I don't have meals planned, especially if I don't have my day planned and I let that get away from me, then typically my diet would go out the window.
00:17:06
Speaker
Right. And you interviewed Jess from cook smarts. That's one of the reasons why we use that software. Because if we don't have a plan more, we're more likely to do pizza or tacos or just like unhealthy foods. And so even like something as simple as a meal plan, if we have a meal plan for the week, we know what to buy at the grocery store and we eat a lot healthier.
00:17:25
Speaker
Yeah. Although we can make healthy tacos and that was a staple of my diet this past, but having a plan, especially in that regard, I think is super important. I think also an element of having a plan is just making sure that we were on the same page as well. You knew that I was going to get up, start getting up early in the morning. And since I was getting up before you, it was important that we chatted just because I probably wake you up, you know, when I get a bed and for you to know what I was doing. And then also just to be on the same page, especially occasionally during, um, the summer, I'd be eating different food than you all as well.
00:17:55
Speaker
And so if we didn't get on the same page about that kind of stuff, even if we weren't following the exact same plans, I think that there's just a higher chance for things to get away from you. Right. I could have bought really unhealthy foods that would have tempted you into hibernation mode. You don't typically buy unhealthy. We don't typically have unhealthy food in the house. That's because you just eat it all. I have no self control. My mom just showed up yesterday and she brought a whole bag of the treats from Trader Joe's and I was just thinking, Oh no, this is bad.
00:18:23
Speaker
Yeah. And so fortunately that was just the last week of maintenance before I go into another cut. And it sounds like you might be joining me for that. But anyways, let's go through our routine a little bit. I think we have a time to do that. And I think for some of you that might be interesting just to hear maybe the more practical elements of our routine and what that looks like. And so we'll just start with the pre-morning routine and then work till evening. And there's anything along the way you think we should add. Let us know.
00:18:50
Speaker
Sounds good. So pre-morning routine. Typically for me, this means getting up at 4.30 in the morning. This is actually an element of debate between Krista and I. Krista gets up at five and I'm like, hey, how about you just get up at 4.30 with me? One, because I want to get an alarm clock. That's not my phone. He wants the hatch, which I think it slowly gets brighter. Literally was made for children.
00:19:10
Speaker
but I mean, there's an adult version. But the point is that right now, if I wake up and it's 2.30 in the morning, in order to check the time, I have to check my phone. I guess I just feel like we have to go to bed a little bit earlier in order to get up at 5.30. 4.30. And I am not good at naps. Naps are not my favorite thing. You really like naps. Naps are my favorite thing. I guess I'm just a little bit worried if I get up just that tiny bit earlier, I'm gonna crash in the middle of the day. Sure.
00:19:38
Speaker
That said, I did get up at 4.30 today and well, so far I've survived. It's only 9.45 in the morning. See, but it's just so much easier. And when I get up that early in the morning, then, you know, obviously I can't turn on any of the lights and all of that. And I come upstairs to the office, I turn on all the lights in the office because it's not anywhere near our bedroom.
00:19:57
Speaker
Krista, the first thing she does when she comes in the office, it is not. Yeah. But I should, you know, and you can let us know if you're listening at home, settle this debate for us. I turn on the lights in the office because it is pitch black outside and we need to wake up. They are the bright overhead lights. And they're not like some,
00:20:13
Speaker
They're not awful. I mean, this is a brand new space there. It is fine. I give you that. It's just a little too much light. I feel like I need a gradual transition into the light. And so I come in and I turn them off asking, she just comes in, turns off all the lights, turns on a single lamp and goes sits at her desk. So we've had multiple guests. Do you not see me here? We've had multiple guests who've agreed with me over the past couple of weeks. And I know they're like,
00:20:38
Speaker
They said that they have, Tyler Harrington said that he and Ashley have the exact same debate. I think by waking up early or being here first, I should get dibs on the environment. Well, I just take, well, even if we get up at 4.30, I just take a little bit longer to get dressed in you. I have four parts to put on. We are, we are devolving. Anyways, getting back into the routine. One of the reasons that we get up at 4.30 in the morning, we've already talked
Morning Routines: Early Starts and Exercise
00:21:02
Speaker
about this a little bit because us about 30 minutes of quiet time,
00:21:05
Speaker
And then for me, I get about an hour to maybe 90 minutes of work in, and then another hour to about 90 minutes of exercising. And I get in almost two and a half hours of work in the morning.
00:21:17
Speaker
Yeah, and I just found that if I don't exercise in the morning, one, I don't feel as good during the day, so I think I just feel a ton better by exercising in the morning. Also, it's just the first thing to go, right? I mean, as things come up in the middle of the day and maybe a project takes longer than thought or somebody schedules a meeting, what's the first thing to go? You know, typically, I typically can't get rid of another meeting, right? Because I still have that commitment to somebody else.
00:21:40
Speaker
So I have to be really careful if I do exercise in the afternoon that I treat it as a commitment to myself like I would any other meeting in my calendar. I just can't meet today or I just can't work later today because I have this other thing I need to do.
00:21:53
Speaker
Yeah, and you're really good about that. I was exercising consistently in Annapolis, but since moving that has fallen out and I haven't found a good way to incorporate it again. Well, we're getting there. Really, I mean, I feel like our last big piece of furniture, our bed arrives today and so that will hopefully help us feel a little bit more sense of completeness.
00:22:14
Speaker
Part of it too is like I haven't wanted to be doing bar in the living room in the middle of the day when the builders are outside. Like that's just awkward. Sure. So that's what our sort of pre-morning routine looks like. The morning routine, I'd say the morning starts at 7.30 when Jack wakes up.
00:22:31
Speaker
And we have breakfast. I, during the summer, was pretty specific about what I was eating because of this diet I was on. I've been using an app called the Renaissance Periodization or RP diet. I'll link to that in the show notes for anybody who's interested. But it's, I think, something that I've not only had success with this past summer, but had success with previously as well.
00:22:51
Speaker
A lot of very science-based research behind this app, a great community where lots of questions are answered. I don't think that's necessarily the point. We eat around 730 and then after that, I get to work for about two hours, I'd say. Yeah. Well, that was our older schedule. Oh, yes. So Jack goes to school now in the mornings. So we switch off taking him to school.
00:23:13
Speaker
So we plan our schedule out so that we know that I take Jack to school Mondays and Wednesdays and you... I pick him up those days. Those days and then we switch on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that each one of us gets a longer period of work every other day and then we just know how to schedule our days because we know who's gonna pick him up and there's no last-minute scrambling.
00:23:35
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So try to be as intentional as possible about that. And the great thing about him going to school in the morning, which wasn't happening in Annapolis, one, because it was summertime, two, just because everything has been going on, is that we get pretty much a full workday in and it's sort of built in nicely without a ton of, I mean, obviously school, I guess you count as childcare, but Jack comes home and he takes a nap for about two hours.
00:23:56
Speaker
We have a nice long period of time of uninterrupted work time that's weighted a little more heavily in the morning. And that's when we're able to get, I think, both of us, a lot of our bigger tasks done. Right. And that's also when our team prefers to work. And then by later in the day, when Jack is awake, I think that we're kind of getting into the dinner hour air anyways. And we're both definitely, at least I'm losing my focus by that point in the day.
00:24:22
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And you know, since moving here, I have started a farm business with Buddy and his brother, John. And so we have a lot of farm chores to do in the afternoon anyways. And those are great to do in the afternoon because you're feeling a little bit more tired. It's an opportunity to get outside and be in the open, fresh air. And it's warmer. And you can take Jack, which Jack loves helping with the farm chores. It's been really cute to see that.
00:24:46
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Midday though, typically that's when I would say meetings start somewhere around the middle of the day. I do try to, and I've talked about this a little bit in the block scheduling episode, try to bulk schedule my meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays in particular. And so I have back to back meetings starting around the midday. I don't like having those in the morning because that's when I get a lot of my bigger projects done. If it's not a standing meeting day, I get to take a nap. You do.
00:25:17
Speaker
So a lot of that has to do, I mean, I don't take a nap if I don't need a nap, right? I mean, like I'm not just, even if I didn't have a meeting and I didn't need to take a nap, I'd probably just do other work or whatnot. But definitely trying to listen to my body a little bit. And I will say this, if I need one and I don't take one, then my productivity is zero.
00:25:40
Speaker
I wouldn't say zero, but it struggles in the afternoon. Whereas if I take a 30, and I know this seems long, but if I need one, if a 30 to 90 minute nap in the afternoon, it's like having another morning.
00:25:53
Speaker
I mean, Winston Churchill was an avid napper and look at all he accomplished. So sure. And I just think, I mean, that's just the way it is. Like I just have so much more energy and so I can eat. I'm going into dinnertime feeling pretty fresh. So that's been great. I've also found though, if I take naps and I don't need naps, then I struggle sleeping at night, which defeats the whole point.
00:26:12
Speaker
So, try to just listen to my body when it comes to that sort of thing. Here in the new house, haven't been able to do that as much. I don't sleep obviously when Jack, well not obviously, but I don't sleep when Jack is up, so this is something that I coordinate kind of around his nap time. You know, I joke with my friends that I nap when Jack naps, or I nap more than Jack naps.
00:26:30
Speaker
That's not true. Well, maybe some days it's true. No. Well, I was thinking like if he had a really bad day. Sure. Sure. But it really does help. And I know for some of you at home and I know I feel like you're this way where you just feel if you're napping, like you're not being productive. Which is totally me. Like I lay down and I'm like, Oh my gosh, there's so much I could be do. I only have 20 minutes to do this nap. How am I going to fall asleep? Am I going to sleep tonight?
00:26:56
Speaker
And even if I do like the white noise and make it really dark, I'm just not a good napper. I know you say that it's something I can learn. It's a skill, but I feel like you've always been a good napper. Sure. But I truly believe that. I think that when it comes to sleep, especially, it's just like.
00:27:13
Speaker
You can do things, I mean, especially since it's so important, you can do things just to become a better sleeper. You know, there's, I mean, I'm not a doctor, but there's not, and I'm sure there's extenuating circumstances for a lot of people. But I do think it's something that there's just techniques for, you know, learning how to be a better sleeper.
00:27:31
Speaker
Going into the afternoon, like I said, that's typically when we have meetings. And here at the new house, it's typically when I go take care of farm chores. So we have pigs that are working their way around our house. So we have a bunch of forest around us. So we're pasture raising these pigs. We have a bunch of cattle. We have chickens. We have turkeys right now. So especially right now, there's lots to do. There'll be a little less to do going into the winter. We don't have the birds.
00:27:56
Speaker
Yeah, there's still plenty to do and there's even plenty to do just to get ready for, you know, the spring season, of course, as well. And I think just with any new business, there's a lot of hustle involved. So I try to reserve my afternoons for that just because again, typically I wouldn't be as productive in the afternoons anyways. And so changing up from having to use my mind to also having to use my body out in the farm, I think has been like a just a good fit for that kind of that slot of
Afternoon and Evening Family Time
00:28:22
Speaker
time.
00:28:22
Speaker
And for me, ideally, this is the time where I would be exercising or outside with Jack. So we'll go for a walk, we'll run any errands that we need to, and then we'll start getting ready for dinner.
00:28:33
Speaker
And dinner for us is pretty early. I would say typically we're getting ready to eat around five, six every night. I mean, if you go much later than that, we're more likely to have a toddler meltdown. Sure. And it's pretty rare for us to go out to eat. We typically make dinner at home. We use, like Chris has said, and we use CookSmarts. I had Jess, the founder of CookSmarts, on the podcast before if you're interested in checking that out and hearing what that is about. But it's a pretty low cost monthly subscription. You don't get any of the ingredients or anything like that, but you get the recipes.
00:29:03
Speaker
and they give you them for the week and then you can switch them out too. There's like a couple of thousands that you can choose from. Yeah, and what we found, especially since we tried to do things like order our grocery pickup and stuff like that, they give you the grocery list so it's really easy to go and then order your groceries or even just go to the grocery store and get them. So we found that to be a pretty good fit.
00:29:23
Speaker
Post-dinner, we love to take walks together. Since we've gotten here, we spend a lot of time just sitting on our front porch too, watching the sunset, watching the pigs, which Jack loves. And he also loves feeding the pigs like leftovers, which is so funny. Yeah, absolutely. And I feel like we take less walks now because we came from a very suburban area where there were lots of paths.
00:29:45
Speaker
Our driveway is a hike. We've done a walk before where we drove down to the bottom of our neighborhood property because the hill is so steep, especially with a toddler. And then we just went for a walk on the flat part where it was easier to walk. And I think the first comment most people make when they get up to the top of our driveway is, what are you going to do in the snow?
00:30:04
Speaker
So it's pretty steep. It is really steep. But I mean, I would say that our evening routine still looks pretty similar where, you know, it's hanging out family time from the time we finished eating to bedtime. Jack typically goes down around seven, seven thirty. We, you know, my notes here, usually we watch an episode of a show.
00:30:21
Speaker
We have not watched TV in a month at least. So I mean, when we first got here, we had no internet for three weeks. So there was nothing to watch. And then we've had internet for a week and a half and we haven't looked at anything yet.
00:30:35
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, so we've just been a lot more busy with stuff going on, which has been, it's been great, you know, so we mean that in all the best ways. I would say though, as we settle into a new routine here, maybe that comes back a little bit and I know you want to watch the crown.
Guarding Routines and Commitments
00:30:49
Speaker
And I think one thing about our routine, as I kind of go through it, is I feel like to a certain extent, it's kind of boring, but it's been really good for us. And I think we do a pretty good job of guarding our routine and making sure that even having friends here the last couple of days, they were good friends of ours too.
00:31:05
Speaker
they were totally content to let us go to bed at nine o'clock. Sure, sure. And I feel like they have a similar rhythm to their life. Right. So that made it a lot easier too. But just making sure that we're guarding our timing and keeping commitments to ourselves as much as we keep commitments to other people as well. But I really do. And just to review those five points, those five rules, so to speak, once more, not working against the season, prioritizing sleep and trying to sweat every day, not trying to change everything at once, but instead trying to make one big change.
00:31:33
Speaker
focusing on linchpin tasks that will get you into or set you up well to be as effective as possible for that part of the day. And again, I compare that to, you know, sleep hygiene, just what are the things that you do before bed to make sure you get a good night's sleep and then having a plan and really just, you know, work in that plan.
00:31:51
Speaker
Right. Yeah. So anyways, if you have questions about this, please leave a comment on the show notes, send us a DM on Instagram. Check in with Davey to make sure he's not hibernating. That's right. That's right. Keep us accountable. And again, just to emphasize, of course, this routine sounds really, really good, you know, as we're, you know, recounting it on this podcast episode, but I think it's something that
00:32:09
Speaker
constantly going through different iterations and there's definitely different I'd say over the last three weeks after the last month, you know, there's been a transition period and things have been perfect and some weeks have been really stressful because we haven't been able to stick to a routine. So if you find yourself in that type of season right now, no worries. You know, I think that there's just a few things that separate someone from getting or between standing between maybe you and a better routine.
00:32:34
Speaker
Right. And I think that what you said is a really good before is a really good thing to keep in mind. Just pick one thing. Absolutely. Anyways, let us know. Send us a DM. Glad we finally got to record this episode together. Glad we, I think we'll be able to record more episodes together going forward because we're in the same office together. Yes. And we're finally in a, I think a brighter room, you know, we have space in our days, I think, to, to connect a little bit more. We do. So excited about that. All right.
00:33:05
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to the Brands That Book Show. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving a review in iTunes. For show notes and other resources, head on over to dvandchrista.com.
00:33:27
Speaker
you