Starting each day off with some quiet time watching foreign crime dramas starts my day the way I want it - a nice ritual I've added into my schedule.

I like habit. I like living with the known. But life doesn’t go ahead at a steady pace. It’s what keeps things interesting. And, sometimes, what makes things difficult. I’ve developed a morning ritual that ensure a calm, slow start to each day. This was developed during my post-surgery bed rest when life was anything but normal. Adding in rituals gave me some sense of normalcy.

My days start like this…

I use my phone as my alarm clock. I have three alarms set, which provides emergency back-up and back-up back-up incase I oversleep. If I haven’t showered the night before, I hope in the shower and then get myself a cup of coffee cut with a good bit of frothed milk and a little bit of sugar. Then I head upstairs and watch one episode of whatever television series through which I’m working my way. (Typically, foreign police dramas.) At the episodes end, I quickly get ready. Sometimes that  means packing lunches and blow drying hair or flat ironing my hair. Other days I just put on some clothes  and go.

There’s not much to it. That one television episode means that for 22-42 minutes (occasionally 56 for the foreign dramas), I have quiet time with nothing on my agenda. I’m entertained and happy and can start my day feeling calm. If the day is a good one, the quiet morning time is a bonus. If it’s a hard day, at least I had that moment of quiet.

How about you? Have you added any ritual into your day? What are they and what purpose do they serve?

Oh! And in case you’re interested in some import crime shows, I recommend Poirot, Murdoch Mysteries, The Code, Broadchurch, The Bletchley Circle and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

Inspiration for this post.