I wake up at the same time every day. I eat the same handful of meals for breakfast. I take the same train to work, and walk the same route to the office. It’s easy for the days to feel repetitive, or even dull. That shouldn’t be the case — I have a great job at a remarkable company! — but when you’ve been at a job or in a role for a long time, it happens. There are days when the morning goes by on autopilot. I’ll look up and realize that I’m already walking into the office, and won’t even remember having left my apartment!
When that starts happening, you have to find a way to break your routine. Lately, I’ve been trying something new: Making myself set an intention for the day.
It’s a practice a former yoga teacher of mine used to preach at the start of practice. What’s your goal for the day? she’d say. Why are you here? What do you want to accomplish?
There’s a moment in my morning commute when I emerge from the subway, and I have a short walk to my office. As soon as I step out onto the street, I can see my building. That’s when I think about the day ahead: Why I’m showing up for work, and what I want to achieve. I’ll clap my hands a few times, and end with a positive thought: “Let’s make it a work day.”
It only takes a few seconds, but if I’m in a bit of a daze, it’s enough to snap me out of it, and set me up for a good day at the office.
——
That photo, by Dean Rose for Unsplash, is pretty much what I’m looking at when I’m walking out of the subway.