Habits

Some habits are good while others are not so. As I put a tissue in each pocket this morning, I thought of the reason. On occasion during the day, a tissue from my right pocket will be for me, and the tissue in my left pocket will be for Bill. He carries a handkerchief in his back pocket, but rarely gets it out to use. So I have a tissue ready for him.

On my desk I have a notebook that holds my notes from various web meetings. It’s halfway organized, but still useful. While I cannot attest that I refer back to all those notes, it’s a habit I don’t neglect. Another but smaller spiral notebook has been my safe place for notes of all kinds. This was added recently so I could keep track of reminders, rather than have a bunch of small papers which I’d lose on occasion.

Habits not only benefit me, but they can be appreciated by others. Such as preparations for meals. That can become a dreaded occurrence, thinking about what to serve and then doing the work. But if we’d do away with it, we know it would not be good for us. Bill likes meals on time, and he will point at the clock when it’s noon, even if we just had breakfast three hours ago.

Bad habits don’t always start out that way. We often find out their harm as we continue doing them, or when someone corrects us. That happened recently when I tried to end a text conversation by saying, “Thanks for your input.” It came across to the party as condescending and dismissive. I needed to hear that in order to do better next time. My words were like moving out of a room in a face-to-face conversation. That habit has to be broken, so we can have a better relationship. I’m grateful for the correction.

Developing a routine or rhythm in life can start with habits. Friday (the day I’m writing this) is my laundry day, and others in the household honor that time. It became a routine when we moved to Indy. For Terre Haute I volunteered at the CPC on Fridays. Habits or routines can change to accommodate a set schedule. With Bill’s dementia, having a rhythm is important for his day. He can expect what will happen in a consistent pattern. We could all learn from that.

As I got ready to save this blog post, I found that I had written one on habits in 2018. It must be an important aspect of life. I’ll examine more of my habits. How about you and your habits?