Beyond Your Limits with Dr. Christine Jehu

127. The Art of Remixing Routines

• Dr. Christine Jehu

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Some routines were meant to be broken.

Today's episode was inspired by the phrase "this is how we've always done it." I've recommitted to practicing what I preach, recognizing that I've been stuck in a rut lately.

I'm sharing how I remixed a key daily routine, how I've been using the Daily Pages, and provide you with clear steps to evaluate where you may need some routine remixing! By actively challenging and remixing our routines, we open up new avenues for personal growth and creativity. 

Remixing the routine has helped me to stay grounded and excited about my projects by maintaining two distinct containers - one for personal growth and another for business brainstorming. Together, we'll learn how to create and utilize distinct spaces and containers to capture and unleash our ideas. 

So here's to taking the next action, to becoming the architects of our own lives, and to living a life beyond our limits. Let's create, let's grow. Together.

Action Steps:

  1. List our all your current routines
  2. Rate them in current effectiveness or value (0-5 star rating)
  3. Identify one routine to remix
  4. Brainstorm ideas for how to shake it up & what emotion you are striving to feel in the remixed version
  5. Take action!

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Speaker 1:

What does it look like to live a life beyond your limits? Hi, I'm Dr CJ, a copy obsessed psychologist coach and your personal virtual mentor. Too many of us are holding ourselves back, placing limits on what's possible and believing the false stories in our head that say we can't accomplish a goal or a dream. Together, we will rewrite the stories holding us back, tackle barriers and limits and build an incredible foundation for going after our goals and dreams. I'm here to support you, to challenge you and to coach you through and beyond your limits. And a quick caveat while I am a psychologist, this show is not therapy or a substitute for mental health treatment. Please connect with a licensed mental health provider for those needs. Alright, are you ready to live a life beyond your limits? Let's get after it. Hey, hey, welcome back. So excited that you're here, we're just going to launch right into it today.

Speaker 1:

I am coming off of a really fun and full weekend, but it sent me a little bit out of my typical rhythm was going out of town, that sort of thing and as I've been reflecting on the weekend, it got me thinking about routines, and so we're going to talk today about this idea of remixing our routines. And, as I sat down to outline the episode and thinking about routines, the phrase this is how we've always done it came up for me, and anytime I'm in a conversation about leadership and my approach to leadership, that phrase is one of the very first things that I talk about. This phrase this is how we've always done it Honestly drives me crazy, but it, to me, is an invitation to look at okay, how is it that we've always done it? How's it working? Are there new opportunities? Are there different tools or techniques or things that we could use? And, honestly, just an invitation to take a look at what we're doing and see if it's still serving us and, if not, make some changes. And I got to thinking why is it so hard to challenge these things within ourselves? If you think about your life, sort of scan through the day, through the week, and notice what is it that you're doing, simply because this is how you've always done it, right, like there's probably a lot of things that have become habitual.

Speaker 1:

We talk a lot about building habits here which are great and foundational, and how often are we taking a look at all of the things that fall in that category of? This is how we've always done it and as I've been having more conversations at work and serving people and doing therapy and all of that fun stuff, it's had me reflecting on being flexible, being adaptable and being willing to make adjustments. It's the start of a new academic semester, so I'm having these conversations with a lot of students. We're looking at teams with new coaches, right, and talking about this adaptability and adjustment. And even if you're not entering something new which we could argue that we're all always entering something new. Even if we simply look at our seasons, right, we're shifting into fall. Some of us may be a little bit more drastically than others in terms of the weather, depending on where you live, but anyhow, it changes all around us and that opportunity to flex and adapt and make adjustments is always there. And how often are we keyed into it and how often are we in a space of resistance?

Speaker 1:

Maybe and I've recognized within myself that, as I'm having these conversations with other people, I've been holding myself back in some ways and almost to a different standard than what I preach, right. So we think about the. This is how we've always done it. I haven't stepped into that place in a while to examine all the. This is how we've always done it in my life and sometimes it makes no sense when we're out here talking about, I was going to say, doing the good work, right, but we're out here sharing and teaching and not always implementing. And so I'm inviting myself back, I'm inviting all of us back to recommitting to practice what you preach and I'm really doing that.

Speaker 1:

And I started my career as a psychologist and even through my graduate training, I took a stance in the therapy room and in the performance space, working with athletes, that I was never going to suggest something to a client, whether it's an activity or an interaction or a thought process, right, I was never going to suggest for someone else to do something that one I've not done myself or two that I wouldn't be willing to do. And honestly, I've gotten away from that for a while. And if you've been here for a while, you know I've I don't know why I'm pausing because I'm so used to just say sharing. You know like I've been going through some, some adjustments and personal life. But a year ago I asked my ex-wife for a divorce and I've been going through that process and this whole process of coming back to myself and it's been. It's been challenging, right, it's been healing, it's been grounding and and it's opened up this opportunity again to really come back to myself and thinking about sorry, I've, I'm, I lost my train of thought there so this, this, it's been healing and grounding. To come back to that commitment to practice what I preach, right, this commitment to engaging with the tools that I use in my practice regularly. Right, we launch the daily pages and I've committed to using it for myself. I can't sit here and tell you like, hey, I've got this awesome tool and I don't actually have it printed out and I'm using it. I am, I am, and so this, this recommitment to practice what I preach, as I said, has been really healing and grounding and it's been that invitation back to self and the invitation to be great and, and so, as I've been using my daily pages, I've I've been writing, writing down some of these places and where I have opportunities to get back to practice what I preach.

Speaker 1:

And I was reviewing some of the entries because, honestly, it inspires me for what to share on this podcast, and there is an entry about routines and I'm actually going to read it to you. I'm a massive, massive routine person and so the other day I wrote this entry in my daily pages and I titled it, and I don't normally title entries, so please don't hear that and think, oh my gosh, when I put pen to paper, I have to title my entry, you don't? I was working through a process of exploring something that I'm I'm toying with creating for you all, and so that's why there are some, some titles and some entries. So, anyhow, this one is titled.

Speaker 1:

Some routines were meant to be broken. Follow the energy, and I'm going to read to you exactly what I had in my daily pages. I wrote I'm in. Everything has its place, kind of girl. There's a time for this and it's not to be contaminated by that. That's how I've always run my morning routine and I was stuck. It was time for a change, a change in place, pace and purpose, a time to let inspiration flow. I had placed my own limits on what that time was for limits. That at first gave needed structure and purpose, but I needed new energy. Why was I stopping the flow when it's so clearly needed and wanted an outlet? I was plugging up my own process, slowing down the evolution of my greatness. Routines can serve us for a season and my needed to be adjusted, stay open to the process. One is a part of life and you never know what would be, what would be just on the other side. Okay, that was the entry.

Speaker 1:

So when I think about this, you know I'm thinking about my morning routine and how originally it had a really great. I mean, a morning routine in and of itself has a great purpose, right To get you grounded, get you started, get you warmed up, get you going. And mine had been down in the living room. I have this wingback chair that I got from Ikea. For some reason I have this like slight obsession with wingback chairs. So I have this, this wingback chair that I got from Ikea, and a light that I have, that just it. It's a perfect light that would Illuminate the, the books in the journal and everything, and and that was just the space that I used for the, the morning routine, and I would hardly ever sit in it outside of that time and and space. But it wasn't working anymore.

Speaker 1:

I was spending a lot of time in that chair and having a lot of really good insights and curiosities, but I was holding myself back on Writing out that those ideas are following that train of thought because I was telling myself, quote-unquote, it's not the time right, it's not the time for those thoughts, or I didn't have the right notebook. Right I was. I was complicating this process and unnecessarily placing boundaries on on my brainstorming and on creativity and on growth, because I was trying to protect that space and that time for what it had always been, and there was a part of me that was like no, you must keep it like this. But there was a part of me, too, that was just longing to Follow where my mind was going, and so I don't know if this, if this, rings true for you, or if you can resonate with it, but it makes me think about you know where are? Where are there places in your life where you've simply been moving through the motions, because that's what you've always done?

Speaker 1:

Right here, you've created this routine and it's worked really well for a season, and you're feeling stuck, or feeling like you want more out of that time or space where you might need a dog barking in the background and an invitation, right? An invitation to look at this differently, and For some of us, an invitation isn't, isn't strong enough, right? Maybe we need permission to dig in and make a change, and so that's what I want to offer you right now, whether it's an invitation or permission to Break your own routine, to shake up the energy, to bring new life into a time or a rhythm that you've cherished, and Right, it doesn't all have to be thrown out a remix. If we think about music, a remix usually Helps a great thing Become new and powerful again. Right, putting a different beat, throwing in a couple different lyrics there. So thinking about and looking into your life, where might you need a little bit of a remix? Where do you have opportunity to shake up a routine?

Speaker 1:

So let's go back to my example here of of the morning routine and and how I, how I remixed it. I moved it upstairs, I moved it from this wingback chair that I love Up to my desk the chair. I found myself Slowing down too much in the morning when I was sitting in that chair and I would get stuck, like physically. There would be times when, because I would sit down and I'd cross my legs and I'd put a blanket and I put a pillow on my lap and I'd have my journal in my book, but then I'd realize, oh, shoot, my bag of pens, because I like to use all different colored pens is On the other side of the room, right, because maybe I just moved it or whatever, and so I would physically be stuck and not want to get up and have to move all the things, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Speaker 1:

And so when I moved upstairs, I'm sitting at my desk right here where I'm recording, actually, and I'm in a much All I can think of is like a free-flowing space. This, this chair, has wheels, it spins, I can get up and down more easily. I'm I'm less comfortable sitting cross-legged in this chair, so, again, I'm in a bit more of an active stance which, as I'm talking this out, it's Helping me realize that that posture is also inviting this flow and the. I wish you could see me right now because I'm like I'm moving as I'm talking about this in this space right, it? It offers this flow of of thoughts and energy and ideas, so simply changing the space. You know we talk a lot about having a time and a space, the times the same.

Speaker 1:

But I needed to shake up, I needed to remix the space for this season. So I'm upstairs, I'm at the desk, I Started a new book. I used to be one of those people who, if I started a book. I had to finish it, even if I was slogging through, even if I wasn't getting anything out of it, and I realized that wasn't serving me anymore. So I picked up a different book off of my shelf and got that going.

Speaker 1:

I have a basket where all of the morning routine items are in one place and so it sits on the floor Unless I'm doing my morning routine, and then I bring it up on the desk. I I like to have things contained, and I noticed that my desk was getting a little bit unruly and as I was trying to, you know, do different Tasks and activities, and when I set up this podcast space, it it takes up a lot of the desk because you got to put pillows around to absorb the sound and all that fun stuff, and so I wanted to have a way to contain those items and have them easily accessible. So I've got that basket and it's sitting right next to me right now. The other thing that I did was Print it out, and I've been using the daily pages, and I think I shared about this on a recent episode, but the way that I've been using the daily pages, because this is a process that I've been using For years, and so I didn't have to get used to the elements of it, right, the writing down, the gratitude, the putting pen to paper. I'm already in that rhythm and going back to practicing what I'm preaching.

Speaker 1:

I have that written out and it be or printed out, and it has become the space where I capture all of the thoughts and the brainstorms for beyond your limits, right For the podcast. And that has been really helpful because I have my journal where I write things that are going on in just life in general, right Outside of the podcast, and sort of business type elements, and I have a gratitude list going in there as well. Again, in that, the personal space and then my gratitude list in my daily pages is about this podcast and is about what it is that I'm striving to build on, more of that business side of things, if you will. And so that has been a really great way for me to contain while also capturing, because sometimes I wouldn't want to write those like podcasts or business ideas in my personal journal because I felt like they would get lost and for me those spaces hold different energy and you know, if we get down into the nitty gritty when I, when I journal for myself.

Speaker 1:

I write in colored ink and I don't use a traditional blue or black ink unless I'm on the road and that's the only thing I have. I'll use blue, but it's more of a teal and a lighter blue. It's not your traditional blue or black ink, but in my daily pages I use traditional blue ink so it holds my process, holds different energies and the spaces help contain those energies which I've found has been really helpful for me. And because I have those contained spaces and those identified containers for these different parts that I'm opening up to engaging with in the morning routine, because before it used to just be the personal and the personal growth and I wasn't allowing myself consistently to get into the podcast business exploration space, I have an easier is easy, the right word that there's a flow between the personal growth and the business brainstorming. Because I have this space that I sit and do both now, so that energy in and of itself is welcome at this desk. And I have the two very distinct containers for what I'm exploring and what I'm uncovering. And it's been really, really cool.

Speaker 1:

And so what's been inspired by that? Right, like why there has to be a reason for the remix and this introspection. Right. It's so cool Like, oh my gosh, I feel like I could talk for hours about it, but I won't. So what? What it's inspired is this capturing of all of the thoughts before, when I was down in my chair, I would have all these thoughts and they would get lost because I was holding myself back and and overly containing and constraining Honestly, I was constraining what that time could be and I was censoring myself and my ideas because I had labeled it as not the right time to get into that energy.

Speaker 1:

And as I've expanded and as I've remixed this routine I've had I've been far more grounded, I've been far more excited. I'm stretching myself and I'm working within my zone of genius when my mind is firing. So I've had all of these ideas as I've, as I've relaunched the podcast and I've put the daily pages out in the world and I'm hearing the feedback from you all and all of the excitement, and I'm getting past some of the logistical elements of this launch, that one I needed that space to capture. Okay, here are all of the ideas, these are all the things that I want to build to, and now I can sit in some of that more juicy, brainstorming and right like and if the personal side and the personal growth is what's pulling me a little bit more. I have that, that time and space in that container as well.

Speaker 1:

And then sometimes when I start journaling for in the personal side, I'm over here like trying to scribble with my left hand and I'm not left handed, so it just feels weird, I'm laughing at myself. So I wanted to let you in on that which you cannot see. So sometimes when I'm doing that personal journaling, it clears out a little bit of what is in front of the business and podcast brainstorming, and so again, when that gets opened up, I have both spaces to explore and contain those ideas and so, just logistically, everything is here in one spot, the computers here, in case I'm like, oh my gosh, I need to like look up this piece so that my mind can settle on it and settle on it in a way that I have the information that allows the brainstorming to continue and so I can pop. There have been times when this computer has been open. I've had my personal journal open, a book open, the daily pages, and I'm just writing and I'm switching out pens right, because I've got my traditional blue pen and then I'm grabbing a pink pen and then I'm putting a tabby do here and I'm highlighting there, like it's just I don't know. I hope that you can feel the energy coming through your headphones right now, because that is the energy that I feel when I sit at this place.

Speaker 1:

And so the routine had to get remixed. There was so much living inside of me that literally was bursting to get out, and a couple months ago, I was sitting in that chair downstairs and I was thinking, like I just don't have the right journal to capture this. So what did I do? I went to Amazon and I bought a journal, and I haven't touched that journal because it wasn't about that. Right, I had placed these constraints because this is how I've always done it, and so I wasn't allowing myself to look at this routine in a different light, because the season had shifted for me and my needs were different. And so what may seem like very basic things, right, if I had just told you, well, I realized I needed to remix my routine. So I went from downstairs to upstairs and now I sit at a desk and I have a journal and my daily pages. You'd be like cool. Thanks, jhu. That wasn't helpful, right? But as we get in and really see how this has been impactful.

Speaker 1:

I am hoping that you are thinking about your own life and thinking about your current routines and saying, okay, if I shift up the space, what's that gonna do to my energy? Right, if I go from sitting on my bed or sitting on the couch and I move to a table, what does that do to my body? What does that do to my energy? What time of day am I doing this? Is that when my brain is firing and I'm at my best? What is it that's missing? What do I feel like I'm lacking? And how might I remix a routine to welcome in that emotion, to welcome in that energy and then be open to trying it Like this has? I never would have imagined that I was gonna have a podcast episode where I'm telling you that I literally went from downstairs to upstairs and all of the things that happened. And that's where, right, like remixing our routine, can be so powerful. I have the similar elements, but the shift in location, that one change, opened up a domino effect of all of these other pieces.

Speaker 1:

So here's the takeaway and the recap and the action steps for you, right, because as we look at these things. We can often be really, really overwhelmed by this whole idea, one of building a routine, of remixing a routine. So I wanted to still it down for you and give you these takeaways, and so this is remix is the word of the day, right? These are pen to paper prompts for you, also a system and stepwise of things that I'm gonna invite you to do.

Speaker 1:

So the first thing is I want you to list out all of your current routines. That could be from how you do your laundry, to what you do in the morning, to how you get ready to leave the house for work. What does it look like when you arrive at work? You know all of those routines, and if you're like I don't have routines, j-hugh, think about what are the things that you do? Very similar or exactly the same day in and day out. That is a routine, right? So think about when you get ready for bed. Are you washing your face, brushing your teeth, changing into your PJs? That's a routine. What do you do when you first wake up? Hit snooze five times and get out of bed, go brush your teeth, take a pee right? That is a routine. So look at all of the places where you have.

Speaker 1:

List out all of your current routines. That's step one. Then step two I want you to rate them in terms of their current effectiveness or their value, from a zero to five star rating. Okay, zero being no value or very like well, like a zero wouldn't be minimal. It's no value To five star. This is A plus tip top shape. Like love this routine, and I like to actually draw the stars out versus putting a number. I think visually it just it helps us see the impact differently if we have the visual of the stars versus the numbers.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so first you're gonna list out all your current routines, then you're gonna rate them, and this rating is simply data. This is not good, bad, this is simply data. Okay, and go with your gut instinct. And it's okay. If it's like two and a half stars, you could put a half star, that's fine.

Speaker 1:

So, listing them, rating them, then I want you to pick one right, one of those where there's an opportunity to remix, and these are likely gonna be the ones that are zero to three stars. Okay, four and five, we're in a good spot. So just identify one and then you're gonna start brainstorming ideas for how to shake it up. Brainstorm the ideas for how to shake it up. Write that down. What emotion are you striving to feel in that remix version? And then take the first action right. That brainstorm is giving you a bit of a roadmap for how to take action and how to create change and how to start this remix.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so pick one or two things from that brainstorm list of how to shake it up and go to action on it. So, for my example, it was move my ass upstairs and then you see everything that came from it. Okay, so I will have all of that out in the show notes. We'll get it on Instagram. So you have all of those steps to just follow. Okay, so that's it for today. Make sure we've talked so much about the daily pages. Make sure that you've gone and snagged that and signed up for the Beyond your Limits Insiders list. Both of the links are in the show notes. Now it's time to go take action and be great. Thank you so much for being here. We'll talk soon.