'Boring' Daily Rituals

On a typical workday, I wake up at 5:00 AM.  5:30 AM is acceptable IF I woke in in the middle of the night for whatever reason.

I make my way to the bathroom but first I round the corner into the kitchen to turn on the prepared coffee pot.

I take my morning shower, put on my clothes that have been set out the night before and straighten myself up.

I then go find where my dogs are sleeping and then rouse them to go outside with me. We make the same loop in the backyard and then head back into the house.

I prepare a coffee to go and set it next to my wallet and keys on the table nearest the door.

I wake my wife for her to start her day and let her know anything pertinent.

I am out the door by 6:00AM and off to work.

Do you have any 'boring' daily rituals?

Hi Timothy,

You have opened a fascinating topic. In my area of work, these are called “non-negotiables”. … those little routines we have in life that makes life normal for us.  It was found that behavioral issues in residential facilities of all kinds were virtually eliminated when non-negotiables were honored.

I must have 2 cups of coffee in the morning.   Now, let’s say my normal cup is 8oz.  Don’t try to cheat me by giving me one 16 oz cup of coffee. BUT I will gladly accept two 6oz cups.  You see, it is the number of cups … not the total volume.

John F Dean wrote:Hi Timothy,

You have opened a fascinating topic. In my area of work, these are called “non-negotiables”. … those little routines we have in life that makes life normal for us.  It was found that behavioral issues in residential facilities of all kinds were virtually eliminated when non-negotiables were honored.

I must have 2 cups of coffee in the morning.   Now, let’s say my normal cup is 8oz.  Don’t try to cheat me by giving me one 16 oz cup of coffee. BUT I will gladly accept two 6oz cups.  You see, it is the number of cups … not the total volume.

Genius!

Same old boring stuff as above except I let the cat out several times until she makes up her mind to go do what she does everyday ...

Up before dawn. Take my meds. Feed the pets, upstairs to the altar for 11 rounds of japa. 108 repetitions of Rama x 11.

3 complete chants of the Hanuman Chalisa.

Out the door, raise the flags. Then I share  4 cup french press of home roasted coffee with the Missus.  Back out the door for morning chores.

If weather is warm I ebike to town for mail and groceries. In cold weather the first thing I do is feed the outdoor wood boiler.

Oh, and Wordle.

John F Dean wrote:In my area of work, these are called “non-negotiables”. … those little routines we have in life that makes life normal for us

I love this idea. I've shared some of this elsewhere on this site. A little more than 10 years ago a series of events left me with chronic fatigue (along with a slew of other symptoms), which turned out to be a constant migraine lasting a year and a half. During that time, I had to give up a lot of things, among them alcohol and tea. Alcohol was easy. But giving up tea was incredibly difficult; it became the symbol for everything I'd lost.

Now, I drink a pot every morning. It's my non-negotiable.

]

Randy Eggbert wrote:

Now, I drink a pot every morning. It's my non-negotiable.

You are more hydrated than me, my friend

I wake at 7am in winter, 5 or 6am in summer (in Spain the high summer here regularly reaches 40°c+ so early is necessary)

I take the dogs outside for their breakfast, put the contents of the compost jar in my compost tube while they're eating, usually start a load of washing and then come in to my first pot of coffee (definitely a permie theme!)

I journal daily, take my turn on word games with friends (we always say it's a useful 'proof of life' system!), make breakfast and line up ideas for jobs to do that day.

My most recent addition has been adding in 10 minutes of vigorous stepping/dancing to some loud music (in my headphones!)... it's really helping me to be more focused when the day starts for real.

I really struggle when my morning routine is disturbed in any way... it's like my internal computer needs to boot up correctly or all day long I get error messages 🤔😁

My daily ritual starts in the evening: I go to sleep thinking of my next project. I have found that if I didn't have the solution when I went to sleep, I often thinking of a new idea that I can use while I'm sleeping. When I wake up, I'll often have the idea I didn't have when I went to sleep.
I get up around 5 am and right now, I'm on crutches, so no bath or shower.
I strip naked in front of the sink  and reach what I can reach with a wet cloth. (right now, no soap because I could not rinse properly). Then I print my SUDOKU, weigh myself before I dress and fix myself a cup of coffee, fix a no cook breakfast (yogurt & fruit sauce) read the digital edition of my paper while doing my SUDOKU. (That's my little lump of sugar high, my little reward, before I tackle work.)
Now, I'm ready!

This is not my ritual.

This is Pooja's ritual.

Everything you see in these 2 videos no longer exists.
And that includes my wife's 3-cylinder 993CC hatchback.

Pooja dropped by famished and gobbled down Nothouching's
biscuits and chicken wings . . . and never left.

We didn't realize he was neutered but I am not changing
his name. He responds so well to that name.

One day some dogs escaped from a neighbour's house and chased
Pooja over the fence to the back neighbour and couldn't find
his way back.

When you have two cul-de-sacs, it is a pain to get to your neighbour
especially when a drop separates us.

I called out and luckily Pooja came towards my voice. The neighbour
was suspicious but teaching him his name works.

Mittens never knew her name so I couldn't summon her if she went
missing.

Notouching was hit-and-run on 19Oct2023 and exactly 2 years later,
Pooja died at the vet on              19oct2025 and in between,
3 of the litter of 4 died. The sole survivor is Leeseunggi.
Again, misgendered but I am not correcting that because that
helps to confuse the Angel of Death who seems to be dropping by.

This is from an email that describes the ritual :

" Apparently cats like ritual.

With Notouching, we had a secret handshake.
She might not like it but she never protested.

In the morning I refresh Leeseunggi's water bowl
in the kitchen. Then I empty/clean/replenish
the cat biscuits. I empty the pan on some
flower pots and refill it. Next I light a stick of
incense at Notouching's grave so her spirit knows
where to find me.

Then I take the water meter reading at my two
neighbours. Why? Because around 50 years, a house
breaks down. The roof tiles are sagging, the water
pipes clog up and the water line from the water
meter rusts and leaks.

Already, house number 15 has such
a leak in their garden. About 1cubic metre
- one ton - 1,000 litres -
of water a day. I informed them but they prefer to
pay the water bill instead of getting a plumber.
Chinese not concerned about money?
They are not wealthy.

How long? Since the MCO. It is super quiet when I
walk down to buy breakfast. You can do the math.
Our MCO started 18Mar2020. Behind their house is
a drain leading all the way to Kenki. It is
always filled with water. Guess where it
comes from.

Almost just as long is a similar leak at
Taman Midah MRT station. This time about 3
petrol tankers worth of water per day - 90 tons.
I reported this but they ignored me.
Even tried YB Teresa Kok and Father
Andrew Manickam. The Good Samaritan 2.0 .

Why? I want to avoid a Highland Towers/Jalan
Masjid India sinkhole.    

Pooja established this ritual. As I take the
reading at number 77 - China, he plants himself
right in front of the gate. I give him a body
rub in full view of passers by and cars driving
past. Hajiwon also did that and she would go
full stretch with eyes closed. Leeseunggi is
more reserved. She prefers private sessions.
Just the two of us.

Barring rain and occasional disappearance,
this always happens. It is more than a ritual.
It is also a daily covenant. If I am there early,
he spots me and eagerly waddles towards me in a
straight line totally disregarding any cars.

Last week was different. He shuffled towards me
like he was just placating me and fulfil an
obligation. It was the last time. I felt
something was off.

It is then I take our water meter reading.

He still hasn't eaten. Just a sniff at the
tuna, sardine and mashed egg.

Without oxygen, a human can last 3 minutes.
Without water, 3 days.
Without food, 3 weeks. Something like that.

I don't know about cats. I washed Pooja
yesterday. Whatever is coming out is muscle
being broken down for fuel. He drinks
occasionally. I will rinse him again today.

It is the new ritual."        

The boringest thing in the world to me is anything hygiene-related.  I wish I could just push a button and it would be all done.