Weasel1966

My old friend. Without you I would be a mess.

As a runty kid I knew everyday the exact time and could hear the car of my drunken step father. I knew just when to hide and be invisible.

In school I knew where I could be when cutting classes so I would not get picked on. Outsmarting the bullies was easy.

They say timing is everything. It was back then. But that laid the ground for a very routine based life that without I become a bit off. Lol

Who knew it would grow into this.

Every morning I could count on guilt and shame to declare "I will not drink again!"

Every evening I could count on a loose memory to give permission for one more time. I had over a decade of one more times.

My routines are all off now because of the move and new job. But I am not the mess I would have been. This morning I got up and for the first time here I felt my auto pilot. Ahhhh... A morning routine. It was easy.

I have now built a whole new evening routine around things so far from drinking. Like I have to pass the gym so it's easy to stop. Get a few groceries daily to buffer the short ride from work to home.

I get how staying sober needs to be in the moment. But I found with this change that to stay sober needs planning as well. So a little forward thinking has really helped.

I still have the cravings. Sometimes bad like the other day. But the more routine I use as a sober tool the better I will be. I could never retread my routines where I was. I needed a big change to do this. I won't waste a single opportunity. I cannot afford to.

Do you use routines as a sober tool? Or is it just the ODC folks? Lol

Ken

Hawkeye13

Routines are great. I also used the gym stop, and I make myself a pot of herbal tea every morning and evening to remind me of what I should be drinking.

I'm glad things are going so well for you Ken. Life is so much better sober, isn't it?

MIRecovery

I use and like routines. They fill my day and more importantly my head with constructive things to do. I have been told I'm not allowed in my head without adult supervision and routine acts like a surrogate adult.

Hawkeye13

Me either! Great quote

mecanix

I think having "auto pilot" go to tasks is useful .

I like to lay in bed and read and post on SR whilst half watching the telly . Breaking old unhealthy drinking style habits was part of working my solution and also making new routines once i'd got over the "shell shock" of sobriety health wise .

Taking mum shopping , doing the weekend wash , making time to post on here and add to the weekender , doing a workout session with a mate . Work , reading a book . music making , x-boxing ,
You make me think maybe i'd get more done if i structured them a bit more ? although routine tends to grate after a while with me ..

Bestwishes, m

Fandy

I'm the same way with routine....

i'm comfortable with the daily chores and one of the main reasons I tell myself that drinking is not an option...because I don't want to barf on my trainer or perform badly when we meet in the mornings.

endlesspatience

Yes I think that all the times I am sober, I have been in a fairly tight routine. I have commitments that I try to meet and places that I seek to avoid. Last time I got drunk, a friend called me up and asked me to go out to somewhere I shouldn't go. It was way out of my routine. And it ended really badly with the police involved and all sorts of horrors. I know that routines can appear boring or restrictive but actually, they free me from slavery to booze.

soberclover

Breaking my drinking routines has been challenging at times. They are, however, becoming more ingrained and easier...natural almost. I gave up smoking cigarettes too when I quit drinking....it was easier to break those routines as I always had a drink and a smoke. I find I need to work in some quiet time in to my daily routine. If I don't have some alone time at some point in my day I get cranky. Routines are good and necessary for this recovering alcoholic...great reminder...say hello to Maine for me

Mizzuno

I am a routine gal. I feel stable with routine and always have. So, when I quit the ol' wine, I took up the routine of drinking watered down Italian Soda. I wake up at the same time every day, go to sleep at the same time. Now, I have all of these memories of my daily routine. I do not have the drinking forgetting routine built into my routine. I am much happier. I hope that you are adjusting well Ken. Moving is always a hard thing to do. At least for me it is.

anyistoomuch

I drank more when I had no routines, that's for sure. Especially around food - if I got hungry enough, I would throw everything out the window and go out to eat...and then just order a glass of perfect wine to go with it. Having a good routine is like a spiritual practice too, I am going to look at this for myself, because I am not sober yet, but I am not drinking right now.

Marcher13

Do I ever! I built a new evening routine because that was drinking time for me. When I start making dinner I put on an apron and pour my fave NA drink because that was the time I poured the first chilled white. After dinner and kitchen clean up I go for a short walk because that was when I sat down with the second glass. I changed the chair I watch TV in, I only watch for an hour and then I go and do my online projects -- instead of sitting there in front of the TV drinking more.

When I'm tired I go to bed. This may sound obvious but, pre-sobriety, when I was tired I'd have another couple of drinks.

Ken if you're OCD I'm right there with you -- and loving it!

Weasel1966

So good to know I am not alone! Some great comments.

My routine today has a bump with a visitor but all is good. A non drinker.

K

LadyBlue0527

Routine indeed!

rou·tine
ro͞oˈtēn
noun
1.Action placed in the brain that removes the need for the question "What am I going to do now?" which could possibly lead to drinking.

Weasel1966

Love it!