The Routines That Shape Us

Routines are part of who I am. I think routines are probably part of most people's lives. I have a routine that I follow every day at work to start my morning. Before the day gets busy, I go through my email, get rid of the junk, and leave only the messages that require action. I keep my inbox cleaned out so that only emails needing my attention remain. Everything else is deleted, moved, or snoozed if I need to revisit it later.

Today, I am going to write about what a typical Sunday looks like for me.

As you know, I regularly post to this site, and those posts usually go live on Sundays. Sometimes I write them on Saturday or earlier in the week, but often I am writing these updates on Sunday morning if time permits. Occasionally, the writing stretches into the afternoon as I struggle to think of something worth sharing. Still, I have been posting regularly on Sundays for the past two or three years. I do not remember exactly when I started doing it, but it has become part of my routine. I am always looking for something to write about or share.

I enjoy the process. It also gives me memories to look back on when I visit the site and see what I was doing during a particular weekend.

Sunday is also a time for me to watch sports. During the fall and winter months, I spend time watching football. If baseball is on, I will of course watch the Royals or other teams I follow. The television is usually on for most of the day with some sporting event playing in the background. If Carrie and I are catching up on a show from the past week, I usually have my laptop nearby so I can keep tabs on whatever game is being played that Sunday.

As you may know, I play fantasy sports, so I make it a habit to check my various leagues. For baseball, I am currently in three different leagues. That means I check rosters regularly and move players around as needed. I try to review things before games start each day, but life gets busy and sometimes I miss making those changes.

On Sundays, I spend extra time reviewing my fantasy football leagues. I am also in three fantasy football leagues this season. Whether it is baseball or football, I enjoy having players to follow. They are often on teams that I would not normally watch, and having players spread across different teams gives me a reason to pay attention to games I might otherwise skip.

Sunday is also a time for me to think through the upcoming work week. As I mentioned earlier, I organize both my work and personal email throughout the week. On Sunday, however, I spend time reviewing my calendar and looking ahead at what is coming up. Sometimes I spot a scheduling conflict and can adjust meetings before Monday arrives. I like doing this because it helps me start the week feeling prepared. Occasionally, I will also spend some time getting ready for important meetings rather than leaving all of that work until Monday morning.

Sunday is also a good day to get some personal reading done. My goal over the past few months has been to read every day. I typically read a few pages before going to bed each night, but being intentional about reading has become part of my routine, and Sunday is no different.

For a while, Sunday mornings were also reserved for a run. As I have mentioned numerous times on this site, exercise routines are incredibly easy to lose. It has been a few weeks, or maybe even a month, since I last ran. We had several trips that disrupted my routine, and then the summer heat arrived. When temperatures started climbing toward 100 degrees, I simply was not motivated enough to get up early and run before it got too hot. That was really the biggest reason my running routine fell off again. Yes, I know the weather has cooled down, and I need to get started again, but it did not happen this Sunday.

A little about my routines, and specifically my Sundays. Routines are a good thing. I know my dad was a big routine person, too. The nightly runs, visiting the same restaurants, and following familiar patterns were all part of who he was. As I have gotten older, I have realized I am very much the same way.

Looking back, I probably did not fully appreciate those routines when I was younger. At the time, they were simply things Dad did because that was how he liked things. Now I understand that routines provide structure, comfort, and a sense of normalcy. Maybe that is why I find myself following many of the same patterns in my own life. Whether it is checking email, setting aside time for sports, reviewing my calendar, reading, or writing these Sunday posts, those routines help mark the passage of time and keep me grounded.

If I miss doing something that is normally part of my routine, it just does not feel quite right. Maybe that is one more way I am becoming more like my dad every year.

That is all for today and my post about routines. Have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week ahead.

Leadership, Sports, and Reading Goals: A Midweek Update

Another busy weekend with a quick trip to Kansas City. We went to celebrate November birthdays for Erin and Eddie. Joan and Eddie arranged a vacation rental and treated us to a wonderful weekend of fun. We even squeezed in some game time Saturday afternoon before getting ready for dinner. Unfortunately, no pictures from the fun weekend.

When we got back to Topeka Sunday afternoon, I wasn’t feeling well—so much so that I took Monday off work. I simply needed a day to recover and get back to feeling better. Going to bed at 8 p.m. on Sunday cut into my writing for the week. I think this was the first time I haven’t written something in over two years. So tonight is about catching up on my weekly post. As it turns out, this is more of a meandering post on different topics since I’m starting it on a Wednesday night.

A few months ago, I was nominated to participate in Leadership Greater Topeka. I’m happy to report that I was accepted, and class starts in January. We have our orientation session this Thursday. I’m looking forward to the process and appreciate the opportunity to serve with fellow Shawnee County participants. I’ll be interested to see what we accomplish when the program ends in May 2026. I think it will be fun and a great way to make connections with fellow residents.

Sunday was the last chance the Kansas City Chiefs had to make the playoffs, and it did not go well. After several years of making the postseason, we’re eliminated. I know fan bases for other teams are happy that it finally came to an end. I’m hopeful we can still finish out the season without completely imploding.

Washburn sports is going strong. The basketball team is still doing great, sitting at 13-0 on the season. Carrie and I have missed the last couple of home games since we were out of town. We don’t play at home again until January 3, so we have a bit of a wait. The team just finished a tournament in Texas, where they handled the games without any problem. Related to that, you might recall that two weeks ago we went to St. Louis to watch the Washburn soccer team play—and we won. I’m sad to say that we played in the Final Four last week and lost after being ahead for most of the game. A great season, but tough to see us lose.

My reading journey continues as we have just a few short weeks left to finish out the year for the reading challenge. I had set a goal of twenty books for the year, and right now it looks like I’m going to come up short once again. No, I’m not giving up, but I think it’s going to be tough to meet my twenty-book goal for 2025.

That’s about all I have for tonight. Posting midweek instead of over the weekend, but I’ll get back on track this weekend. Have a great week!

Repairs Needed on Our Home for Concrete Sidewalk and Rotting Window Repair... Always Something Fun with Homer Ownership. Looking for Recommendations...

As I sat down to try and think of something to write about this week, I drew a blank. As I try to make Sunday’s my day to write for my blog on any topic, I found that it took me most of the day to sit down and start writing. Finding this post on Pexels.com of construction, I decided I would post about upcoming repairs we have for our home.

If you have recommendations for contractors that you have used that do concrete work or window repair in Topeka, please comment to provide your recommendation so I can follow up.

We moved into our home in 2006 and really have not had to do major repairs since we moved in, but it is slowly becoming obvious that repairs are needed. Our sidewalk in the front of our house leading up to the front door has deteriorated to the point where it does not exist. Our kitchen window facing the back yard is rotten and needs to be replaced. A few other repairs come to mind, but those are the main items I will be focusing over the next few days as I find contractors that can offer quotes to repair our front walk and fix our kitchen window.

I have started the process of getting recommendations for contractors to do the work from family and friends. This week, I will begin the process of calling to schedule contracts to offer quotes on doing the work. I would guess that with both projects, they would not be able to be completed until the weather changes to a warmer average on a daily basis, but at least I can get the process started and get them replaced.

If you have recommendations for contractors that you have used that do concrete work or window repair in Topeka, please comment to provide your recommendation so I can follow up. I plan to post again once we have contractors selected along with before and after pictures of both projects. Hoping to have them both done before summer arrives, but again, I believe it will depend on weather and of course contractor availability to do the work.