Hope for Recovery: A 7-Day Plan for Those in RecoveryНамуна

Day 3: Get a Routine

The general wisdom about recovery is that the only thing we really need to change to get sober is everything! Well, changing everything starts with pushing out the inconsistency and impulsivity that used to fill up our day-to-day living and replacing it with a solid diet of structure, consistency, and accountability. As we track through daily life, we will no doubt come across seasons of sadness, times of loss, and bouts with doubt. But if, as we create our newly discovered lives, we incorporate times of meditation, scripture, exercise, and prayer, then we restore and maintain the balance we lost while living in active addiction.

So what are some activities you can add to your routine? Here are a few:

• Start your day on your knees in prayer
• Find a daily devotional to read each morning
• Read a chapter from Proverbs each day
• Maintain a daily Bible reading plan (like this one!)
• Meditate for 5 minutes each day
• Recite scripture
• Get up at the same time every day
• Call other people in recovery every day
• Running or walking
• Lifting weights
• Pilates or yoga
• Make your bed every morning
• Write out a gratitude list every day during lunch
• Take a walk outside
• Listen to a special song
• Take a daily inventory of what you’ve done: Good, Bad and Ugly

These are some suggestions that other people in recovery have found helpful in maintaining a routine that honors God, themselves, and others. Take what you want, and use your God-given creativity to think of others.

Once you have your routine, make appointments with yourself. Set up a consistent time every day to check off some of the activities you’ve chosen. For example; If you decided to take a daily inventory, then set your alarm to ring at 2:00 each afternoon to reflect on how you’ve spent the day so far. Have you encouraged someone else? Have you gotten angry? Have you stayed in your routine? Have you hurt someone? Have you hurt yourself? As we begin to build a longer stretch of sobriety and life begins to get better, it can be very common to lose touch with our routine. That’s why scheduling a time every day to check ourselves helps us stay grounded, humbled, and sober.

The life you lead from here on out will be measurably different… in a great way! Setting yourself up for successful and sustaining sobriety takes creating a routine that stimulates and motivates you to keep going, to keep pushing ahead. The more you stay focused and plugged into your routine, the stronger you will get. As people in recovery, we will never get to a point where we are strong enough to break away from routine, but as our strength grows, we will begin to receive the fruits of this labor as we pass along to others what we have learned along our journey. This is the greatest gift of all.

Pray:

God, thank you that today I don’t have to live in chaos. I am so thankful you have helped me to find a life full of peace, joy and stability. Today I pray you will help me to overcome my impulsive tendencies and stay focused on the routine I'm developing. I need more structure to stay sober. I need a plan. But most importantly I need you to help me live it out every day. Today I put my schedule, my outline, and my day-to-day life in your hands. Amen.