Slacking, habits, and routines

I had a quite busy holiday weekend. We took the time to do some fall cleaning around the house. On Monday, I did a brief 40-minute ride on my road bike, but most of my "exercise" came from pushing - and repairing - a lawnmower and moving things around the house.

Yesterday, an appointment kept me from riding, so today is my first commute back. Boy, was it hard to get going this morning. Still, I'm learning that a bit of routine and habit makes it easier to keep rolling. I suppose it's a form of inertia. As long as I'm "rolling" - consistently riding to work - I tend to keep rolling. When I stop, I tend to stay stopped.

So, what do I do? Well, first is the "ride home" routine. When I roll back into the house the day before, I rack the bike and give it a very quick check for problems. I put my helmet, sunglasses, gloves, and shoes in the same spot, right next to the bike. Four fewer things to hunt for the next morning.

Then there is the "night before" routine. I (almost) always pack my pannier before bed the night before. This does two things for me. First, and most obvious, it is again one less thing to do in the morning. Second, psychologically, it puts me in a position of having to take action (unpack the bag) to not ride, instead of having to take action (pack the bag) to ride.

Third, there's the "morning of" routine. When I get up, I put on my cycling outfit before waking the kids. Okay, I end up wearing the shorts a little longer than I like, and I'm sure I look a bit goofy in the drop-off lane at school. But again, I must take action (change clothes) before I can drive to work.

The combination of all of these routines results in the default follow through being to climb on the bike and start pedaling. Anything else requires backing up and redoing something.

Contrast this with my default "drive to work" day... I roll home the day before and toss my helmet/gloves/shoes somewhere (maybe different places) in the house -> now I must gather them up on the way out, vs. sliding behind the wheel. I don't check the bike -> now I must fix that flat I hadn't noticed. I fail to pack my bag the night before -> now I must pack the bag, vs. showering and dressing. I throw on clothes instead of bike gear -> now I must dress in bike gear, vs. simply walking out the door.

It's setting your self up for success or failure. When I take a few moments to make the preconditions such that it's easy to ride, I ride. When I allow things to slide, it's easier to drive, and the bike stays parked. As long as I'm doing these things consistently, they become habit, and they happen. When I have days off (long weekends are a killer), it is hard to re-start the routine, and it becomes tempting to drop the bike and drive.

It will be interesting as winter bad weather rolls in how I maintain this. I am already planning to drive at least a few days a week so that I can start back into swimming. I will need to find a way to make the routine balance out properly.