My co-workers have been lovingly laughing at me.
I got my puppy Maisy almost 6 weeks ago and she has turned my life upside down.
As someone who likes routine, it's been disrupted by:
waking up 2x a night to let her out
morning starts with her first, then me
interrupting what I'm doing to get whatever it is out of her mouth or let her outside
My co-workers with kids and dogs lovingly smile as I tell them this when I walk into the office, as I am starting to empathize with what they go through.
To look at the bright side, I'm learning some new, important routine tactics.
3 essential routine shifts to make when getting a dog (or experiencing any life change):
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1) Be thankful for the good habits you've already established
The good habits I already have in place ground me and make me feel like I'm in at least a little bit of control while this big change is going on (even if I don't get to do all of them).
The good habits I have already have remind me of who I am before being becoming a dog mom.
AKA start good habits now!
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2) Do not force it, sync to what is craved
But not all the habits are going to be EXACTLY the same as before, and don't force them to be.
In the morning, I tried taking care of myself and then her.
NOPE
Maisy has her highest energy in the morning.
My morning was so much easier when I tended to her and then went on with my morning.
Just like we need to sync our routine to how our brain/body operate, who knew we also needed to sync to our dogs.
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3) Add time buffers
Let me repeat that, ADD TIME BUFFERS
Everything is going to take longer, especially starting out:
mornings
getting out the door
basically any task as it can be interrupted with a puppy needing to go out or chewing on something they aren't supposed to
Give yourself extra time to do everything so you aren't showing up frantically late all the time.
Because showing up as the calm & present person may also require giving yourself a little extra time & grace.
Also - thank goodness she's cute!
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If you happen to be going through a life change too, let’s chat about it!
I open up a few 15-min spots on my schedule each week to chat with people about their routines!