In a life divided binarily into the the over-stimulated or the mundane, I make an active effort to be in the moment for every daily habit that brings me joy.

In chronological order, the following habits in my day to day are what keep me grounded and at peace with myself.

1. Removing my ear plugs

Every morning, I wake feeling muffled. Rather, it is the world that is muffled, for my wax ear plugs have done their job in the night of muting Peterson’s snores. I am already a heavy sleeper, so they maximize the deepness of my slumber to the extent that removing them is a jarring experience in the same way a bucket of ice water feels in the dead heat of summer.

2. Brushing the tangles out of my hair

Often even before I go pee, immediately out of bed, I brush my hair. And although I am working up the courage to transition to a wide-tooth comb, there is something so magically satisfying about turning the nest that the mice played twister in all night on top of my head into a tiara of satin.

3. Rinsing my eyes

Crusty eyelids are the absolute worst – and uncrusting them is the best. My lazy ass can’t promise to rinse my entire face every day, and my zero-or-one-hundred attitude results in either my face, neck, shoulders, and even hairline get absolutely drenched otherwise it is just my eyes, but at least my eyes get rinsed every day.

4. Feeding the Princess

My orange fluff ball of a cat screams for food like she’s been starved her whole life every morning, and it drives me nuts… but I can’t help but adore her simplicity and feel the utter pleasure of my baby being satisfied in her (at times concerningly growing) tummy.

5. Brushing my teeth before work

Whether I’ve eaten, drank coffee, or not, last thing I do before I leave the house is brush my teeth. Something about smacking my lips to fluoride in the car en route to work feels like I’ve got at least one adult task under my belt before 8 am.

6. First poop of the day

I don’t always poop at the exact same time in the morning, but it is nearly guaranteed to happen before 10 am. That first signal that it’s time to go is a genuine pleasure; to know that my body is regular and healthy enough to at least bring me some release on a general 24-hour cycle.

7. Drinking water

Believe it or not, my oral fixations are so that even hydrating feels like a scratching-of-an-itch equivalent to chewing my nails. Differently from other orally fixated habits, however, I can actually take pride in my compulsion to drink water.

8. Eating fruit snacks

I don’t mean the fruit snacks, I mean literally snacks that are fruit. My typically fruit selections at work are kiwi, banana, grapes, clementines, cherries, and I even have berries with my granola.

9. Stripping

After a hot, long day’s worth of work, taking off my clothes is the one of the joy-est habits I can think of. From peeling my wet bra off my metal dust-stained torso, to my black socks revealing equally black toes – also covered in metal dust. Even the fact that I have to do it in layers (the most metal-covered clothes stay outside) and knowing I’ll have to rewear some of the clothes the next day doesn’t make the habit any less satisifying.

10. Final pee before bed

Knowing that this time that I am sitting on the john is the last task before I lay down in our California king size, down feather comforter, fridge-temperature basement apartment bed, is such a feeling of relief. Yes, I may need to pee a couple of times in the night, but this pee is the last one before I pass out, and I know it.

Habits that bring you joy

What daily habits bring you joy that you may not have considered before? Now that you see how simple mine are, I hope you can think of some for yourself in your own life.