About a month ago, I had come across this article about the mundane, and I’ve been thinking a lot about it since. In the past three years, life has changed dramatically for all of us, and my life doesn’t look the same it did in 2020, or even 2019 or 2018. I took a big leap two years ago and bought a condo and moved out and started a relationship. Earlier this year I took another big leap by having my boyfriend move in.

So over the past two years—it was around this time back in 2021 I started working with a realtor to find a condo—my life has shifted from early post-graduate life into a new chapter as a full-fledged adult—maybe, the jury is still out on this whole “adult” thing. To deal with the changes and the ups and downs, I’ve relied on routines for stability and to keep my anxiety down. And with routines comes the mundane.

The truth is life is 99% mundane; a person’s life is a collection of all the moments that happen in the middle. There are adventures and excitement along the way, but it’s the unassuming parts that fill in the blank pages of our stories and shape us into who we are. 

Why The Mundane Matters

I’m a big believer in the little things in life—I mean, how else are you supposed to get through the 40 hour work week without solely just working for the weekend? I lived alone from July 2021 to January 2023, and I’m very glad I had that experience. It’s a time to find out who you are on your own, how to really take care of yourself (which includes not giving yourself food posioning), and how to be comfortable alone. I’ve always been an introvert, so I don’t mind being alone, but it’s different when you’re alone in a space that you, yourself, are responsible for.

Once Josh moved in, my whole living routine changed because I had another person sharing the 1,200 square feet with me who also has a very different work schedule than me. Of course, with me being me, we planned things out prior to the big move, but it took most of January after the move to get adjusted to one another. And the mundane, little things I enjoyed before have increased because I get to live with my person and start this new chapter in our relationship together.

The rhythm of life, that constant hum, the waking up to another day of work, play, and loving your people—it’s breathtaking if you listen to it. But first, we must choose to shift our perspectives, to experience these mundane, everyday occurrences and instead look for the magic.

Why The Mundane Matters

It’s getting to wake up to someone—but also enjoying the bed to myself when Josh spends the night at his friend’s house. It’s making dinners together, talking and working together in the kitchen, and then sitting down to eat. It’s having someone to hang out with at night before bed, someone to watch TV with or go for a walk or just sit and talk. It’s knowing I’ll have someone to come home to after work, particularly when I’ve had a long day. It’s going grocery shopping together on Friday nights and talking Josh out of some ridiculous purchase, like a bubble machine or an entire ham.

It’s still having my alone time when I work from home on Wednesdays or on the weekends when Josh is still at work. It’s still keeping some of my single-living activities. It’s the same podcast I listen to on my drives to and from work where I get a half hour of alone time. It’s knowing I always wash the towels on Monday so they’re clean for a new week. It’s getting lost in a book, reading before bed every night. It’s taking my time getting up on the weekends because I don’t have any real responsibilities then.

It’s the comforts of routine and regular and just everyday things. It’s building my life on my own but also with a partner. It’s figuring out who I am as a person—because you’re always more than just your job. It’s enjoying my couple of hobbies, the ones that keep me sane and help me clear my mind. It’s knowing I don’t have a lot of plans coming up, but if I do, they’re with people I enjoy spending time with.

Find those little things in life, the mundane, the routine, the somewhat boring things—the things that make your life yours, the little pieces that make up your hours and your days and your life. Pay attention to them, embrace them, know that they’re solely yours.