I talked about having a bunch of small jobs that get me by. One of them is at a non profit gallery where I'm a keyholder. I open some Fridays and most Saturdays. Sometimes I even close up.
There was a stretch a few months ago that I opened the gallery every Friday. It started to follow a comfortable pattern. Roll in at 10:45, open the gates, flip the lights on and open the main door at 11am. Then the community newspaper arrives at 11:20. The assistant arrives soon after.
Once that's done, things start getting a little "only in New York". I step out to chatter with the crossing guard, a funny, sparkling latina. Eventually, the dude we have dubbed "The horse guy" shows up with his majestic steed and carriage. We talk a few minutes, the horseman let's me feed his horse an apple. That used to be the highlight of my week.
Then I go back into the gallery and tackle some cleaning or sorting and answer the phone.
What work rituals do you find soothing?