Punch cards are mostly associated with the early days of computer programming. Because computers could not store files, the programs and data were entered onto punch cards, which were then fed into the computer so it could move through its motions and do its job. (For a longer explanation, you can check out Computer Hope’s article.)

A computer punch card.

Punch cards were used as early as 1725, when Joseph Marie Jacquard supported the development of the Jacquard Loom to weave, well, Jacquard-pattern fabrics.

A Jacquard loom showing information punch cards, National Museum of Scotland. Photo by Stephen C. Dickson.

Like many people I know, I have days when self-care is easy, and days when it’s not so easy. I don’t know who thought giving me a body to take care of was a good idea, but they were somewhat mistaken. Additionally, my life has a lot of moving parts (really, whose life doesn’t?), and it’s easy to forget things.

So, I made myself a set of punch cards to help me do my job of getting me through various parts of my day. Three of them are pictured. Yes, they are on 4″ x 6″ index cards, which makes them easy to carry as I move through my day, and to take them with me when I travel.

[Image description: Three purple index cards with handwritten lists on them.]

Yours don’t have to be this complicated! Mine are quite detailed, because I need all the help I can get to remember to do things—especially in the morning, when I am not at anything like my best, and putting myself into human form and ready to leave for work involves entirely too many steps.

These are not my to-do lists for work or personal projects; these are only the things I need to do in order to get ready for the day, navigate certain points in the day, and then end the day in something like a calm and peaceful manner, so I have a better chance of sleeping well. (My to-do lists are another thing entirely, and will make an appearance at some point.)

Some days, I don’t have to do more than skim them for reminders (set the alarms for my meds doses, for example—it’s a small thing, and easy to forget). Other days, I have to follow them, one item at a time, because otherwise I will end up leaving for the work with wet hair and wearing my house slippers.

A simple version might have this list for the morning:
*Eat breakfast
*Wash breakfast dishes
*Brush teeth
*Take vitamin
*Shower
*Put on clothes and shoes
*Pack work bag (I have a list inside my work bag to remind me of what needs to be in it before I leave the house.)

Then, at the end of the day:
*Eat dinner
*Wash dinner dishes
*Check tomorrow’s calendar and add extra items to work bag if needed
*Brush teeth
*Wash and moisturize face
*30 minutes of calm (screenless time—read soothing poems or a calming book, listen to calming music, etc.)
*Check front and back doors are locked
*Tuck myself in

If that seems too much, you could start with this for the morning:
*Eat breakfast
*Brush teeth
*Shower

and this for the evening:
*Eat dinner
*Wash breakfast and dinner dishes
*Brush teeth
*Wash face and moisturize
*Go to bed

I hope this idea is helpful for you!

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[Image description: A teaser screenshot of this week’s Insight from the Oracles, with just a hint of the cards and runes showing.]

One of my favorite English musicians is Jon Boden, who creates modern versions of classic folk songs with John Spiers as “Spiers & Boden“, with a large group of musicians as “Bellowhead“, and also releases solo works.

I was driving home last night as the sun was going down, and his song “We Do What We Can” came up on iTunes. I pulled over, and allowed myself to simply listen and take in the music.

I am sharing it with you in hope that you, too, will take a few minutes to simply listen and take in the music, and its comforting message.

We Do What We Can
—Jon Boden

Reapers in the whitened harvest
Beggar on the hill
Doctor, lawyer, preacher
Swallowing a bitter pill

Pilgrims on the road to glory
Hear the cynic’s drowning cries
Redemption’s dream forsaken
Drifting in the clearing skies

From the fool to the wise man
From the floodplain to the dam
When hard times come knocking
We Do What We Can

Distant figures on the mountain
Whispers on the breeze
False prophet warnings
Heralding our disease

From the fool to the wise man
From the floodplain to the dam
When hard times come knocking
We Do What We Can

Take the seeds out to the garden
Sow them in the soil
Split the wood we gathered
Happy when we toil

From the fool to the wise man
From the floodplain to the dam
When hard times come knocking
We Do What We Can

I Never Wanted to Die
—Dorianne Laux

It’s the best part of the day, morning light sliding
down rooftops, treetops, the birds pulling themselves
up out of whatever stupor darkened their wings,
night still in their throats.

I never wanted to die. Even when those I loved
died around me, away from me, beyond me.
My life was never in question, if for no other reason
than I wanted to wake up and see what happened next.

And I continue to want to open like that, like the flowers
who lift their heavy heads as the hills outside the window
flare gold for a moment before they turn
on their sides and bare their creased backs.

Even the cut flowers in a jar of water lift
their soon to be dead heads and open
their eyes, even they want a few more sips,
to dwell here, in paradise, a few days longer.

The Weekly Insight from the Oracles for April 19, 2021 is live on my Patreon!

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[Image description: A teaser screenshot of this week’s Insight from the Oracles, with just a hint of the cards and runes showing.]