We all have our regular morning routine, including such mundane things as making breakfast, drinking tea/coffee/juice/fill-in-your-liquid, showering, brushing teeth, getting dressed, checking phone, and more. In my case it also involves checking the outside temperature on a thermometer out on the balcony.

I live in a pre-war European apartment, in which ventilation is achieved by opening a window and a balcony door. Yes, young folk, that's how it used to work in the old days, before ducts and mechanical ventilation took over. Outdated as it may seem, it comes with some advantages. First there is the energy efficiency. I need to eat only a single muesli crumb to get enough energy to open a window and a door. But that's not what I want to talk about here. It's the opening of the balcony door and taking the temperature reading as part of my everyday routine. This is enjoyable indeed. Perhaps you can already guess why, but let me explain anyway.

It all has to do with the order of the different tasks. Some aspects of the order are rigorously fixed. It would e.g. make no sense to get dressed before taking a shower. But exactly where the opening of the balcony door and stepping out on the balcony to read the thermometer fits in is pretty much arbitrary. Through long years of experience I have found the order that works best for me is: open the balcony door, shower, go out on the balcony to check the temperature, get dressed. It feels great, even exhilarating, believe me.

This is the balcony. The thermometer is just beyond the open door.