I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of readers (so... 5?) are confident I'm talking about oil changes, rotating the tires, or, if you are a homeowner, swapping out the furnace filters, because it's that time of year. Nope, I'm not using the word "routine" as an adjective in this case, but another noun. I'm talking about maintaining a routine. Sneaky, eh?
I posit that - for the most part - most people are people of routine. I certainly was. I'd get up, make coffee, go to work, do that stuff, exercise/grocery shop, prepare & eat dinner, consume some entertainment, and go to bed to wake the next day to do it all again.
Sure, there are always variations. Sometimes, I'd shower, or do laundry. Daring stuff. And weekends had their own flavor of routine. Different from the work week, but still, a routine, resulting in the weeks coming and going with a certain rigidity of flow of activity. Far from it being a necessarily bad thing, I'll go one step further and lay claim to the position that routine keeps most people, as Jelly Bread sings, Safe 'n' Sane. It keeps the analysis paralysis of too many choices at bay and creates a structure that we can use to really enjoy the times that we deviate from the normal, e.g., vacations. Without the structure of a routine, ennui is a constant threat, as well as procrastinating: "why do it today, I can just do it tomorrow." Unfortunately, that same attitude will crop up the next day. And the next. And the next. No, routines are necessary. Though I haven't researched it, I'm confident psychology supports my assertion. Hubris? Nah. I just know I'm always right!
I've had a decent routine over the month since I walked away from the job, but with the upcoming Next Big Change™, I'm going to need an updated routine. I think I have the beginnings of one coalescing in the back of the ol' gray matter, one that includes semi-regular documenting thoughts here in the blog among other potential activities. Notable in its absence is training for any long distance running races. Given the new environment, and a new me, I'm hoping to roll new activities in as well. Let's see what happens in the next couple of weeks and see if my nascent plan holds, grows, or dies.
I posit that - for the most part - most people are people of routine. I certainly was. I'd get up, make coffee, go to work, do that stuff, exercise/grocery shop, prepare & eat dinner, consume some entertainment, and go to bed to wake the next day to do it all again.
Sure, there are always variations. Sometimes, I'd shower, or do laundry. Daring stuff. And weekends had their own flavor of routine. Different from the work week, but still, a routine, resulting in the weeks coming and going with a certain rigidity of flow of activity. Far from it being a necessarily bad thing, I'll go one step further and lay claim to the position that routine keeps most people, as Jelly Bread sings, Safe 'n' Sane. It keeps the analysis paralysis of too many choices at bay and creates a structure that we can use to really enjoy the times that we deviate from the normal, e.g., vacations. Without the structure of a routine, ennui is a constant threat, as well as procrastinating: "why do it today, I can just do it tomorrow." Unfortunately, that same attitude will crop up the next day. And the next. And the next. No, routines are necessary. Though I haven't researched it, I'm confident psychology supports my assertion. Hubris? Nah. I just know I'm always right!
I've had a decent routine over the month since I walked away from the job, but with the upcoming Next Big Change™, I'm going to need an updated routine. I think I have the beginnings of one coalescing in the back of the ol' gray matter, one that includes semi-regular documenting thoughts here in the blog among other potential activities. Notable in its absence is training for any long distance running races. Given the new environment, and a new me, I'm hoping to roll new activities in as well. Let's see what happens in the next couple of weeks and see if my nascent plan holds, grows, or dies.
RSS Feed