“Routine”
Oh, the old daily routine. Get up, eat some food (for us breakfast eaters), wash up, head to work, work, work, work, come home, participate in any number of activities, eat dinner, try to relax, go to bed, get up to do it the next day.
Our lives our filled with the same old stuff. Day in, day out…
This isn’t a bad thing, but it can be. Routine is good. It helps us get better at what we do and gives us much needed structure to maintain sanity in our lives. However, it can also be bad.
Like a stagnant pond where no water flows routine can be.
In such a pond life is either starting to die or you will find an overabundance of pond scum that is more like a cancer than real life. A balanced ecosystem it is not.
This is why changing up the routine can be healthy. It helps bring new water in and pushes the old water out.
It re-energizers you.
It brings you new life.
For me and blogging, you guys know I am taking a mini break from it. As I said before, its not for lack of ideas or passion. It’s not so much a lack of willingness as it is a lack of energy.
You know what they say. Longing makes the heart grow fonder. And it has…
Being away from blogging for even this short time has made me want it more. I think that is the true test of dedication. You feel even stronger about it (whatever it is) upon your return.
This summer I am going to spend some significant time doing things completely out of routine. I am taking a short sabbatical from my job and even leaving my home for awhile. I’ll still working, but I’ll be doing something totally different.
I’ve done similar things before and I feel like those times and experiences have helped my life take leaps and bounds beyond what I could have imagined.
I know this period of time will be a big help to me and will help me grow even more and have an ever clearer picture of myself.
My recommendation to you is to go and try something completely different. Mix up the routine a bit. Do something a little crazy or unexpected.
The first thing that popped into my head was to reserve a spot for you and your significant other to go get cooking lessons. If you have never done it before just call up your local Whole Foods or specialty food store and see if they have classes going on. If they don’t they can probably help you find a place that is doing it. It’s a fun experience for one night, and it isn’t as expensive as you would think. And you get to learn something new.
That’s just one idea…
The whole point is that even if it is something small for a short amount of time changing up your routine can do wonders for you.
You will come back with a healthier attitude about life. And hopefully some of the energy that you gathered in doing something new will carry over into the things that are routine in your life and you will do those better as well.
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section. I’d love to hear your ideas!
In response to what you said about routine and changing it, even sunny days need a day with a gray cloud. how would we feel if every single day of the year we knew would be sunny.
Spring is a great time of year to mix things up a bit, so thanks for the inspiration.
I like the Kaizen principle towards change: making small changes; gradually changing circumstances by easy increments.
For instance, if the thought of seeking out an energetic class on the boards at Whole Foods causes you trepidation, try taking five minutes to just explore the aisle you never walk down at the store!
Pigeon steps to giant leaps.
@ Gerry – I love the Kaizen principle too. Thanks for the extra bit of advice.
@ Heather – Right on Heather. I totally agree. I live in a place that has lots of sun. And there are days where I wish for the clouds and the rain.
Cheers,
Jeremy
This is amazing. I’ve been having similar thoughts myself! I know I need to get out more and I was just thinking today: what could I get out and do that’d be different and break my boring cycle. It’s odd how folks can be thinking along the same lines at the same time!
I’m not interested in cooking lessons, but I have been considering Pilates classes. I think you just helped me make up my mind!!!
Great job on this article, Jeremy. I gave it a stumble! Very inspiring. 🙂
*smiles*
Michele
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Thank you Michele!
You’re welcome Jeremy! 🙂
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I do agree that it is important from time to time to change up your routine, so long as it is a healthy one, and one that will not lead you into a bad habit. Offcourse… it’s hard to know…. But I suppose… even if you do something that is un-healhty, it can probably boost you up, depending on your personal character. So I guess I am thinking too much lol.
Excellent article Jeremy! I believe that routines can be good, in that it helps to keep us on track and discplined. However, we have to be aware that routines can degrade and become ruts instead and then we are robbed of our creativity and stop growing as a person too. Thanks for this reminder!
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From a standpoint of health, eating the same foods, over time the benefits will not be as effective hence why say bodybuilders recommend you have one cheat meal a week just so it can throw off your body.
By doing that it catches its attention and gets refocused. Also variety in your meals is important too.
I mean as much as we want to think that finding one solution is the end result, its actually not, because circumstances always change and we need to adjust.
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I have a draft post titled “I Hate Routines”. I recognize that routine can help me practice the art of life balance. I can, however, only take the same routine for so long before I need to shake things up again.
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@Stacey
You are right, routines become very boring once you master it.
I would apply the same thing to jobs that we do that are repetitive, hence why there is so much unhappiness in the workplace which then reflects into other parts of our life.
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I am actually really bad with routine, I wish I was better at keeping to them.
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It seems like you’re developing issues your self by attempting to solve this concern instead of looking at why their is really a issue within the first location