Routines

We know routines are important, but it’s hard to stick by them. Routines can be time-based, or they can be habit-based. For example, waking up at 7 a.m. each day is time-based, but brushing our teeth every morning is habit-based.

Routines can be hard to stick by if unexpected variables occur. For example, if exercising at 4 p.m. is a routine, it might be hard to stick by it if we’re not feeling well. Or if something came up at work and we have to stay a little late, that 4 p.m. schedule would have to be pushed to 5 p.m. But what about all the other routines that came after the exercise? Would those have to pushed back as well?

Routines create consistency in our day, which are important. We want to have a pattern that produces consistent results and outcomes. When we wake up at a certain time and leave at a certain time, the outcome of arriving at work early or on time is consistent. If we didn’t have this routine, we’d show up early one day, late the next, and these two outcomes would vary day to day.

Even if we follow routines, there are things that occur that are outside of our control. There could be heavy traffic due to construction or an accident. In the winter, it could snow, delaying our trip. These are exceptions, not the rule, however. The routines keep us on schedule–on time.

So here, I return to my point that sticking by routines is the hardest thing about them. We consider routines as good if they keep us on schedule and keep us productive. But there are times when not following the routine can led to surprising–even amazing–results.

For example, if I set an hour for myself to write, but I’m inspired to write more than an hour, the extra time that I wrote could be the best piece of writing I’ve ever done. If I had simply followed my routine, those inspirational pages of writing wouldn’t have existed.

Art, creativity, and inspiration seem to be independent of time–of schedules. They require us to go beyond the routine to bring them to life. There is almost a battle with the routine in creating art, though they can go hand and hand if the routine sets a time to create art.

This is where I struggle with routines–those moments of inspiration and insight that led to amazing writing and ideas. When those moments happen, I become self-aware of what’s going on and let them flow out of me. But when all else is equal, I stick by the routines.