What’s in a Routine?
Recently I was on an 11-day staycation that involved 2 weekends and a week off work in between. The period was filled with some family time doing fun activities and plenty of naps. Family time was great, of course. Who doesn’t love mini golfing, go karts (or “go tarts” as my 4-year-old calls them), bowling, swimming, and roasting marshmallows by the fire? Eating out a few times was nice. I’m a fan of taking naps! My partner’s mom came to stay with us for a couple days so that was fun. I still managed to get in a few runs including a 10-mile race that I’d been planning on for a while. My partner and my daughter came to watch the race, followed by my daughter participating in her first race and gaining her first medal. What a proud moment for us all! Overall, this is sounding like a pretty good vacation, right? It was lovely!
So why were we getting crabby and frustrated by the end of it? My daughter started acting out and I was feeling completely “off”. One of these days I sat down and started journaling and recognized a big factor. The thing about the staycation was that, despite being at home during this time, we were off our normal routine.
For kids, it’s important to maintain a regular schedule so that they know what to expect and depend on. My daughter’s schedule was already greatly impacted, because, being a child of divorced parents, the regular parenting time schedule changes in the summer to allow for longer periods for vacations. While this is beneficial in a lot of ways, it can be very confusing for her 4-year-old brain. Thus, confusion = moodiness = acting out.
Yet, she wasn’t the only one. I found myself getting crabby easily and just feeling disconnected. I was missing many of my regular activities including meditation, going to church, seeing some co-workers and working from home. I may have gotten a little carried away with the whole “we have no schedule to worry about” idea. We were eating and sleeping, of course, but the time frames and the foods were a little different than usual. It was nice to not to be a slave to a specific schedule. However, after a while, I felt like I had little direction and was lacking in the motivation department.
Writing about this topic gave me the wherewithal to get honest with myself: I just function so much better when I have a routine. There can be some variation, but if I have too many days of “do as you please”, it doesn’t end up being in my best interest or the interest of those around me.
Merriam-Webster defines a routine as “a regular course of procedure” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/routine). The word originates from the French word “route”. The concept of having a routine is not foreign. Businesses have focused on the importance of routine for a long time, because they understand how much routines affect an increase in productivity. Health and wellness experts have touted the benefits of having a routine as it relates to mental, emotional, spiritual and even physical well-being.
There are even websites dedicated to the significance of developing and maintaining routines, particularly morning routines. Sources such as mymorningroutine.com (https://mymorningroutine.com/) have plenty of resources for assisting you with creating a routine. Subscribe to their email list and they will send you daily emails with helpful ideas. At Writingroutines.com (https://www.writingroutines.com/, example routines are provided specifically for writers to make the most of their structured work time.
Why do I agree that routine is so important? I believe it has a lot to do with commitment. If you are truly dedicated to being the best you can be, personal growth is a must. To grow or succeed personally, it takes commitment to certain thoughts and behaviors that are aligned with achieving this success.
Routine also provides us with regular practice at doing whatever it is we do. Growing, learning and achieving take a lot practice. Obviously, the more you practice something, the better you will become at it. If I want to become a better blogger or the best blogger I can be, I’m going to have to practice writing, posting and marketing. The more I practice I have, the higher the probability that I will be successful blogger. To get in the most practice I can, having a routine will ensure my time commitment to behaving in ways that accomplish that goal. Is this making sense?
Occasionally veering away from a routine is fine and sometimes even allows for our creativity to flourish. Once in a while, it’s a relief to have some spontaneous activities to avoid becoming stagnant or rigid. You want to allow yourself to experience the flow of the universe. There must be room for that to avoid experiencing a spiritual death. Change can be very healthy if it isn’t too much on a regular basis. In fact, when building your own routine you should have some free time scheduled as an integral part. The key is balance to avoid too much of a good thing, one way or the other.
Simple time management is what it comes down to. I really want to experience the best that life has to offer. I want to be an active part of life; a healthy individual of mind, body and soul. I want to succeed at the things that are aligned with my soul’s purpose and that takes commitment and practice. It also requires periods of freedom and creativity. When I follow a regular routine that ensures all of this, it provides not just stability but the growth that I just don’t want to live without.
The moral of the story is…establish a routine and stick to it!
