Routine to Death
Why the willingness to scrap your routine is essential.
Why I Like Routines
I believe that formulating a consistent routine is the best hack to being productive, accomplishing goals, and fast-tracking our route to overall success. Establishing a good routine helps to ground us in what is important and ensures that we carve out enough time in our day to accomplish the things we set out to accomplish.
Furthermore, a good routine can help us to automate certain aspects of our lives that might seem draining to think about doing every day. Imagine if we had to think about brushing our teeth, taking a shower, and getting dressed every day.
Thankfully we don’t because those things have been part of our daily rituals so long, that we don’t even think about them.
Honestly, the best times of my life were ones where I had my days planned down to a science. Doing so helped me accomplish my goals without stressing myself out too much.
I like routines. I really do.
But…
Somewhere along the way, I realized that the same habit of routine, that I believe is so important can be the same thing that holds us back from breaking plateaus in our lives.
Let me explain.
Why Routines Can Hold Us Back
We are constantly learning and reinventing ourselves, but doing so often requires we also reinvent our habits and daily goings-on.
But, we as people are often resistant to change.
Once we find something that works for us, it can be hard to step back, re-evaluate, and make the changes necessary to improve.
It’s easy to say no to things that are outside of our routines, but being open and willing to change things in our lives is how we improve.
Willingness to Change
Things around us seldom stay the same.
In a world that shifts faster than anytime before, openness to change is absolutely essential. Without this willingness to embrace what is new, our learning is easily stunted and we slow our progression.
Even if we feel we are putting forth great effort towards our goals, unless we tailor our efforts to the new knowledge we acquire along the way, we are just spinning our wheels.
For example, someone who plays basketball every day may be putting forth a lot of effort towards developing his ball-handling skills and his shot. He may learn new and more effective techniques every day. He may learn how to tweak his jump shot to be more accurate…But will he? Will stop doing what has been working thus far to implement that which he knows will work better? If he fails to constantly implement what he learns and innovate his routine to include these changes, he seems to come up short. Every improvement he makes in the development of his game must correspond with an improvement in his routine.
Do you think Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant (RIP) had the exact same routine throughout the course of their careers? No! They changed their routines in order to accomplish certain ends in their game. To win more championships.
So we can agree change is necessary. Improvement isn’t always comfortable, and that’s exactly what a routine is.
Comfortable.
I’m not saying to ditch your routine. I’m just saying to keep cognizant of when it might be time to step out of your comfort zone and rework it just a bit.
How Can You Rework Your Routine More Effectively?
Look For Opportunities to be More Time-efficient.
Work smarter not harder. If you are already comfortable in your routine. Why not try to accomplish everything slightly faster. Not to the point where you get sloppy with your tasks, but a level of pressure necessary to keep your brain engaged and sharp.
Set Aside Time to Learn New Things.
Getting comfortable in a routine might mean we neglect to learn new skills and reinvent ourselves. Push forward by setting aside some time to do new things outside of your current routine. Expand your horizons by making time for the unexpected. Over time, you will be versed in so many scenarios that nothing with seem uncomfortable to you. Your comfort zone will only kill you if it’s too small. Strive to be comfortable in the unknown and everything is possible.
Eliminate Old Habits That No Longer Serve You
Sometimes we do things just because…well, we’ve been doing them. But take stock of the things you do every day and really think about what activities don’t serve you. Has drinking or smoking held you back from making pivotal steps in your life? Do you waste away countless hours in the Youtube rabbit hole? Are you having a hard time figuring out what to binge next on Netflix?
Me too!
But within all of those wasteful behaviors are ones we will most likely not miss if replaced with something more productive. Replacing even one bad habit is likely to improve the quality of your routine and probably make you a bit happier.
Emulate the Routine of More Successful People
If you are unsure how to improve your routine to be more effective, why not look at what others in your field have done? If you are trying to be more fit, look at the routines of people who have a physique you envy and adopt their routine. They are doing something right, and by doing what they do, you are sure to pick up on it as well. It’s easy once you know what to do, and the best way to learn is from people who know more than we do.
And most of the time, their secrets are hidden in plain sight, on their blogs, videos, or other media.
Routines are great. But it’s also a good idea to routinely disrupt your routine.
