Why “Best Routines” Might Not Work for You
Arianna Pride reports on the invasive trend of recommended daily routines.
If you’ve been online, chances are that you have run across variations of a “best daily routine” at least once in your scrolling adventures.
The thing is that daily routine probably won’t work for you. I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer here, believe me. I want a one size fits all perfect solution just as much as the next person, however, the chances of that happening are slim to none.
The first reason why a highly proclaimed routine might not work for you is because most of the time, these ideal structures are inspired by celebrities.
Forbes put out an article entitled “10 Daily Habits Of The Most Productive Leaders” and number 7 on their list was, “Don’t waste time commuting.”
“The most productive leaders don’t spend time on a long commute,” it said. Now in the real world, how realistic does that sound? In the age of remote work, that line of advice can make sense, but it does neglect the majority of the workforce that does indeed have to commute for work.
Another reason why one of these routines won’t work is because it rarely accounts for your own personal work/school/lifestyle schedule.
Surprisingly, 4 a.m. wakeup routines do work for a lot of people. Especially those who work 6 a.m. clock-in jobs. However, that same routine may not work for someone who regularly gets off of work at 12 p.m. It’s okay to push snooze on that alarm set for the crack of dawn. The same idea goes for workouts and meal plans. There has been a surge in wellness culture that has been focused on improving oneself. However, too much of a good thing can also start to become harmful.
Recently the wellness brand Goop was called out by former co-founder Elise Loehnen stating that “wellness culture can be toxic.”
What started out as a well intentioned journey, turned into hyper fixating on the routines, lifestyles, and meal plans that have worked for others.
Social media has made it very easy for people to feel like they need to follow certain steps or routines to get the outcome they want. It somewhat works like a reward system, but it seems like our critical thinking/decision making skills are impacted when we see a reward that we desperately want for ourselves.
There is no harm in trying out different habits/routines, however, your particular routine probably will look different than others. The quick rise and fall of ‘wellness culture’ has pointed out that when it becomes a hyperfixation, it can do harm as well.
Wellness advice on everything from finances to meal plans has been shared on social media, and while most of this content is not published with ill intent, all of these separate advice pages can and will contribute to information overload. There is only a certain amount of information and advice that we can take in before our decision making process becomes affected.
Overall, there is no harm in trying to improve yourself on a daily basis. But it should be a journey that is personalized to you. The only “perfect” routine or lifestyle that there is, is the one that takes into account your personal requirements.
If you enjoy your job, there’s no shame in having a commute. In the same way, tossing out a specific meal plan because it does not sit right with your health, is also a service to yourself. Ultimately, finding a perfect routine requires a lot of trial and error, however, it is important to take time to step back and listen to your own guidance, because you are truly the only one who knows your needs the best.
