Growing up in a social-media obsessed world, we are constantly fed messages on how we should be living our lives. One message that is regularly encouraged is implementing a productive routine into our lives. These messages increase in frequency at the beginning of a new year, with the surge in motivation to ‘get our lives together’ with the culture of new year’s resolutions. Although, I am not here to deny that there are plenty of benefits with a routine, I do think a lesser-had conversation revolves around the dangers of routine. The “dangers” happen when someone becomes too obsessive with their routines and it begins to affect their everyday life, resulting in a lack of flexibility, happiness, and or peace.
A routine is a sequence of habits that are regularly followed day after day. There are endless different types of routines that a person may have. There are your morning and night routines, or your work and school related routines, or your fitness routines, for example. Nearly every aspect of someone’s day could be a routine. For those of us with perfectionist tendencies or strong self-discipline, these routines may make us feel like we are in the movie Groundhog Day, waking up and living the same life day after day. Despite the messages that are pushed on us, this is not how life is meant to be lived. We as humans are meant to adapt. We are meant to mess up and fail. We are on this earth to live spontaneously and wake up on a random day and go on a road trip with a friend even if this means throwing our routine out the window.
I am someone who has previously been too strict on myself with routines. I was prioritizing these daily habits over my own joy and peace. And because of these messages I felt like I was doing everything right. But the reality is that my routines were way too rigid, and led me to live a life that I was not happy with.
In order to prioritize my peace and happiness, while still maintaining some sense of order in my day, I had to make some adjustments in crafting routines. One way is by changing my routine with the seasons. This could look like being more cozy during the winter time, and reading a good book in the morning under a blanket. Or maybe during the summer time, I take my cup of coffee outside and listen to the birds chirp. It could also look like a season of life where I know I will be busier, so I implement some time in the morning to get going on my school assignments. Another way is by taking a regular inventory of your daily habits. Make two different lists of energy givers and energy drainers. If a habit is draining your energy and not serving you, then it is time to let that habit go. Who knows? Maybe in the future it will be something that you implement back into your life, but if it is not serving you now, accept it and be okay. The last way is just by giving yourself grace. Life is filled with unexpected circumstances. If we expected ourselves to show up perfectly in an imperfect world, we would be setting ourselves up for failure. I encourage everyone to find peace and fluidity in their routine in this year and beyond.