I Like Routines — Do You?
I was thinking the other day about routines and how they help many of us get through life. As I was thinking, I started to list the things in my life that I do routinely every day or every week:
- When I am not traveling I arrive at work by 6:15am
- I workout 5 times a week
- I sleep in only on Saturday - which means I get up around 9:00 am
- When I am in the office I try not to schedule more than 5 hours of meetings a day
- I schedule our operating and executive meeting on Mondays
- I have scheduled the monthly presentation to the company on Tuesday
- I always arrive at work with 4-5 pages of notes containing a to do list for the day
- I weigh myself everyday and if I have put on a few pounds - I will skip dinner
- I don’t like coffee but will have a cappuccino after going out for a nice meal
- When I get to work I always check my Daytimer and Outlook calendar before I do anything else
For me routines are a good thing — they allow me to be organized, efficient and aware of what I need to do and when I need to do it. For me if something isn’t a routine there is more of a chance that I will forget and ultimately won’t do it.
- Are routines a good thing for you?
- What is on your list?
I look forward to reading your comments.
January 18th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Routines are the autopilot that keep my life running smoothly and usually get my day on track in the beginning, but I also like to shake it up a bit. Taking a different route to work, inviting a friend to eat breakfast or even just taking a different route with my dog on our morning walk sometimes can open up a fresh outlook on life’s issues, allow me to notice something different that will give me a fresh outlook for a new idea at the office or even just a new appreciation for small things in life that sometimes go unnoticed. At 49, I can be a bit rigid in my routines and habits, so shaking it a bit from time to time gives me that feeling I had when I was younger and a lot of things were fresh and new and taking a chance pushed me to new limits. I need that kick in the pants now and then and changing things slightly can give me that push. Writing on this blog is a first for me, I am looking forward to it might bring. This is for Merrill, Go PATS!
January 21st, 2008 at 3:25 pm
As I kid I looked at the routines of adults and equated it with inflexibility and falling into a rut. I always wanted to avoid that for myself, so to this day I go out of my way (to a fault) to avoid routine for me and my family. So my list is the flip side of your question, a few small things I make a point to do in order to avoid routine include:
-Eating at different seats around the dinner table
-Sleeping on different sides of the bed
-Traveling different routes to get places
-Not ordering the same thing twice from a menu
-Vacationing somewhere new each year