So Routine
Sometimes ideas that seem good turn out to be…well…less than good. Now before you jump to conclusions, this is a story of my human nature not a tale of tragedy.
I had the opportunity to work from home recently. The weather was beautiful. Blue skies, the lingering warmth of summer, and quietly falling leaves. What could be better than sitting in view of my kitchen window to plow through an inbox that had gotten out of hand?
No workout that morning because I hadn’t slept well. Since I had no one to impress but the dog, I didn’t shower right away either. After all, my schedule was flexible.
By the time I went to gather my daughter from school, something I don’t usually do, I was feeling a little restless. That evening, I had progressed to feeling irritable as I headed out the door for a meeting and realized I had forgotten to brush my teeth all day. By 9 o’clock, it finally dawned on me why I was so ill at ease. I had spent the entire day out of my routine.
My typical weekday starts with some quiet reflection, an early workout, and connecting with a close friend. Then, I get ready for work, and it goes from there. I am well-served by the regular cadence of my days. I stay in a pretty good mood and can comfortably exhibit empathy and compassion towards others.
Now you may call me a creature of habit, but I don’t think so. My head can wander off the path quite easily. I consider myself the beneficiary of a good routine. I benefit from having insignificant decisions handled by rote, from being in my right place at my right time, and from connecting with people who help support the framework of my life.
I am complicated. My routine is simple. Simple is good.
My bottom line, in the absence of some self-imposed structure, I can forget the basics like good oral hygiene and may resort to squirting Hershey’s syrup directly into the Ben & Jerry’s carton as a snack. My experience has repeatedly reinforced a simple truth…the reason I keep a good routine is because I routinely forget what keeps me good.
