A Routined Life

Personal Development

By Angela ⋅ December 14, 2008

On Sunday mornings I go to the grocery store.

I bring my reusable bags. I travel to the same store, generally using the same lanes on the highway. If I forget something, it will have to wait until the following Sunday. I only go to the grocery store on Sunday.

That’s my routine. And, it works for me.

Routines help me get stuff done. Stuff like:

Cleaning
Doing laundry
Making dinner
Going to Starbucks
Exercising (In full disclosure, I don’t actually exercise. But, if I did, I’m sure I’d set a routine around it.)
Sleeping
Reading RSS feeds
Even blogging

Some people find my routines maddening (or simply boring). I find them comforting.

The problem, of course, is that life doesn’t allow routine. After 27 years of planning and creating routines, here are a few tips:

Set routines for certain tasks

Take a look at your life and see if there’s anything that could use a little routine. Routines help me stay on track. While my work life is anything but routine – meetings, events, calls at any time during a 12-hour day – having routine in my personal life ensures that some life’s most mundane tasks (cleaning the bathroom, anyone?) get done.

Build flexibility into the routines

The routines you set can’t be so rigid that you can only accomplish routined items. Seriously, things come up – life happens – and routines simply can’t always be followed. Routines aren’t an excuse to change plans or avoid life.

Inform others of your routines

Let your family and friends (and perhaps co-workers) know about your routines. If you’d like to send a routine to mediate every morning from 8 to 8:15, let your family know you need to be left alone for those 15 minutes. Your family can also benefit from your routines. They will know when to get their clothes in the hamper for cleaning; no exceptions.

Make sure your routines help, not hinder

Routines can help with budgeting, planning, keeping on track, and making goals. But, they can sometimes turn in to obsessions or crutches. Not good. Keep an eye on your routines and make sure they still make sense for your life.

For spirits freer than my own, perhaps routines seem really boring (maybe you stopped reading after the first sentence). I’m not going to lie; it’s not the most exciting part of my life. But, routines help me get through some of life’s most mundane tasks (and some fun ones), so that I can enjoy the rest of it.

How do you use routines?

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Discussion

3 comments for “A Routined Life”

I consider myself a routinized person. Keeping a schedule helps keep me on track with my goals. Even though I keep a tight schedule,I have been trying to allow for more flexibility in my routines. I think sticking to a schedule for some things such as exercising and sleeping are important, but socially I like to be more flexible. Also, learning how to compensate if your schedule is thrown off is important.

Thanks for writing this, I definitely am similar!

Posted by Carla Blumenthal | December 16, 2008, 9:28 am
Keeping routines is a huge help to get ahead in all spheres of your life without sacrificing health, looks, nicely organized home. I am not at the level of organization I want to be yet, but I found an extremely helpful web-site - http://www.flylady.net/. Don’t be fooled by its homemade design - some really good tips about creating routines for house organization, packing, preparing for trips await you there. Overall Fly Lady gives a start to a totally unorganized life to move towards order.

Posted by Elena | December 16, 2008, 9:43 am
@Carla Blumenthal - It’s nice to know you’re not alone in these things, right? I love your blog by the way.

@Elena - Thanks so much sending the link. I briefly checked it out, so thanks for the head’s up on the “homemade design.” I will definitely delve into more! Thanks for sharing.

Posted by Angela | December 16, 2008, 4:12 pm