Ahhhh routines, a necessary burden that we all love to hate but secretly need- because it WORKS, and can be implemented/ adapted in most circumstances. A valuable skill. A routine provides balance and direction, but also: STRUCTURE. A necessity in a time of wandering uncertainty… as in now.
So for the love of God, set one up.
“Oh look… another –Why Routines Matter- self-help article, like we need ANOTHER one of those these days”- Well no, hear me out.
Despite the title, this is more of a glance into the array of “Routines”, a foray into an aperitif of ideas so to speak, because let’s face it we’re all kind of in a peculiar predicament right now, and I think it need be addressed a smidge.
In this post (pt.1 of 2) I aim to merely touch upon the surface over the importance of keeping to a regimen, (or half of one at least) and to perhaps help influence you through my trepid thoughts on what things to maybe do when you got nowhere else to be this month (and possibly next month too.)
And this way I also have an outlet onto which I can translate my frustrations of artistic ineptitude onto, WHILE helping my bois (and girl’s possibly) become their best 2.0 selves.
Now is that not a win win?– Let’s dive in.
A Hollywood problem
“Art imitates life. Or is it the other way around perhaps?”
Rear Window (1954)
Bound and helpless, forced to wither away in the boredom of his house, a man peers through his window, gazing on to the streets daily in an effort to keep sane- sound familiar?
Has art this time finally gone too far? Have WE (yes YOU) all become that of the trapped window gazer Jeff Jefferies in Alfred Hitchcok’s 1954 classic?
Poor ol’ Jeff Jefferies.
Now we can partially heed note in viewings of such films like Rear Window and more recently Disturbia (2007) for insightful real life-ish examples of possible outcomes that await us, and how NOT to deal with them should it get to that extreme point. The seemingly dissimilar films in this case, rather have similar themes if you think about it:
“Men driven mad in confinement by frustration and boredom.”
The reason for such madness to occur you might wonder? Well, it’s in the statement above- The saps had too much time on their hands…
Okay okay I partially joke, but I do suspect there to be a hint of truth laden within, in regards to the unseemingly crippling effects boredom can have on a person.
In an age when you’ve got more free time on the docket than any one man should (a la COVID), those hours can fly by, and not in a good way. Enough free ample time can drive anyone…mad.
Ever heard of the saying “motion is life”? Just like sharks our bodies/ minds are much rigged the same way, souls pegged to wither away if left untreated by lack of stimulus, mentally and physically. With all that’s going on outside you’ve now finally got time on your hands, why not actually try and make the most of it?…and avoid insanity in the process.
Keep busy!
To pursue a goal is to imbue in the rewards that life has to offer, and the rewards in this case; is the ACTION of it all.
The journey, or progress we gain by continuing to KEEP BUSY. Like Jeff Jefferies did in Rear Window and like Kale Brecht did in Disturbia (other than creepy window spying.)
Some form of movement, some goal or hobby to work towards, some semblance of additional structure implemented in and around your home… as to not go mental with boredom or otherwise.
Now look I get it. While it can be fun and even refreshing to come at your day with no pre-fixed plan or agenda in place (i.e. like the weekend), more often than not it is just a great excuse to drain time.
Your brain on autopilot
To have a routine is to rid yourself from much of the daily decision-making process, allowing you to seamlessly hover from one task to the next, to forgo the monotony of not having a clue what to do; and doing nothing instead.
After all, how many “new” and “exciting” things are there to do at home? After a certain point, it’ll pay to formulate certain habits/ objectives that you set for yourself, continually working towards until “mastery”, something that you can look forward to doing at home daily, something to keep you busy.
With the advent of a structural system (of sorts) in place, you’ll give your mind more leeway to relax, defecting many of your otherwise seemingly needed tasks to be hereafter executed on autopilot, finally freeing your already taxed head from dealing with the mundane banalities of daily life.
Simply put you think too much, even when you don’t think you do. Give your brain a break once in a while by forgoing uncertainty with a routine instead, it could use the breather from all your bullshit.
SUMMARY (for you lazy bastards)
Introduce helpful habits, and put some of these habits into a structure of some kind. It doesn’t even need to be a whole list either, just a few cheeky things peppered in here and there while you go about your life, and voila!
You’ll have just become THAT much more efficient with your time. This way while the rest of the world lies in a hazy state waiting for Gadot, unsure and wasteful of their precious ample time & talent, you won’t be.
Now enough people have done articles on routines and what’s most “scientifically optimal”, and I am no expert in the ways of behavioral and cognitive science to tell you the “best” method.
So instead I thought I’d simply impart my tips and tricks by suggestions tried and true by me, and in general of just the low down of how I’m managing to keep busy during these quarantine-esque days of the “T. Virus”. Stay tuned for part II.
