Routine Matters

I’ve been thinking about routines and how well we fit into them. Everyday we do the same things often in the same order. It can be as mundane as floss, brush, gargle. Or as delightful as greet the dog, let her out, make her breakfast. When I was young, the last thing I wanted was to “get into a rut” or have a “boring life.” But that’s not necessarily routine.

Dictionary.com defines routine as, among other things:

1.   a customary or regular course of procedure.
2.   commonplace tasks, chores, or duties as must be done regularly or at specified intervals
3.   regular, unvarying, habitual, unimaginative, or rote procedure.

Whoa! There it is! The definition that stabs our egos. But look what is says about computers:

5.   a complete set of coded instructions directing a computer to perform a series of operations.

Isn’t that better?

Routines enable us to complete tasks without thinking about them. Sometimes my mind is so far from my routine that I have to check myself: Did I do that yet? So start valuing those routines because they free up your minds for other things, like planning the day, reviewing conversations (past and future), and even formulating ideas for a new blog post.

According to Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, when we relegate routine tasks to “an automatic thought process, we gain all the mental bandwidth we need to do the really important things in life.” This Times article goes in depth on the blessings of routine.

Retirement allows me the luxury of engaging in activities at my leisure. But I routinely play canasta with my friends on Tuesdays, attend church at the same time every week, spend time on the treadmill . . . well, you get the point.

Studies show that having a nightly routine before going to bed helps the body prepare for sleep. I’m not sure if it’s the monotony or just a method for our brains to wind down in preparation for sleep. Here’s a comprehensive article on the subject.

As I’ve gotten older, and especially living alone, I’ve become very comfortable in my routines, and I don’t like them being disrupted. I make my coffee, take my meds, eat my breakfast, DRINK my coffee while having my devotions, and so on. A phone call can interrupt the cadence, and I’m thrown off completely. I can forget a step in the dance of my day, at the end of which, I realize I’d neglected to do something. Perhaps it’s a good idea NOT to answer the phone until the routine business is out of the way. Sound too rigid? I hope not.

I like to keep my days flexible enough so that if one of my grandsons needs to be picked up from school or taken to the optometrist, I am available. Breaks up the routine, and I enjoy it. Still, if it happens a lot, I feel stressed. I yearn to get back into my groove. Perhaps I depend too much on my life being ordered, but it’s peaceful that way, and I’m glad to discover that it’s good for me.

SIDE BAR

My grandsons would definitely NOT call me boring. Not as long as Lasertag is in business!

END SIDE BAR

When I googled the subject of this post, I discovered dozens of articles on benefits and costs of keeping regular routines. An informative one in Psychology Today states, “even good, healthy routines can drag us down if we don't break them and re-form them from time to time.”

Dr. Michael Roizen (www.sharecare.com) in answering a question, said, “Following the same routine every day will not stimulate your hippocampus-the part of the brain most responsible for memory. To keep your mind active, simply try to vary your routine at work or at home.”

Most people are aware that changing exercise regimens is more effective in weight loss and muscle strengthening. Even performing tasks with your non-dominant hand, say, brushing your teeth, has benefits because it activates parts of the brain that aren’t easily triggered otherwise. According to a comment on that same web page, “Anything that requires the brain to pay close attention to a formerly automatic behavior will stimulate brain-cell growth.”

It has also been suggested that varying our eating patterns can achieve more weight loss than adhering to a strict plan. I think that’s true, because I’m at a plateau in my weight loss, and attempting to implement a new plan. This is hard for me because . . . well . . . I have routine eating habits. I always have oatmeal in the morning, salad at lunch, and a light evening meal with fruit and cheese. Changing it up means finding new food and planning new menus. I don’t want to do that. I’m comfortable with what I have. Change requires commitment.

I'm working on it.

So, it turns out it’s healthy for our brains if we bring variety to our routines, but we resist change with all we’ve got. Older folks tend to resist change more. Memory loss would exacerbate this resistance, because familiar surroundings help people to ground themselves in the present. It’s pretty obvious, I think, that fear is the greatest contributor to our unwillingness to change. Even children find life more secure if things remain the same. They resist changing homes, friends, schools . . . parents.

Lauren Suval, in a Psych Central article, says, “Sometimes, people become comfortably situated . . . they don’t seek a way out . . . because it’s unfamiliar territory. Change is hard. It forces you to deal with challenges and confront the harsh realities of life.” (I)t’s “easier to live in the habitual, a routine (my emphasis) that may be unpleasant but recognizable, a go-to default mode that’s already been established.”

I’m beginning to see that maintaining and varying our routines is another area of our lives that requires balance. I must not just accept change, but actively make changes to achieve a more productive and healthy life. In that regard, I have started brushing my teeth with my left hand.

Rom 12:2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.