Change Your Routine

Do you always do the same thing, day in and day out? If so, change it up a bit! You don’t have to do something different, but you can do the same thing in a different way, or a different place.

You don’t have to do like I did yesterday and completely change my schedule. I went to class, ate out for lunch, headed to the movies with my wife, met up with a friend, had supper, went to the basketball game. As opposed to going to class, brown-bagging lunch, going to class, quickly visiting with my wife as I changed for work, work, homework. While this made for quite the exciting day, I wasn’t quite productive.

Pay Attention!

Instead, just be conscious of your daily routine. It’s easy to fall into habits, always doing the same thing in the same way; one thing leads automatically to the next.

I have a hard time with this during my lunches. The majority of my day is pre-scheduled for me. I have places to be and times to be there. In-between those times, however, I have some flexibility. Because of my routines, I normally leave one place, go to a waiting area to eat my lunch and read, then head to the next place I have to be at. When I think about it, though, I have more than enough time to eat somewhere else.

Weather permitting, I eat outside, instead of inside the dusty room I normally break in. I’ve almost missed some beautiful days because of my habits. When the weather isn’t so nice, I still try to find new places to eat, or find a friend to eat with.

What habits could you examine and tweak to break the routines?

3 thoughts on “Change Your Routine

  1. marlon @ productivity bits says:

    Redundancy can kill. It’s hard for the cubicle dweller like me. Thank God for hour hour flexibility at work. The 9-5 routine could kill me in months. Having a flex time at the office really helps, specially if you’re working in front of the computer in 8 hours (inside the cubicle!). Extended lunch helps too!

  2. Rebecca Burgener says:

    I’m sure you’ve heard the definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

    Never changing your routine can practically end your life. I ran into someone from high school recently who simply works, comes home, sleeps, and goes back to work the next day. Everything about her said, “I’m just existing.” She actually told me she doesn’t believe in dreams. It was incredibly sad.

    So, yes, change your routines, reassess your goals, and be aware of what you do each day.

    After all, routines are only supposed to be helpful tools, not selfish rulers.

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