Routines: Good or Bad?

Mostly everyone has seen those videos about influencers getting ready for the day and settling for the day. That is, the growing phenomenon of a morning and night routine as part of a mentally healthy culture. But not everything we see others do should be taken as fact, even if it looks healthy. In fact, routines have limitations that are contrary to what we humans were designed to do. Though there might not be a clear black-and-white answer, there are factors that come into play that can help one make a decision on whether it's suitable for themselves. After all, routines will be ineffective if they provide no value, or if the individual inserts no effort into sustaining the routine. Some may feel that the adaptations they must develop are too extreme just for a routine, and that is perfectly fine.

Having a routine can help you stay organized in your life decisions. If you stick to, let's say, a daily morning and nighttime routine, you often don’t need to make reckless decisions about what actions or events you need to undertake. On days that are especially hectic, if you have ingrained these routines into a way of life, then you are less likely to be vulnerable to incurring some off-track tasks. This is the main reason routines were so popular after the Covid-19 outbreak; there was a need to offset the period of chaos that followed. Any routine for a particular activity can also be great for accomplishing the same skills. Additionally, we may need a method to prevent a mental crash, and having a routine might just be the perfect safeguard.

Furthermore, having a routine forces one to develop time-management skills. Research shows that having time-management skills can help reduce time wasted on frivolous activities. This, in turn, is very beneficial, since this means one can get better sleep and therefore be more focused and well-rested the next day. Many places have reported off-duty tasks as a large component of the limits in productivity; therefore, time management, and by extension routines, can facilitate more utilization of time. Otherwise, we find ourselves scrambling everything at times when it’s not convenient. However, we need to make sure that these routines are actually structured properly and are effective. The concept itself is not enough for people to witness the positives; it is more so how others approach the tool. Ensuring that the routine helps get tasks done in appropriate time spans is a must. Additionally, the routine that is followed should not strip one of all their mental energy at once. Doing so is counterproductive, as the long period of focus will incur an even longer period of tiredness. If people don’t continuously follow these routines, then these routines that supposedly result in positive outlooks suddenly hold no significance. Our human brain works on a reward system; maybe we can exploit that by providing a mental reward within the routine that one looks forward to when following the routine. This is an example of how we should create routines that work with ourselves, rather than completely dictating it.

Another great benefit of routines is that they can be personalized to what suits you best. What tasks you want to accomplish, and what you have the effort for, can all be incorporated into the routine. As a bonus, you work these goals in a way that encourages other improvements in daily behavioral patterns. For example, if you have a routine you truly love, you’ll stick to it more closely, letting little get in the way of deterring you from that routine. As a result, it drives you to approach other, less pleasurable activities in a similar structural sense. However, this results in a major limitation of having routines. If routines become too rigid, too structured, too specific, they deter one from being able to adapt to different circumstances that make the routine impractical to carry out. The individual will be so focused on the routine that they are unable to imagine what other approaches they could take. Although routines should provide a sense of structure that can be followed, they should also have the potential to be flexible. In other words, the routines should not be built so intricately that it makes one believe that it is the only pathway to achieve a specific set of results. Failure to do so can have detrimental consequences on our ability to be creative and innovative in our thought process.

In conclusion, one should be careful about utilizing routines. We should treat routines as a tool that should be used to a limited extent. Otherwise, we may find ourselves too immersed within them, not allowing ourselves to foster alternate pathways. For some, they may be great to keep long-term, but it is healthier to change the routines every once in a while, just to keep the creative juices flowing. As explained before, routines are not for everyone. One might find joy in not having to follow a particular way of doing things, and being able to decide based on the ever-changing environment. Whatever the case, we need to be mindful to alter our choices so that they best suit our mental health.