Routines Are Good For You

Are routines bad for you? Some people say they stifle creativity and make you less productive. I disagree. Routines are good for you when they are used with a growth mindset.

Recently I saw a statement that routines need to be eliminated to be most productive in life. At first, I was shocked that someone would think that.

I couldn’t get this out of my mind. I found myself trying to understand why they would make that statement. The thought wouldn’t leave me alone.

I finally figured out why this person made that statement. However, I disagree with their thought process. I’ll explain further but first, let’s define routines.

What are Routines?

Routines are sets of actions that we do regularly, not just for a special event. They are essentially habits. But habits aren’t always bad for you.

When we were babies learning to do anything, we were learning a routine. Learning which muscles we need to use just to smile was a routine for our brain. How we needed to balance and move just to walk or crawl were routines for the brain.

Today when we get dressed we don’t have to think about how to put our pants on or what leg to put in first, we just do it. When we pour our coffee in the morning, we don’t think about every movement, we just do it.

However, when we are learning something new, it is easy to feel exhausted. Why is that?

It’s simple really. When we have to constantly think through how to do something our brains are working hard trying to process every movement so we can learn it.

When we have routines our brain doesn’t have to think through them. It just triggers the pathway to the “how-to” bank and we do it. Do you have to think about how to put on your pants in the morning? Or do you always put the same leg in first? It’s a routine!

Routines are good for you. They help the brain from having to work constantly just to get anything done. Routines are good for your mental health and for improving your life, most of the time.

Wait! What?!

When Routines Are Bad For You

This morning as I sat enjoying my cup of coffee, I was watching the trees bend and move in the wind. The smaller more flexible branches moved with ease, but the larger ones had difficulty.

In strong winds, we’ve had large branches break and fall to the ground. They weren’t flexible to adjust to the change in wind patterns.

The tree branches are the routines in our life and they must remain flexible to help us improve life. When the routines become rigid then life gets harder and we can’t move towards our personal goals. They can even affect our health and mental health so badly that we break and hit rock bottom.

Do you have routines or habits in your life that are rigid and hard to break?

*Side Note* Life can get overwhelming when routines are out of whack! Figure out your pillars of life by taking this quiz. Then start creating a life you love.

Not all routines are good for you but there are reasons for those situations. You may have created a routine to make life easier or more enjoyable at the time. However life has changed or you have different goals now, so those habits aren’t working for you anymore.

Let’s dig deeper.

Routines could affect many areas of your life. Maybe the routines that you created when you were younger are not working for the older you. Or the routines the family was used to aren’t working because a new work schedule is in play. What about how you interact with your spouse, is it working to build or tear down your relationship?

For example, I have routinely enjoyed snacking on junk food while watching favorite T.V. shows in the evening. However, this routine wasn’t agreeing with my slowing metabolism and neither was my routine of putting my health last on my list of priorities!

Another red flag for a routine gone bad is when you are finding yourself stressed and upset every morning trying to get out the door on time. Maybe your morning routines or evening routines need to be changed so there is a smoother exit out the door?

Routines can be how you react to situations or certain people. Are your relationships struggling because of how you routinely react to that person? When you look back at that moment was there a need to react that way? Or was the reaction a habit?

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All of these examples show routines that aren’t working. They need to be adjusted if they are stopping you from making life enjoyable or moving you towards your personal goals.

We’ve established that routines are good for you, but they aren’t always good habits. The statement that routines need to be eliminated to improve productivity wasn’t exactly accurate. After all, if we removed all routines from our life then our brains would explode from having to think through every little movement.

So where do we go from here?

The first step to improving life is recognizing where you need to improve. What isn’t working for you and why you want it changed. When you have that figured out, then changing that routine becomes more important than keeping life the same.

Breaking habits aren’t easy, especially when the metaphorical tree branch is thick and rigid. The need to learn a new routine must be greater than keeping routines the same for you to succeed. Routines are good for you when you can improve life with a growth mindset; learning how to use challenges to improve life instead of living life with a fixed mindset.

How will you continue improving your routines?