Routine vs Rut

I love routines which can be a blessing and a curse. One summer as a bright eyed youth I repeated the same afternoon for at least a week. I would watch The Little Princess and eat half a bagel with crunchy apple cinnamon peanut butter on top. I’d seen the movie before the week of endless repetition but still enjoyed watching anyway; enthralled. I wanted to keep consuming the film and bagels until I got sick of them. Or more likely until we had to return the movie.

When the routine was broken I was a little sad but didn’t throw a fit. Since it was the summer I could form a new routine and the cycle continued. Even though school was monotonous and boring sometimes I loved the routine. Everyone on the same schedule. The summer, which symbolized freedom to most kids, was anxiety laden for me. What would I do? I established looser routines compared to one movie and snack daily. But I powered through for those three sunny months. If you want more details check out Summer is Torture for Type A’s.

With all my schooling complete next came work; a bastion of routine depending on the job. I easily fell in line with the familiar schedule and motions throughout the day. Something unexpected happened after the high shine of full time employment began to wear off. I started to loathe the routine; specifically a work routine. It felt too restrictive. I had to sit in front of a computer all day, minus breaks with my phone in my hand, working or feigning work for hours. This plus commuting gave me new insight about why working adults are so cranky.

This is why everyone is so miserable! They hate their jobs and/or are resentful of them. This is why everyone is mad and acting crazy in traffic. This is the main culprit of road rage, besides rage. So what was I going to do about it? I wasn’t ready to succumb to this fate of being stuck in a rut only to escape in middle age or a mid life crisis.

I started taking small deviations from my routine. Attend groups and meetups after work. Meet new people. Find inspiration outside of the confines of the 9-5. I believe you can find inspiration anywhere. Sometimes you have to change your perspective. This low level disruption kept me from imploding. Pursuing creativity for me and not expecting anything in return. Some restrictions you can’t get away from. So you bend them where flexible. Pushing but not too hard. Finding room for your passions in those few spare minutes or carve out hours when lucky.