Routine

Is it needed?

Routine is one of the most polarizing things in the world, even though most people don't really think about it as "polarizing" in the truest sense.

Some people are of the opinion that the fun in life comes from the adventure of the day, not from mundane day-to-day activities that you have to abide by if you follow a routine. Other people are of the opinion that you can only become really productive if you follow a routine so that you can optimize at the highest level.

Well, both opinions are correct. Different things work for different things, of course.

So what is good about having a routine?

For one, you don't have to think about making any decisions while you go through the day. You don't have to think about what you have to do, and how long you have to do it, and if you have any other commitments to fulfill.

You also end up being more productive. If you have a routine/timetable, you can end up doing a lot more in the same amount of time compared to someone who doesn't have one.

But you might end up getting tired of the same old routine, even if the routine is something you enjoyed for the first couple of days. Doing the same thing for days on end always ends up getting boring after a while.

Also, the initial act of creating/thinking about that routine takes quite a lot of time, and updating a routine also takes a lot of time.

Well, what is good of "going with the flow", so to speak?

For one, you don't need to spend time meticulously figuring out the most optimized and productive routine that works best for you. You can just wake up and do whatever you feel like or need to do. Even in extreme circumstances, you don't really have to change any aspects of your routine, because you don't have one.

Also, you won't get tired of each day, and you won't get tired of day-to-day mundane activities that easily. You can very easily change what you're doing because your day is a lot more flexible. There's no calendar you have to stick to.

Unfortunately, the world kind of runs on timetables, especially in the professional world. Most companies and organizations run on routines and calendars so that you don't end up missing important events.

Also, you are of a higher risk to forget important events and things that you need to do.

Well, what do I do?

I actually kind of use both.

I don't have a routine that I stick to everyday, but every morning I decide what I need to do that day and block that time in my calendar.

I also write down what I need to do into Notion, and I have my habits that I need to do everyday on Habitica.

I couldn't really work with a fixed schedule, so I ended up with this hybrid model, which so far works pretty well for me.

I think the key to everything is figuring out how you work and how you think, and whether a routine can work well for you. Once you figure that out, creating a system that works for you is fairly easy.

You could actually try to figure out how you work by using different people's systems and seeing how they work for you, and what could be slightly different for you.

In the end, everything is personal.

Thanks for reading.