For many years, I would shy away from routine. I found the idea suffocating. I felt like a routine was a cage that I would be imprisoned in with all the joy of life sucked out. Boy was I wrong!
Properly done, a routine enhances enjoyment of life. For me, the key was to not think of a routine as something rigid. Instead, I now view it as a tapestry for painting the strokes of life. It provides a scaffolding so that I don’t have to expend mental effort on the table stakes of life.
It is very important to intentionally structure in time for essentials like physical and mental health, sleep and relationships. These essentials are the first to fall by the wayside when life gets busy. By making it a part of my daily routine, I ensure that these important aspects of life get prioritized even when I’m strapped for time.
From personal experience, I can say that having a routine made an enormous difference in my life. I was able to learn many new skills, juggle multiple projects and make systematic progress on all of them.
If you are resisting routine, now is a good time to start. You’ll find that it enhances your life, not detracts from it.