rofgilead

Do you ever find yourself getting into a daily routine, going to work at the same time every day, going home at the same time. Watching television or reading a book till supper, eating, watching some more tv, go to sleep - repeat...

I've found that I've gotten into a big rut lately. So, I think I'm going to start trying to do different things every day, maybe wake up early some days and go sit at a coffee house before work for a half hour, or go jogging. Maybe I'll go for a walk some days and read at the park for a bit, etc...

All I know is it just seems like time is flying by, and all I do is worship my job and have basically nothing going on in my life. I feel like I am trapped by it in some ways, and really wish it was possible to take a month off and travel to Thailand or do something real for a bit...

Anyways, if ya'll feel the same way about getting stuck in routines, feel free to share some thoughts about it too..

Siege

Interestingly enough, routine has kept me focussed on things that I normally wouldn't of been able to focus on, such as school and working out.

However, because of my routine, i'm also rather unhappy with my life. But if I know I don't follow the schedule, my school work and fitness will drop. Stupid catch-22.

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frogza

I have always been very much against routines. I am too creative to be limited to one way of doing things, when I have gotten myself into a rut in the past I end up having a kind of breakdown. I get to the point that I can't stand being around people and I take a couple of days in the mountains near my home.

I drive home a different way each day, sit in a different place each week in my work meetings and never park in the same space, to name a few of the things I throw in to mix things up a bit. Since I'm in marketing I uperate under strict deadlines, I can't change that, but I can look for little things that add a little adventure to my life.

Leto

routine is the only way that I can get what I need to be done in a particular day, accomplished.

For example, If I don't wake up by 6:45 am, I miss my chance to use the washroom for my matinal ablutions, as son#1 has to be in and out by 7:20, so that wife can be in and out by 7:40, so that son #3 can use it between 7:40 & 7:50... Son # 2 is the hardest to wake, so he goes in last.

If i miss my slot, I'll be late for work. I NEED to be on the 7:40 subway, or i'll be late for my daily 8:30 status meeting, unless I take the car, then wife will be stuck at home all day without it (like today)

I need to use the company gym at lunch time from 11:30 to 12:30. If I miss this slot, i get stuck in the lunch crowd rush to use the showers at 1 PM. If I don't work out at lunch time, I have no other time avail during the week OR weekend to do it.

Tues & Thursdays I must take son#1 & 2 to swim team, after work, and son # 3 has hockey on tuesdays and Fridays after work. son # 1 has to be picked up from his after school work downtown on Thursdays, so that means that the only routine that will get the groceries taken care of is Thursday's after dinner 7 - 9:30 pm. By the way, it works out to approx $250/wk for family groceries.

Every Saturday my three sons go to Kumon in the morning, and swimming lessons in the afternoon. Errands and yardwork take care of Saturday afternoons.

Sunday morning are for sleeping in, and then I cook a brunch (bacon or sausages, pancakes or waffles a mess of eggs) for the family. Sunday afternoons are usually spent doing chores, or visiting family/in-laws, or managing the kids getting their homework projects completed.

There's no real room for spontaneity here. Except for within the parameters of the routine.

Such is family life.

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Charlatan

Not living a life of routines means that you have enough time on your hands... it is a luxury.

Routines are hardly "evil".

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Pip

You know what's worse? Having a strict schedule that's never the same from day to day or week to week. That sucks the life out of you. I relish every little regularity I can find.

Cimarron29414

Man, you need a second washroom!

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Cimarron29414

I think your solutions are a good start. My wife and I have quit watching TV. It's amazing home much time you have to pick up a new hobby when you aren't being time-managed by NBC.

I don't think it is routine that gets us down, it is the lack of stimulation. For me, I am constantly trying to learn something new. Even if I fit it in during the same time slot, I no longer feel like I am biding time until retirement.

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rofgilead

I think exercise routines are useful, I just fell out of mine though and have been trying to get back to going to the gym for weightlifting. I guess it is mainly the work routine that is bringing me down. With grad school, working at the lab is very central to my life right now. It just sucks that my days don't have more variety outside of the lab work. The other problem, is that conservative Birmingham is a boring place to live...

Leto

working on that one. that would require a major renovation to a 90 year old house! - although there is a 3 piece in the basement which was an apartment now a family room area. That's where I do my shaving early on so as not to wake up anybody, but it is by no means a fully equiped/comfortable cleaning area as the shower stall is currently a storage area for thousands of dollars worth of Lego!

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You said you didn't give a fuck about hockey
And I never saw someone say that before
You held my hand and we walked home the long way
You were loosening my grip on Bobby Orr

http://dune.wikia.com/wiki/Leto_Atreides_I

Cynthetiq

That's why and how I found more free time with Tivo

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rlynnm

Just the same way our brain inherently categorizes information for us, and creates this sense of organization, well, we have routines for the same purpose. Creating expectations out of yourself and being able to accomplish them timely provides a sense of success. After all, little successes generate bigger ones...As little and trivial as a task that's regularly done may seem, it still gets done. I can imagine how confusing it can become to wake up without a routine, even a small one...Waking up daily, brushing your teeth, having your coffee, etc.. well those are routines that seem almost unnatural not to have.

Like Cim says, the problem isn't having a routine, it's in the complete lack of spontaneity. Once you allow a routine to consume you, you thwart yourself into this dull, repetitive motion..It is always possible to find a happy medium. Hell, say you go home and the wife has dinner made for you practically every night..one of those nights why not treat her to a dinner made by you, cheezy candlelight and all? It's sufficient to pull you guys out of routine enough to appreciate the gesture but doesn't change how things generally are.

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