The Importance of Daily Routine
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words ‘daily routine’? Some may feel a sense of dread and foreboding as they picture themselves slaving away at their 9 to 5 office job; counting down the minutes until home time, all the while envisioning themselves on a beautiful Greek island in the summer. Others may feel a sense of comfort and content delight at the thought of waking up at the same time each morning, the familiarity of entering their favourite café before work and winding down with a scented candle and book before bed. We don’t often think about our routines and for most of us our daily routine is simply a necessity of life … but it may be more important than we think.
Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”. Routines create habits and routines become habits themselves. They help to automate our behaviour and keep us doing whatever it is we set out to do. Our daily routines, more often than not, are actions we take to achieve our goals. We go to work to earn an income, we go to the gym because we want to be fit and healthy, we read a book because we want to learn and so on. We are clear of what is expected of us and we behave in accordance with these expectations. In other words, our routines give us meaning.
Self-report studies suggest that most people seem to rate their lives as pretty meaningful. This suggests that meaning in life is not necessarily a rare experience and may indeed be embedded within the construct of our own daily lives. Without a routine, we may find ourselves lacking this purpose. When we have no idea what we are going to do with our day upon waking up each morning we can start feeling stressed, frustrated and anxious. Unsurprisingly, studies have even suggested a correlation between individuals experiencing depression and anxiety and a lack of daily routine. So much of who we are is often embedded in what we do on a day-to-day basis that we may even start questioning our own identity.
Not only is daily routine important for our mental wellbeing but having a routine may also be beneficial for our physical health. Our bodies operate on a 24-hour internal clock, also known as our circadian rhythm. Regulating our circadian rhythm is essential for our wellbeing and is influential in regulating our alertness, concentration levels, digestion, metabolism and even emotional stability. Studies suggest that waking up at the same time each morning, going to sleep at the same time each night and eating at approximately the same times each day can help to regulate this rhythm and keep our bodily functions (both physical and mental) functioning optimally.
It is important to note that routine is different for everyone – some peoples days vary largely but they always ensure that they wake up at the same time each day and get a workout in during the afternoon. Other people’s routines are very rigid; they may have practices that they adhere to at particular times of the day. A life bound by routine is not necessarily a good thing either, novelty is an important part of life and significant life events such as marriage, moving overseas, having a child etc. evidently bring great meaning to our lives.
The key take away it appears is that our life is made up of days; our daily routines are a set of healthy repetitive actions we carry out on a regular basis and these actions are a reflection of our goals. It is therefore important that we develop a daily routine that gives us meaning and doesn’t leave us longing for the weekend and wishing away the remaining 70% of our week. It is therefore important that we think carefully about the actions we engage in on a day-to-day basis and ensure that these are aligned with the goals we have set for ourselves. After all, all we have in any given day, is the day itself.