Routine (Life's Autopilot)

I dislike planning. Not that I don’t think it’s a good idea to plan, I just think life is much better left to spontaneity and randomness. I’m one of those that would NOT want to know how and when I die. Sure, that sounds great to some. You can figure out how much time you have left to do things, but in the end, you’re going to waste time worrying about trying to fit everything in and wind up losing out on other things in the process. Despite my desire to be a come as you go, free spirit, I am a creature of habit and a slave to routine. Without it, I become a lazy pile of goo.

While this post is supposed to focus on routine, I had a bit more regarding planning. Many moons ago, my Mother won a free trip to Disneyworld for up to 10 friends and family. This was an awesome, all-expense paid opportunity of a life-time. We researched the hell out of the place and had a strict schedule, down to the minute, on when and where we would be so we could have maximum enjoyment. While we still had the time of our lives, it was tarnished by a draconian schedule we tried so hard to  maintain. We saw a lot, but barely had time to enjoy anything.

I don’t go into things blind, but I value education and research far more than having everything planned out. As John Lennon sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans". For vacations, I’ll research the hell out the place and maybe make a list of “must sees”, but other than things requiring a set time (shows, etc), it’s far better to play things by ear. Same with finances. I once planned out a to-the-penny a yearly budget. Not only did it go out the window with a multitude of unbudgeted expenses, it was rather depressing knowing exactly how my money would be spent for the next year. I now have a spreadsheet that tracks my bills, and that’s about it. My budget consists of “things I have to pay each month” and “other” . Not that I’m the pillar of financial stability, but I’m considerably less stressed and happier.

Routine, however, isn’t planning. It’s kind of life’s autopilot. Once dinner’s cooked, my normal routine is over and nothing productive will be accomplished until morning . Routine is what keeps my diet (when I do diet) and exercising in check. It gets me through the day and frees up my mind to worry about more important things, like what my next blog subject is going to be and why they speak English in Star Wars even though it’s a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

I can recall more than a few times I arrived at work and realized I forgot to shave. In every instance, something disrupted my morning routine, and the shaving part was somehow neglected. Unlike deodorant and contact lenses, stubble isn’t very noticeable until you look in the mirror (with said contact lenses…) or stroke your chin mischievously. If I don’t run during my normal running time, I am far less likely to do it later, even though I still need/want to. If I don’t go to work on trash day, I’ll forget to put out the trashc

an. If I have to work through lunch, those Words With Friends opponents will just have to wait until tomorrow’s lunch.

Me in December

This blog is the perfect example of how when my routine gets disrupted, things fall off my radar. I was pumping out blogs on a regular basis, at least one a week, when the Holidays hit. In the Air Force, during the two weeks around Christmas/New Years (hell, pretty much the entire month of December) things grind to a halt. This allows many Units to have low manning days and give a little extra time off. During these couple weeks, my daily routine was interrupted and I wound up letting my writing fall to the wayside. Following those two weeks, I had a weeklong seminar (no, I did not have all of those two weeks off, but it was very slow and the Internet required constant testing to ensure it was still working properly) and then a 3 week technical training class which pretty much wiped out the month of January.

What does this time away from my desk have to do with my blog? Well, I usually work on blog drafts early in the morning while I wait for Tuesday meetings (I know, I write my blog at work… shocker!), then fine tune it at home on my laptop and publish it with a far less temperamental Internet than the heavily throttled/blocked one at work. In the last 6 weeks my routine was interrupted, and thus, I had trouble hunkering down and getting this blog written.

I guess getting things done is as simple as beginning a new routine, or adding things to that routine. It usually takes about a week or two to get something added to my daily/weekly routine. This is not to say that my life is planned. It’s not. There is a huge difference between routine and planning. Planning says this is going to be accomplished at this time, in this way. Routine is what I usually do, but not exactly how I’m going to do it. I may make/eat dinner every night, but what I make, how long it takes to make it or if I’m going out instead varies depending on a multitude of things.

This post has turned into more of a patented Aaron ramble (Just ask my Girlfriend about my ramblings…) which in itself might be routine for me anyway. The point is the importance of routines getting you through life. Without it, I’d show up to work unshaved and without pants far more than normal.