I appreciate my routines most of the time. Things run more smoothly in the morning, for example, when we do things the same way most of the time. But I try not to be rigid about it. When I get to work, there are people who park in the same spot every day. That kind of adherence makes me wary, and I deliberately don't park in the same spot every day. Yes, sometimes I have to look for my car, but for some reason, that level of doing it the same way every day doesn't appeal.
I've had two thing happen recently, though, that make me see I still like things to run a certain way. There is a major remodeling project at work, where they are putting offices into spaces on our first and second floors. Thus they have closed off the lobby, and restricted stair access that goes near those floors. This has left it so we have to come in through the emergency exit on the first floor, take the stairs to the basement and take the elevator to the 4th floor to where our desks are. To get to my lab, I have to take the elevator instead of the stairs.
It's not a big deal in the larger scheme of things, but the first couple of days last week I was grumbling quite a bit to myself about having to go the long way around to get to where I wanted to go. Yesterday, one of the two elevators broke down, so it took even longer to get things from the stock room in the basement, drop those off at my second floor lab and then take samples up to the fourth floor for sequencing. I sort of wish it was the other way, where I was forced to take the stairs more, not less. The project is supposed to take five months, and then we'll all be in the same building, which will be good.
The other hit to the routine was that we had a substitute teacher for our Spin class yesterday. I know, this sounds so trivial, and it is. This other teacher was one of those that talked almost the whole time: posture, get some water, smile, feel it in your quads, shoulders down, c'mon you're worth it, etc. At one point she said, if I heard her correctly, that it wasn't supposed to be fun, we were working here. I worked plenty hard, but at the same time found myself not liking her very much and thinking that if she were the teacher all the time, I probably would not have stuck with this for the last year. That was an interesting thought. There is a kind of synergy among our regular teacher and other people who do this Spin class that makes it a nice mix of social and physical.
I happen to be a person who does not like change. (Not necessarily a good trait, but there it is.) So I can sympathize with the upsetting of your apple cart. I wonder if we looked a little deeper, the fact would surface that we all need our environment to be one which works for us. Shape your environment and your environment shapes you . . . for the best where we're happiest and most comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI agree - routine is a great comfort. I do, every once in a great while, stir up my routine just to keep myself on my toes. But, for the most part, routine is what keeps me sane and on track.
ReplyDeleteI deliberately shake things up as far as routine is concerned. There's a theory that it helps keep our brains more active, thus slowing the aging process. So I recommend parking in a different spot every day! That and taking the stairs would be the optimal combination of working your brain as well as your body!
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts, all. The sub Spin teacher was again sort of annoying to me, but I got two really good, hard workouts this week too. Now, where's my Ibuprofen...
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