Module 90 - Consumed by the Routine

How our habits dictate what we do every day

Are you being consumed by the daily routine or habit of yours?

Do you follow essentially the same or very similar steps every day, such as: eating breakfast, or if you are like me – someone who does not typically eat breakfast – drinking a cup of coffee or two, getting ready for work, driving/walking to work, coming back from work around the same time after spending good amount of time sitting in traffic, if you are driving, eating dinner with family, watch tv, go to bed, then repeat next day? Do you feel like you are being consumed by the routine of daily busy life? Do you take time to pause and appreciate your present, people around you, your family, kids, happy moments in life? Unfortunately, many of us often forget to do so, because, we are being consumed by a routine and our daily habits that control what and when we do what we do.

There’s time and place for everything

Sometimes we may go on a family vacation that we have waited for a very long time, however, instead of spending quality time with our family, our kids, we turn our attention to the cell phone or a laptop to catch up on few work emails. I know that many would agree that as soon as we turn our attention to the email, we might as well forget about rest of the day, since we will most likely spend it working vs. spending the time with our loved ones. Please don’t get me wrong, work is very important and staying caught up is equally important, especially when an urgent report or project must be completed with very strict deadline. However, there’s time and place for everything. There’s time to work and there’s time to relax and unwind. That’s why it is very important to take time to pause, break away from the routine for some time in order to spend time with and appreciate those around you in the specific point in time at the specific place.

Being aware of what is happening around us

Routine and our habits will always be there and will continue to take us through life in predetermined paths. So, if we want to have a positive, fun, and exciting memories to reflect on later in life, we must remember to always be aware of what is taking place around us at any given time. We need to give our undivided attention to people with whom we communicating at work, at home, and in the social setting, to ensure that they feel valued and heard. This especially applies to our family members and our close friends. How many times have you spend time on your cell phone browsing Facebook or other social media platforms while your kids were trying to get your attention so that you can play with them? But because we are so focused on following our routines which consume us completely at times, we fail to recognize those important and critical moments which we should spend doing other activities, rather than being glued to the tv screen or our phones.

Pause and Reflect

In order to avoid being consumed by our routines and habits, which often are the same, we must be aware of everything that is happening around us and what role, if any, we play in the process. This often requires us to pause what we may be doing at any given point in time, such as working on a specific report, which may not be due any time soon, and spend few minutes on other activities such as: playing with your kids, taking your dog for a walk while enjoying a beautiful weather, or sit down and chat with your significant other about something not related to work. If you are at work, take few minutes to walk around the office, if you can, and socialize with your co-workers.

We can never get the time back which has already passed, but we can focus on the future, and begin adding more great memories to our “happy memory bank” and enjoying life to the fullest.
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