Daily Routine

 In this section I hope to explore the idea of a daily routine. Such a concept, I’ve learned, is important to maintaining not only balance in life, but also to inhibit feelings of uncertainty and anxiety that come with constantly being surrounded by new or unexpected surroundings.

In the recent years of my life, and particularly in the past few months to a year, I’ve come to adopt a daily routine and a regular lifestyle. In this section, I hope to discuss the major elements of my routine and lifestyle, in order to reflect upon my work ethic, the types of things I value the most, and the extent to which my lifestyle is regimented and ordered as opposed to chaotic, as Dr. Peterson explains in his book 12 Rules for Life.

Schedules and daily routine have come to play a larger role in my life especially since I began to take on the responsibility of maintaining my room and hygiene separately from my family. For example, doing laundry, brushing my teeth, making my bed, and cleaning my room are all things that I do that are independent from those around me, and have been learned and improved over time. The adoption of these habits also led to my realization that as I grew older and began high school, I would come to have more control over my lifestyle, such as the time I do homework, the time I turn off my bedroom light and go to sleep, and when to do my laundry.

In a sense, I have a mini-house running inside my room. Though it is devoid of most of the features that typically comprise a house, such as a bathroom and kitchen, I feel that the analogy is apt because the general process and elements of maintenance are required in both keeping a house and living in a room. Such elements include the presence of a nightly routine to make sure all is in check, and I am ready to sleep, such as writing in my journal, brushing my teeth, and perhaps reading a book.

Though the former two have become part of my daily routine (the first since early summer of 2018, and the latter ever since I can remember), the latter is part of my current routine, which is ever-evolving, just as my bedroom organization, and other elements of my lifestyle continue to evolve. I’ve been reorganizing my room every few months for the past year or two, and have also gradually made small shifts and adjustments to my schedule, as my preferences change, and as the environment around me changes.

Such a night-time routine is important to me because it gives me a sense of security and predictability regarding the nature of the day. Though every day is different--some days are more exciting than others, others more productive than others, others more challenging and high in suffering than others, and yet others contain some surprising twist in the planned course of events, that transforms my day. Despite these differences, I have the confidence in waking up the next day, doing my exercise, playing chess, playing the piano, doing work, having a daily call with a couple friends, and writing as I am now. The fact that these routines have displayed constancy over the past few months, some over the past year gives me allays any large-scale, “chaotic” anxiety about my days and lifestyle to a large extent, because I confide in my lifestyle and trust in its ability to provide me with challenge, but also contentment. (At the same time, the continual presence of room for improvement pushes me to make tweaks to my routine, such as incorporating more mindfulness and relaxation to have a calmer and more focused mind.)

And so, the aspects of my lifestyle that provide me with the opportunity to constantly grow, also extend me an olive branch on especially difficult or trying days, and its structured nature somewhat removes a burden from me of daily considering my responsibilities and sometimes neglecting to fulfill them.