The Importance Of Routine

The Importance of Routine
An Whimsically British Glance at Daily Routines

There’s a point where life feels half a jigsaw puzzle and half a jape. A tidy queue of tiffs with the kettle, the frantic hunt for the rightful sock amongst the laundry, the morning chorus of buskers on a stop sign‑lit street—this is where routine steps in, like a well‑timed train on the Northern Line, to keep everything running on track.

It’s easy to picture routine as a stiff, monotone string of actions akin to marching in a military parade. But let’s brighten that image with a dash of whimsy. Think of routine as the polite, patient gardener who tends a bed of daisies while the daisies gossip about the latest gossip in the garden. Each day it performs its role with the same cheerful inevitability, and the garden is never overgrown with excitement (or with weeds).

1. A Morning Waltz

The day doesn’t start until the mass‑bap of the alarm clock chides you into life, “Rise and shine, dearest!” The kettle hisses, the roast scent fills the apartment, and the biscuits out of the tin slowly lick the light of the new morning. In this tiny ritual, routine adds a rhythm to the otherwise random flurry of the day. That rhythmic cadence means that when lunchtime rolls around, you’ll be well prepared—stiff posture and satiety parallel each other like good friends.

2. The Tick‑Tick of the Clock

Imagine Life’s Arcade: you’ve just spent a cheerful afternoon chasing a field of butterflies, but the time keeps ticking—tick‑tic‑tic. Here routine enters the frame with the same dedication as a Bletchley Park codebreaker. A regular train of tasks ensures that when the “Time & Date” clock decides to bolt further, you will still have order—a subtle reminder that you’re in charge, not the maddening reroute as you’re running for the bus.

Think of the lorry of deadlines and sports. The bus stops at 10:30 am, the lorry schedules itself at 3:15 pm, the teacup that has to be turned upright at 4:45 pm—routine is that silent guide that positions each element so the next one can find its spot without tumbling.

3. A Cultural Pause for Thought

British film flick about rare silver dolphins shows sea‑creatures, but routine helps move this narrative plot inside. Routine is the polite pause that gives the mind time to dig deeper: Are we looking after the right bouquet of people? Do we have a safe harbour, a good cup of tea, private respite?

You could consider routine your existential compass: it ensures your geography and your internal narrative line up. In times of crisis, it can act as your ship’s anchor or your bridge to communication, and even your umbrella on a drizzle.

4. The Animal Macarena

We’re not alone. Herding cats, terrier poachers and hamster whirling wheels that sway to an invisible tune all have routine. They march in a circular chiaroscuro; the dogs do a tango onto the couch; the cat selects a single retractable door and strides back into the frayed fringe until a new routine. Whether man or beast, routine behaves as a support and a scaffold—enhancing the art called life.

5. The Grand Finale

The final flourish of the day is to collapse upon the sofa, boots off, and perhaps a good‑old slice of Victoria Sponge. Routine has let us navigate the world in such a good, almost pleasingly clunky way that we can rise, breathe, and laugh.

If routine isn’t useful, it’s as if we were being steered by a drunk old lorry driver. But once you give it a schedule, the world becomes calmer. The main message is clear: Routine does not coerce your treasure trove of life into ways that blind the skies; it simply covers the ground with an enveloping cardigan: the warmest habit of all.

In short: Think of routine like a trusty garden hose poured through summer rain. It irrigates your day, not only making them manifest, but also provides the “rough” that the star of the day can use to grow in freedom. In a topsy‑turvy world, the daily tidy let‑through route holds up as the best-ever answer, and so we say: Let us get on with it, routine.