Let’s talk about routine.
As made painfully obvious by my inability to post on here daily even though I am only 11 days into 365 of these things, routine is not something I am good at. There’s the saying “routine is the enemy of creativity”, and it’s the reason so many people feel stuck in their day-to-day. That’s a big reason I have always hated routine: I have always hated the idea of being stuck in one place. Granted, I could sit in one place for 4 hours watching my favorite shows on Netflix, but only because I turn my brain pretty far down to just enjoy what I’m watching. But even my Netflix watching is sporadic. The idea of being held to the same things every day used to absolutely terrify me to my core. So much so that I worked at Disneyland for three years because I thought the lack of schedule was a wild and appealing concept (boy was I wrong).
After having experienced the mass chaos of not only working at Disney but reworking my life, friendships, dreams, and activities to revolve around it, I have grown to enjoy the idea of having a set group of things I do at the same time daily. My new job is a 7a-4p desk job that high school me would have lost her shit over (however, high school me would be pretty psyched that I have purple hair and get to wear my own clothes instead of a costume/uniform. It’s all about balance). But what I’ve come to realize is that having some kind of routine has actually allowed me to work more spontaneity into my daily life.
Because I realize the work that I do is monotonous and keeps me indoors, I find myself craving adventure and extra activities during my day. I find myself out on walks more. I find myself exploring the city for those wonderful little coffee shops I adore. I find myself more excited to work on my music because I’m not exhausted by a circadian rhythm that forgot how to work properly since….. probably forever. So, slowly, I’m finding that maybe routine is actually greatly needed for creativity and happiness. Instead of fighting sleep, schedules, and uncertainty all the time, I actually get to think ahead and use my energy to pursue activities, goals, and relationships that refill my emotional cup.
I still get nervous that ten years down the line I will have forgotten the dreams I had in the midst of burying myself into a stable job and the ideas of comfort. But hopefully that fear is what drives me to create the needed balance that gets me to where I ultimately want to end up. I will be sure, though, to pencil in plenty of adventure along the way.
Heart Matters 