Routines: Break The Boredom and Add a Spark

Up and at ‘em. The day starts at 6:30 a.m. Brush and floss your teeth. Make coffee or that healthy green smoothie. Exercise. Eat breakfast. Are you raring to go? Hey, it’s time to start your day. 

If you work from home…go to the computer and check email. Then start working. Take a snack break and walk around or go outside for a walk around the block or walk the dog if you have one. Allow 20 minutes to increase your step count and then head back to the computer. Lunch around noon. Back at the computer. Maybe a 30-minute break to read a newspaper or listen to a news show. Then back to work. If you still head into an office each day, that requires a different routine. But the idea remains the same.

Nighttime. Prepare and eat a light and healthy dinner, check email again, make any phone calls, then watch something on TV and/or read. Oops, it’s 11 p.m. Take Melatonin, practice deep breathing or meditation, do gentle stretches, then fall asleep, and the next day wash, rinse and repeat as the cliché goes.

Most of us develop routines that become comfortable, safe and, yet, sometimes boring over time. That’s why we have resorted to them. They’re familiar and give us assurance of what to expect. They also add purpose to our day. And, having them as part of our life daily or weekly can be easier than starting fresh with what to do and how to do it as we plan our time. Routines, if we’re working, helps in this department. If we’re retired, we have to rely on ourselves to impose a daily routine. 
While the routines provide a sense of security in knowing how we are going to spend most of our day and evening, it’s the variations or changes to the routine that add some sizzle and spark.

We veer in a different direction. Maybe we will schedule lunch with a friend or plan a visit to a museum or library or walk through a botanic garden, volunteer in a food pantry or help maintain a community garden. Some of us may love shopping for clothing or heading to a different retail store or bakery we’ve thought about trying. We wouldn’t want to do some of these activities every day or even every week; they’d lose their specialness if we did. But an occasional visit is what adds freshness to our routines and lives.

However, because some of us forget how to vary the routine,  we neglect ways to mix up and change scenarios. Here are 12 ideas, especially good now that the weather is warm and it’s more fun to get outside in the fresh air:

1.    Take a walk in a different direction. If you always head North, go South, East or West. Don’t plan, wander the streets and stop for a coffee or lemonade at a new place. Maybe, splurge and have lunch at a cute café. Talk with other diners or sit at the counter. Schmooze is always good for the soul and a break in the routine. Maybe take along your good camera with interchangeable lenses or use your phone and document what you’ve done that day on your walk that’s different. Maybe have a theme like children or flowers, insects or birds.  
2.    Look in your newspaper or online for some new ideas. Find an art gallery with an exhibition that sounds good or a bookstore or library you haven’t been to. Don’t think about devoting only an hour or so. Don’t plan, head there and see what you find. 
3.    Move your desk against a different wall or change your desk chair if you work from home. It might create a sense that you are in a different room. We know people who did that during Covid-19; they changed the four walls they stared at. Also, consider music while you work or a podcast, get dressed and out of your jammies if you also work from home. Comb your hair and put on lipstick if a woman or a nice shirt if a man.
4.    Even if not a shopper, consider a mall and wander and walk. You can window shop or go into stores and just look at the new equipment and appliances available at places like Williams Sonoma or into Blue Mercury and try new perfumes and smell soaps. A bakery or ice cream store might be too tempting but it’s fun to see the new variations on croissants or donuts or spring-time ice-cream flavors with some quirky combinations, all the rage. Some places let you sample new flavors. You don’t have to spend lots of money, or anything so don’t feel any pressure. But you could be a big sport and reward yourself with a treat.
5.    Wander into a park. Enjoy the sight of new bulbs emerging and trees getting buds. Birdwatch and if you do, be sure to pull out your camera or phone. A park this time of year will give you energy when it’s more alive with children bicycling and skateboarding and everyone is in a friendly mood. You may spy a pretzel or ice cream seller. Again, you might indulge and break your routine of not eating in between meals. That’s the joy of mixing it up. Bring along a book, magazine or newspaper and park yourself on a bench for some alone, quiet time.
6.    Call a friend or family member you haven’t been in touch with for a while. It’s always a good way to alter your routine and add a pleasant surprise to another person’s day. If they haven’t seen you in a while and vice versa you might make it a Facetime visit. If they haven’t seen your new home, why not give them a virtual tour.
7.    Rediscover your artistic side.  If you like to paint, play a piano or another instrument or sing, engage in that kind of activity. Using your other skills always adds joy and may encourage you to make it part of your routine. And if you practice daily at a certain time in the evening, change it up and practice in the morning.
8.    Cook, unless you hate doing so, can be another occasional way to add some spice, literally, to your routine. Make a cake or cupcakes or muffins or prepare a nice dinner and invite a friend. It doesn’t have to be all from scratch or even any of it. Head to a store like Trader Joe’s and they have fully prepared meals you reheat and so do many smaller grocery stores in their prepared food sections. Perhaps you go to a store that sells only spices, and you try some new ones in a new recipe for dinner that night. Or buy a lovely dessert at a bakery for a treat if you never eat dessert. 
9.    Attend a lecture about a subject you’d like to learn more about; not all are that expensive and often many are free. And maybe it’s part of a series so you can go and listen to several. Or go watch a movie in the late afternoon rather than always do so at home. Many theaters have day-time specials for seniors. There are also day-time concerts. 
10.    Go out for dinner during the week. Too many of us think of those days as “school” nights when we should be home and only go out on Fridays and Saturdays when many restaurants are much more crowded and sometimes hard to get into. You may even find certain places that have specials such as Wednesday chicken-pot pie night or Thursday meatballs and spaghetti. You never know until you try!
11.    On weekends, especially a Sunday, deviate. Sleep later, do not exercise but clean house, indulge in some unhealthy foods. Some people unplug and unwind. No cell phones, no iPads, no laptops, no work, nothing. It’s liberating. Sometimes we grocery shop for the week. Try a different store. Perhaps there’s a new supermarket in your area. Get milk, eggs, bread and maybe a treat—croissants or a pint of peppermint ice cream or pick up prepared foods for dinner so you don’t have to cook. On Sunday, go for an early dinner—maybe great burgers or Chinese food. Invite a friend or couple along.
12.    Plan a spontaneous vacation. Many of us think that vacations have to be planned long in advance and for a week or so. Find a place nearby—even a few hours away—where you can really escape for a night or two, walk along a beach, try pickleball or croquet, hike in the mountains or visit architectural treats such as a preserved Frank Lloyd Wright home. Don’t feel you have to stay at a swanky hotel; a lovely B and B is fine. The point is to escape from your routine and see an attraction you’ve long wanted to visit.  
Try any of these suggestions and you’ll most likely feel revived to get back to your regular routines. Even one day a week or month can do wonders for adding joy.