We all know these moments – changes happen, and we must not only create new routines from scratch, but also profoundly adjust existing ones. Even – and maybe especially – when the changes are wanted and welcome, it can feel as if we had a perfect set of cards, and suddenly life starts playing chess. We find ourselves literally having too much on our hands, so we stop doing certain things to free up time. Dropping an activity does exactly that – it unlocks your time, so one would expect to feel relieved and happier. However, the result is often the opposite: stopping a routine is frequently accompanied by the feeling of unease, dissatisfaction and has a strange aftertaste. This might sound counterintuitive. The credo of this blog has unvaryingly been starting with the fundamental question, “But why is it this way?”, and this occasion is no different.

Our routines serve as a backbone for structuring our time; they are literally the basis of our everyday lives. Routinizing something means you do it automatically, costing you less effort and energy, and thus freeing up your cognitive resources. With that, practice not only makes perfect, but also reduces the cognitive load, as supported by research. This is how routines make you free. By the virtue of the same logic, once you fail to execute a routine, you automatically increase your overall cognitive load. This is not just tiring; it is worse if you look closer. Dropping a routine during other turbulences or changes becomes a stress multiplier, making the overall construction shakier. You can think of it as of a Jenga game: one building brick is removed from the base and the time you dedicated to it becomes an extra load placed on top. This is the perfect moment to shift our attention from the foundation right to the top, where a cherry is waiting for us. Say, sports have been integral for your stress management, and now sports routines are disrupted or even dropped. This is a perfect storm. Discontinuing sports under such conditions negatively impacts your overall well-being and mental health. Consequently, feelings of unease, apprehension, and even anxiety will be the most natural outcomes.

Now that we have had our fun with cards, chess and Jenga, let us briefly play domino. Not all habits are created and installed equal. Some play the pivotal role of cornerstone habits. Cornerstone habits act as a trigger or door opener for the execution of other habits and routines. The beauty is that such routines create virtuous circles for you. If your morning sports routine has become such a habit for you, the days that you start with a workout will be the days you will stick to healthier patterns and are overall more productive and effective. If there is a beauty, there must be a beast – after all, we are on the dark side today. The beasty side to such habits is that skipping such a routine is likely to initiate a domino effect. For example, skipping your morning sports increases the chances of your good eating habits sliding, you might procrastinate more, and be less productive in general. Before you know it, the day is over, and you have accomplished much less than you had expected, and you even don’t know where the whole time went. And then you suddenly remember that it all started with you trying to gain some time… Ironic, isn’t it?

The picture would have been incomplete if we hadn’t talked about one major point. To quote Aristotle, “we are what we do repeatedly”. Once fully integrated, routines and habits become part of our self-identification. From somebody who goes running once in a blue moon, we gradually become a person, who runs regularly. Then one day, suddenly, we wake up as somebody who even has special sneakers for competitive half marathons. Once we have reached this level, having to drop a routine poses an existential question: “Am I still that person?” This question is a door opener for all sorts of negative feelings and sentiments, while general unease and dissatisfaction are the first to rush in.

This looks very bleak… does it mean we have to do everything in our power to prevent changes from entering our lives? Absolutely not! That would mean having no growth, and let’s face it, make life very boring. Plus, it is hardly realistic, as many changes will not only bypass your permission before crossing the threshold, but will also kick down the door frame while storming in. Does it mean then that we should avoid having routines in the first place to stay always flexible and readily available for all changes of the wind? Again, absolutely not! Routines are one of the greatest inventions of all time. In fact, there are ways how we can have the best of both worlds – and this is exactly what we will discuss in two weeks. Same time, same place.