The Value of Routine

We may hold things tightly for a limited time, but sometimes must relax to get a new hold. A new look at things, a new hold, is sometimes essential. But despite all this, there is value in routine and consistency. Routine is necessary for organization, for efficiency, for many kinds of accomplishment, and without it life would become chaotic. “A great deal of nonsense is uttered about routine,” said one observer. “People talk about the deadly round of routine [and it] is commonly thought of as a tiresome doing of the same thing over and over, but there is more in it than that…. The significance of routine lies never in what is done, but in what it is done for….” Further, “the performance of a certain routine gives…pleasures and satisfactions… peace of mind and happiness and contentment [and is] healthful to body and mind…. It is amazing how many complicated undertakings,…can come to be carried through [with routine]. Routine [does not necessarily mean a] monotonous treadmill to be [endured] day after day, but economies of time and of mental and physical energy. It means the relegation of the largest possible share of ordinary work to the subconscious mind and freeing the largest possible amount of time and attention for things of real interest and concern.” How could a factory, a farm⎯or a family⎯be run without routine? Even the life of a performer or creative artist is largely made up of routine, of practice and preparation. Even keeping the commandments should become routine. There should be no need for vacillation where moral standards are concerned. As Mencius said it: “Let men decide firmly what they will not do, and they will be free to do vigorously what they ought to do.” There are times when experimenting must be done, times when we must have a change of pace; but much of life moves with safe and effective satisfaction because of standards, of schedules, and sound decisions, and because of doing the routine and meeting the obligations of each day.