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Your Routines Are Too Important To Break

Breaking from your routines can have an effect on your day.

your routines are too important to break

Routines are important; we all have them. We use routines for almost every aspect of our lives. In fact, the way you tie your shoe laces is a routine.

And another thing: when you break a routine, it can mess you up. 

I have a routine every morning when I make my breakfast. But every once in a while I will do something out of order. It’s funny how I will stumble through making my breakfast that morning.

Routines are more than something we are accustomed to. They even get programmed into how our minds and bodies work. That means some of our routines become a part of who we are and how we function. 

That’s a good thing, by the way, because when a routine is so ingrained in us, we don’t even think about it. We just do it. It takes no thought on our part. It’s a process that works automatically.

And when you think about it, it would be brutal to have to use your brain to think through every thing you do. 

Routines are a lifesaver. 

Routines work in the background. You don’t even know all the routines you have. But during the day you use many of them to do things that you consider automatic.

But what happens when something interrupts a routine?

Maybe you have a morning routine to start your day, but you have an early meeting scheduled. It could be as simple as having to play hockey that clashes with your morning routine.

Of course you are going to play hockey and forget your routine that morning. You can usually work around routines, they are never life or death.

But they become such an important part of us that when we break those routines, even to do something we like, the routines makes us pay.

When we snub some of our basic routines, we can subsequently feel off-kilter for a while. 

In fact, maybe during that game of hockey that you broke your routine for, you might not play up to your standards. And the only thing you can point to as the cause of your sub-standard play is that routine that you broke.

The good thing is that breaking a routine doesn’t have to impact your life for a long time. You can easily get back on track – even by just making sure that you start your next day with your routine before doing anything else. 

However, if things in your life change, routines can change and be adapted. 

It might take a week or two. You may have to give it some time or thought, but before you know it, you make adjustments to your routine and everything is back to normal.

You are regular again.

Here’s the thing: The best way to meet with God is to have a routine – one that you don’t have to think about, that’s automatic. If you have time with God at the same time each day, know where you will do it and have what you need ready for you, when something comes up to break that routine, it won’t ruin you. You might feel off-kilter for a bit, but if you get back at the routine, everything will be back to normal by the next day.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What routine do you need to set up or change? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Break The Busy With A Getaway

When you are really busy, sometimes getting away is the best thing for you. 

… I don’t mean getting away in the sense that you drop everything that is creating the busyness in your life. I mean taking all that’s making you busy with you on your getaway.

It’s that old saying, “A change is as good as a break.” 

There have been times when I’ve taken my computer and headed to a coffee shop and worked there for part of the afternoon. 

If you know me, that’s a very odd thing for me to do. 

First all all, I don’t like coffee, tea or anything mocha. I can go months without stepping inside a Tim Horton’s, and when I do, it’s for a donut, not a coffee. 

I’m never in line for a macchiato espresso grande with a shot of cream. … You get the idea; I don’t frequent coffee shops. 

But the other reason this would be strange for me is that I need quiet to study.

Coffee shops are not quiet; they are community gathering spots. People go there for coffee but also to talk, to catch up, to share coffee and conversation. 

When I study, I don’t like music in the background or I will start drumming on my desk. I don’t like noises outside my office window or I will be poking my head through the blinds to see what’s going on out there. 

I like silence or I get distracted; I lose my focus. 

But for some reason that I don’t understand, the times I’ve gone to a coffee shop to work, I’ve found that I can get things done. 

I’m able to shut out the individual voices and settle down in the hum of background noise. 

I look like I fit right in … except I’m the only one sucking back a three dollar water and nibbling on an oatmeal and raisin cookie.

I don’t do this all that often, but the break, the change of scenery, the different environment helps me to get my work done. 

Well, this week I was anticipating a very busy week, so Lily and I headed up to our cottage … you know, that “change of scenery” thing. 

I worked long mornings both days we were there, but I was working in the environment where I spend most of my vacation time. 

I worked from a sofa, with the sun breaking through the windows. I didn’t walk around; I didn’t sit looking at the scenery. It was just a different, quiet, relaxing atmosphere to work in. It was a getaway. 

I was able to get a lot of work done, while also getting a much needed break.

Maybe the incentives of the cottage helped me get more done because, along with work, I was able to get in a bike ride, a little time on the beach and take in an amazing sunset (check out my quick video here: vimeo.com/292474748 ).

All in all, this getaway helped me accomplish what I needed to set me up for what would take place from Wednesday to Sunday.

Here’s the thing: Have you ever found yourself in a rut when spending time with God, like you are going through the motions? Maybe there is no emotion when you are doing your devotions, nothing stirring your heart towards God. Well, perhaps you need a getaway, a change of scenery, a fresh place to spend that time. Try something different and see if your time with God isn’t transformed by a getaway.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How could you be refreshed by a getaway? Leave your comments below.

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I Gained Weight Just Being There

What is it with conferences that you automatically feel about 10 pounds heavier when you come home?

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Is there something in the water or the air that adds weight to your body? I’m not sure what it is but I don’t like it.

I don’t think I’ve ever come back from a seminar or conference feeling like I even broke even in the weight department.

Is there anyone out there who knows my pain?

This weekend my wife, Lily, and I flew to the metropolis of Steinbach, Manitoba for a church conference.

I only had a glass of water on the plane but I was sure I felt a little heavier as I walked into the Winnipeg airport.

The feeling that I put on weight in all the wrong places didn’t go away since the first thing we did when we pulled away from the airport was drive directly to a restaurant.

It certainly didn’t help that after lunch we drove an hour, then sat in an orientation session for another hour, and then guess what we did?

We had another meal!

There is no way my body had time to process all the food I’d eaten at 1 pm. I don’t think an athlete with a metabolism that’s fine-tuned like a violin could process what I’d packed away for lunch and be ready, waiting and eager to partake in evening morsels at about 5 pm.

Conferences are good for two things: long meetings where you sit down and don’t move much for a couple of hours and breaks where you stand in one spot, usually close to a table that has some kind of food on it.

You repeat this process only to break it up with large meals and spending time in a hotel room that’s about twenty feet long.

Is it any wonder that by the end of the first day I felt like I was waddling into my hotel and crashing onto my bed, almost bouncing Lily off the other side? (… just kidding about that one.)

Day two I had a plan. This time I wasn’t going to take in any snacks between meals … but the fruit looked pretty good on the tables so I stayed close by and ate an apple.

I thought I needed to walk around more because in just two days my legs felt like they were covered in cellulite – can a guy even get cellulite? … at the very least, I’m sure I had lost all muscle tone.

At my age you don’t rebound quickly either. No, weight that only takes one day to gain will take a week to lose!

The thing is you don’t even realize you’re gaining weight when you are there. It’s like your body adjusts to the new weight overnight and you wake up feeling like you’re carrying the same poundage as the day before, which you’re not.

I think you have to be vigilant; you have to have a plan. You need to be disciplined to fight the conference convexity (look that one up).

So today I plan on no snacks at any break. I’m spending my time walking around the halls … maybe that will work.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes just being in a certain environment can have a negative spiritual impact on you. It’s not that you are doing anything wrong, but where you are is not generally conducive to spiritual health. You need a plan to ensure you can stay connected to God and are able to maintain a Christ-like attitude and posture.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you find difficult to maintain when you are away? Leave your comment below.