As I’m walking to work (instead of cycling, which I normally do, in an effort to slow down the mind somewhat) I was thinking of what other things I could do to try and break the routine of a workday. What are other people doing?
When I lived within walking distance of my work, I used to try to take a slightly different route every day. Not by a lot, just a different side street here or there. You might see some cool street art or a nice flower or get to meet a friendly dog or cat.
Man alive I wish I had a daily routine. You all don’t appreciate what you’ve got.
I try to avoid breaking the routine. Today, my morning was different from normal, and as a result, I forgot to take my lunch with me. Good job!
As long as I put my phone and keys in the same place every day, I will always find them easily. As soon as I break that routine, they just disappear mysteriously.
Bonus is now you can choose whatever you want for lunch!
Wait why would you want to break your daily routine? I’m currently struggling to get into one.
Breaking monotony helps me keep my day interesting haha
Much of this slots into time outside work rather than the workday itself.
- walk a different route to a destination
- pick an algorithm and walk with no destination (eg: straight until you hit a light not in your favor, then turn. Works in urban envs)
- go somewhere you don’t normally go. Eg: library, different coffee shop, that little art store you always see
- go to the library. Walk along the shelf with eyes closed and pick a book at random.
- pick a genre of music you never listen to. Listen to it.
- cook or prepare a meal unlike your normal fare
- go to a thrift store. Buy a cheap article of clothing you wouldn’t normally wear. Wear it. See how it feels
- find free or cheap art (music, theater, whatever) in your area. Go.
- journal. Spend a few minutes writing down your day’s details
- hit wikipedia’s random article button. Read it.
There are multiple meanings of “routine”. From your description I see you want to add variety.
To spice things up, I usually get a coffee from the shops. When that gets boring, I go to a different shop or at a different time. There are dry erase dice that one can write actions on the different faces of.
For those looking to break a habit, I usually do it by adding something, nearly anything early in the day. No reason to get a coffee at the shop if I am holding a coffee from home.
