Little Rebellions

How a New Routine Unveiled Predictability and Possibility

I lost my job in January. It wasn’t unexpected, but don’t worry—I recently got a new one. I'll write more about those four months another time. For today, I want to reflect on how my routine abruptly changed and share something I noticed in the early days of unemployment.

With this newfound time on my hands, I began taking Will to school each morning and picking him up each afternoon. The car line is a story in itself, filled with many interesting lessons and revelations, not just in strategy but in psychology as well. But that's a topic for another day. To avoid the mass onslaught and mania of afternoon car pickup, I would typically arrive an hour early. I would read, write, catch up with people by phone, and work on projects. It was a great way to find some solitude and be productive while waiting.

Much of the time, I would stare out the windows of the car and think. I watched people walk, squirrels scurry up trees, and cars drive by. I began to notice something interesting: they were the same people every day. In fact, one of the drivers was a waiter at a restaurant I occasionally visit. Like clockwork, at 1:47 PM, he would pass by, no doubt needing to be somewhere by 2 PM.

Then I started thinking about myself and my routine. Even though I had lost my job and my previous routine, here I was—like clockwork—sitting in the car line every day at 1:30 PM. Oh, how quickly I had become a slave to my new routine in just a couple of weeks. The predictability of my schedule and the comfort of my routine began to feel like a very seductive trap. While I have appreciated (and needed) a new rhythm and routine for my sanity, I was sensitive about becoming a character from The Truman Show or Stranger than Fiction.

This realization prompted a small but significant shift in my behavior. Last Tuesday, instead of parking and waiting as usual, I decided to break from the norm. I parked my car a few blocks away and walked the rest of the way to Will’s school. On my way, I took time to snap some photos. While the fresh air and beauty were gifts, the best surprise was Will asking if we could just walk around downtown rather than immediately get in the car and go home.

It felt like a small act of rebellion, a leap into spontaneity and the unexpected. You may think that I am being overly dramatic. Maybe I am. But think about your routines and how you go from Point A to Point B every day. Think about how predictable it is that you will be at the same spots at certain times on certain days. And now consider how refreshing it would be to break out of that routine just once and do something new, exciting, and different. Considering the possibilities of where this might take you is making you excited, I can tell.

Question

1. How much of my daily life is governed by routine, and what might I discover if I dared to break away from it, even just for a day?

Peace,

Brandon