The Power Of Routines
With schools getting started for another year, I have been back in schools a lot these past few weeks and one of the things we talk about is the importance of routines. I had to chuckle when an email from Starbucks yesterday was focused on “Getting Back to Routine with Starbucks” (see featured photo). This got me to thinking about the power of routines for all of us. When I’m home, I definitely have a routine. In the morning I brush my teeth, make the coffee, go out and feed (which takes a while right now because I have cows calving, baby calves to feed, and all the heifers coming back from being shown), and then go check fences and pastures. Then I like to sit on the back porch do some reading, studying, and watch cows go back out to pasture. Others call these things habits, but I think the better term is routine.
I love the places I get to go but I am always ready to get back home to my routine. So, why are routines so powerful? Those routines give us sustained focus and energy. People ask me how I am always coming up with wild and crazy ideas. Well, most come to me during those morning and evening routines around the farm. My mind gets cleared and I begin to focus on thoughts in my mind.
For our children, and adults alike, I would argue routines help us learn self-control. I believe Starbucks got it right with their ad campaign. It is not really about the coffee; it’s about the routine. When people say they can’t function without coffee in the morning, I believe it is more about the routine of having coffee. I’ve been working on a project with a great school superintendent at Silver Creek School Corporation, Dr. Chad Briggs, recently and reflected on the days when Chad was assistant principal and I was a teacher. We were always the first two in the building every morning and it was a race to see who would make the first pot of coffee.
I can’t speak for Chad, but for me it was not about the coffee. It was about the quality time we would spend discussing school events, academic data, or new and innovative ways of educating our children. I still miss that morning routine with him. This highlights the power of having collaborative routines with others. It also points to the power of routines for learning; both for us as adults and our students.
In his great Psychology Today article, “The Power of Daily Routines: Boring daily routines can lead to well-being and creativity,” Dr. Clay Drinko said, “There’s some magic in the mundane, some mystery and fun in the same old thing.” There really is power in our routines. So, whatever our routines are, let’s embrace and appreciate them.
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