Freedom through routine
Somehow, “routine” took on a negative connotation. It became associated with rigidity and boredom. The term needs a rebrand: it’s really an enabler rather than a constrictor, creating the conditions for serendipity and creativity. I doubt there’s a single world-class performer in sports, art or business who doesn’t leverage routine.
Ryan Holiday covers this in Stillness is the Key:
It was Eisenhower who defined freedom as the opportunity for self-discipline. In fact, freedom and power and success require self-discipline. Because without it, chaos and complacency move in. Discipline, then, is how we maintain that freedom.
We underestimate the mental tax small decisions have on us. If we don’t stop to reflect on all the minor choices we had to make in a single day or week, we risk a creeping fatigue that slowly creeps in like a virus. Then, when something urgent and unexpected happens and requires significant mental processing, our batteries are at 20% and we make suboptimal decisions. There’s no room left for creativity.
When we not only automate and routinize the trivial parts of life, but also make automatic good and virtuous decisions, we free up resources to do important and meaningful exploration. We buy room for peace and stillness, and thus make good work and good thoughts accessible and inevitable.
Routines are also emotional regulators. Humans hate uncertainty, and routines create a sense of agency, strength and accomplishment—all fodder for confidence. They become familiar touchstones amidst unpredictable days, months or years.
This can be especially valuable for those who expect major turmoil in their day-to-day, like startup founders. Especially when the team is small, founders toggle between functions, strategic vs. tactical, putting out fires etc. The more a founder can create routines for herself, then at various levels of the company (daily, weekly, quarterly, annually), the more focus and creativity will go up.
The key is to view routines as containers, as foundations, as systems that enable, rather than as ends in and of themselves. Don’t write a monthly investor update just to do it, or just to please your investors. Do it because repeatedly blocking time for creating it clarifies your thinking and helps the company.
As with anything, how you frame routine is how you will experience it. Think of it as a chore, and it will feel burdensome. Think of it as a lever, and it will feel freeing.