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The content explores the significance of routines across different life stages, highlighting their impact on personal development. It defines a routine as a sequence of regular actions that promote discipline and structure, essential for managing life’s complexities. The narrative recounts childhood experiences, including academic routines enforced with strict discipline, and transitions into adolescence, where students face increased academic pressures. As an adult, the protagonist navigates the challenges of job searching and ultimately finds fulfilment in a structured work routine. The piece emphasises the transformative power of routines in shaping character, fostering efficiency, and ensuring long-term mastery in both personal and professional arenas.
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- Routines play a vital role in personal development, offering structure and discipline throughout various life stages.
- Childhood routines enforce learning which lays the groundwork for academic success, despite feeling burdensome.
- As adolescents, students experience increased academic pressures, making regular study routines essential for advancement.
- Entering adulthood, job routines contribute to satisfaction and personal confidence, transforming challenges into fulfilling tasks.
- Routines must adapt over time; they shape character and learning while proving necessary for effective mastery and goal achievement.
What is routine?
He got up in the morning and had a cup of tea while reading the newspaper and scanning his computer for news. Finishing it, he freshened up, had a light breakfast before going to work. He does it daily. Though he did several other repetitive tasks, the morning one was an important routine. So, what is a routine? To put it simply, it is a sequence of actions that are regularly followed. A structured practice done consistently, without room for avoidance except during breaks or emergencies. Routines regularise life and foster discipline. Skipping them only complicates matters. Sometimes routines make life or things monotonous and taxing. It needs to be tackled as and when required. (BiologyInsides)
Childhood routines
In early childhood, children memorise letters of the alphabet. Though learning and practising them was a difficult task, it was necessary to finish; otherwise, they might face scoldings or even punishments. The older generation enforced study routines strictly, sometimes with physical punishment. Routines of learning the alphabet, cursive writing, and mathematical calculations like addition, subtraction, division or multiplication were absolutely necessary. The routines appeared burdensome, but with time their benefits made children sharp and practical, armed with the power of knowledge. Thinking of this, the septuagenarian instantly smiles and thanks the routines and the strict adherence of parents to them.
Routines of adolescence
With progression, the child becomes an adolescent, and their studies become heavier. Some children learn with difficulty, while others do not. Nonetheless, regular, routine practice of studies makes them strong. Despite this, some children are unable to do as expected but somehow manage to get the minimum marks to pass the examination and get promoted to a higher class. In olden times, it was quite a satisfactory thing, rather an achievement, to pass the examination and go to a higher class. The myth of their success would shatter, and the true ability would come out in the Board’s examination, which was tough and fair. Some average students like him failed in their Board examination. Failing the Board examination was seen as a mark of failure deserving punishment.
The boy worked as hard as he could and passed the Board examination on the second attempt with decent marks. The punishments in the routines stayed, but the magnitude changed significantly. Harsh comments and scoldings were a regular feature. The routines were changing from cramming the alphabet to understanding higher-level subjects, especially science. The nature of the routine changed; the physical reprimands became milder and were replaced by verbal abuse and harsh criticism. It did not end completely. This was another type of routine.
After completing his Master’s degree, he intended to establish a new routine, but circumstances intervened. He found himself in an unfamiliar situation, struggling to find employment while family expectations weighed heavily.
Job hunting
Finding a job was an uphill task. He tried his best and appeared in various competitive examinations, but success was far off. The period stretched, and he was about to break when he got the letter of appointment after seven years of struggle, frustration and dejection. Seven years of unemployment devastated his health and depleted his energy. People showed no compassion for his failure. Hard-pressed by the judgmental attitude, scathing and jeering, he couldn’t express his happiness after he got his appointment letter. Though later in his life he received many good pieces of news, none could surpass the receipt of the appointment letter.
New phase
A new phase was to begin where he was to work at least eight hours a day, six days a week and thirty days a month for more than three decades. There were paid holidays too to break the monotony of routine job life, but the office-going routine had now started. It was an entirely new type of routine. Every day, meeting a new challenge and the task of completing the assignments. Each successful completion of a task gave satisfaction and appreciation. It became an inseparable part of life – a routine that was etched on the mind,
Enjoying work
He never claimed to be a workaholic but never shirked his duties either. Work was enjoyment; he would draw pleasure while doing his work. It gave him satisfaction and helped him come out of his shell and gain confidence. His fragile confidence was built from repeated failures and people’s sarcasm. Nonetheless, that phase was over, and he was an independent person, free to do what he liked. A new routine was ahead. Those who used to curse him and left no opportunity unused to taunt him were swarming close to him. It was unpalatable to him but adjustable. He involved himself wholeheartedly in his work that gave not only self-satisfaction but appreciation from his senior officers as well.
New routines
Life gradually unfolded. A new series of routines had begun. In childhood, it was the routine of learning; during student life, it was the routine of going to school and university; and now, as an independent adult, the routine of going to his workplace. These routines were a part of his life. He had utmost respect for his work and did his job with sincerity. The work had provided him with a purpose: to look at life with a different perspective and also a chance to help others in need. It also aided in overcoming the pain and hardships of the past.
Routines are important
Routines should not be shelved. They add value to life and kindle a ray of hope for a better tomorrow. They might feel torturous, but that is momentary. It takes time to build a reputation. Sticking to positive routines subtly shapes an individual’s personality for the better. Like a necessary discipline, routines instigate change and enable learning. Repetitive work becomes ingrained as an integral part of the psyche and stays in the subconscious mind, only to manifest as the requirement of time. For proper retention and improvement, revision and repetition are necessary.
Gaining mastery
Repetitive work gives mastery over the field of work. The person becomes efficient and effective, adapted to tackle a complex situation. Their problem-solving attitude gets wide appreciation. A perfect blend of skill and effectiveness makes a person efficient and an asset to the organisation. Skilled typists were highly valued for their speed and accuracy before computers entered the official arena. The routine of using a typewriter with ease would make the person valuable. The feeling of enjoyment while doing work makes the person buoyant, preventing monotony. Often a break is necessary, but it is not shelving off the routines but postponing them for a brief lull. It refreshes from within and rejuvenates one to start the routine with new vigour and enthusiasm.
Routines are changeable
It’s easy to discern which routines are superfluous and which are not. No routine falls entirely into the latter category. One’s thinking evolves with life’s stages. Learning is possible as complexities increase over time; during student life, the focus is on studies, while employment brings a repetitive nature of work. Those who boast, calling themselves workaholics, saying they have no time to waste on eating food, live a life of sheer folly and a gaudy display of work addiction. Work is significant and can be enjoyable, but food is more important, for it gives the required energy to work.
Reflecting
Life’s journey brings new, exciting, and enjoyable moments. Even a strict routine can be a source of happiness when reflected upon in moments of solitude. In those quiet times, past experiences come to mind, smoothing out worries and refreshing spirits. It helps us to regain strength. They evoke a bittersweet nostalgia that offers pleasure amidst pain.
Abandoning routines is unfeasible for two main reasons. First pertains to those who responds slow often takes a long time to react, while second the routine is an integral part of life. Apart from breaking the monotony and taking a break, the idea of skipping a routine is not appealing.
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Kamal Kishore Srivastava
A retired government officer turned writer and photographer, Kamal Kishore Srivastava is a regular blogger and essayist who explores life’s deeper meanings through immersive reflections on nature, impermanence, and happiness. On his blog Nature’s Narrative, he blends philosophical storytelling with practical insights. Writing 1,200–1,500 words or more regularly, Kamal is committed to refining his craft, expanding his audience, and building a sustainable space where thought and feeling intersect.
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