Note of the author: This article is a slightly negative but personal view of daily routines. I am aware that some people love routines. Therefore, if you love your daily routine, do not read any further.
I think most people can relate to feeling stuck in a daily routine. Growing up in a first world country is a high privilege. First world countries offer a convenient lifestyle to those who live in it. However, sustaining such a comfortable life requires MONEY. In order to make money, one must be an efficient worker. An important aspect of efficiency is organization. Therefore, routines must be set in place. Routines make people better workers, better organizers, and better contributors to first-world systems. As beneficial as routines seem to be, they can also be fatal.
If you are not born into a wealthy family, you have to make a living to survive. The costs are quite enormous in bigger cities. Therefore, people spend a tremendous amount of time working for money. I think it is legitimate to say that most people do not have their “dream job”. They often take jobs solely for the money.
Most dream jobs are outside the corporate world. That’s why they are called dream jobs. The corporate world typically requires around 8–9 hours of work five days a week. The less efficient you are the less value you have. Because of that, people create their daily routines to keep themselves in check. All for money.
Once you get into that routine you are trapped in a vicious cycle. I experience it at the moment. You give your time in exchange for money. That money is then consumed in your precious leisure time. Let´s be honest here. There is not much to do in a big city that does not require money to be spent. We are far away from nature since we replaced it with concrete jungles. We are separated from our roots.
Along with the daily routine comes something more dangerous- the demons that control our lives.
I am talking about these small habits that go unnoticed. The ones that take over our behavior and decision making. For example: Shopping for unnecessary things, smoking, drinking, eating junk food, or spending hours and hours glued to useless smart phone apps.
When you work 40 hours or more, five days a week, of course you are exhausted by the time the weekend arrives. The two precious free days, Saturday and Sunday, are used for leisure. Most leisure activities require spending money- the money that was earned during the week. Also, because social pressure is prevalent in our western society, we tend to compare our lives with others. This comparison is based mostly on status and materialistic wealth. For example: The weekend is used to meet friends and compare each other´s economic status on a drink or two. We go home thinking about why our friend has such a better paying job and if that is the reason for his new attractive girlfriend. We keep questioning what we could do better. Then Monday comes along and we are all stuck again in that same weekday routine. It is just like a hamster wheel. There is a saying that a hamster wheel looks like a career ladder from the inside. Although it is true that money gives you comfort and independence, it does not make you happy and should not be the main goal to work or to hustle.
The questions we tend to ask are: how do we get out of this monotony and get rid of the demons that come along with it? I think there are several steps to help solve this problem.
- First of all you have to realize the situation you are in. Are you happy with your job? Are you satisfied with the way your daily life? Ask yourself these questions and be honest with yourself.
- If you are not happy and satisfied, find ways to get out of there.
- That requires one thing foremost: COURAGE!
- Sometimes you have to stop doing what you are doing in order to succeed. Try a different approach. It reminds me of Einstein´s famous quote: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
- Stopping things that serve you no purpose such as: ending unhealthy relationships with friends or lovers; quitting a shitty job; stop anything that does not make you a better person!
- After stopping the bad habits, the next step is starting good habits: Reading a good book instead of chatting on Facebook© or Whatsapp©, Eating healthy food instead of junk food, Exercising instead of watching another movie.
- Consuming less in several areas of your life: Buying less unnecessary things and saving more, Not going out so much and saving that money instead for a bigger dream like traveling. Using money for things you truly want to do instead of spending it on distractions is a healthy way of spending.
- Connecting to the roots of nature again. Going to the park or forest instead of the cinema. It is free by the way 😉
- Finding quiet time for yourself only. Have some „you“ time. Meditation or praying could be helpful. Important is that you take time and let yourself be in a relaxed state. It helps you think clearer and make better decisions.
- Doing something in your leisure time that does not require any form of electrical or fossil energy for at least 30 minutes a day.
Writing and sharing these thoughts with other human beings is also a way for me to step out of the cycle and it brings me great joy if I inspire some of you to do something. I truly believe that a lot of people suffer from depressive states because of the social and financial pressures of society. But the good thing is that as long as you are able to read things like my little article over here, and you are actually doing some of the things I wrote about, then you are on the right track. Keep fighting your demons and eventually you will break out of the depression the cycle of daily routine brings. I experience it at times and when I stick to some of the steps I mentioned above, I feel a lot better and more connected to my core.