Is Your Routine Boring You to Death?

Our lives require a certain degree of routine. For some people, routine helps them keep order to their day. For others, it lowers stress in their life. And still for others, it is required to get them out of bed in the morning.

No matter how faithful you are to a routine, December changes all that. For a huge number of people, the entire month is about getting ready for the celebration of Christmas. From gift shopping to office parties to welcoming a New Year, the changes that come with December force most of us out of our regular routines.

The first week of the New Year snaps us back to reality. It is a return to a weekly routine for most people, and it’s certainly true right now as we shake off the “Holiday Hangover.” The return to a routine will be comforting to many people as they experience the predictable rhythm of the day. The problem with routine is it offers with it a level of boredom, and too often this boredom contributes to disengagement in our personal and professional lives.

We may be comforted by routine, but we need to shake things up a little. So as you begin to settle back into your routine in the New Year, I challenge you to throw something into your day to make 2018 a little different than 2017. Some of you can handle big changes to your routine to take your game to a whole new level. Take ‘em. Others of you get stressed just thinking about changes to your routine. Take some small steps. Change your route to work, start your work day at a different time, change your daily schedule, or rearrange your office. If you can’t rearrange your office, rearrange your desk. Anything. Just do something to change up your routine.

Organizational culture can be driven by great leadership. It can also be driven by the personal engagement of each person in the organization. While we can’t always control what leaders do in an organization, we can choose to enhance our personal engagement. So as you enter into 2018 with the hope of great things ahead, commit to enhancing your personal engagement by breaking up the routines that can lead to boredom. You can choose to fall into a rut from the boredom of routine, or you can choose to shake things up a bit. Choose well!

Here's to a great 2018!

Clint Swindall

? 2018 Clint Swindall — Clint is the president & CEO of Verbalocity, Inc., a personal development company with a focus on leadership enhancement. For information about how he can enhance employee engagement in your organization, please visit www.verbalocity.com, or contact him directly [email protected].