The no routine routine

There are often weeks (sometimes months and even worse, sometimes years) when it's all you can do to keep your head about water. One thing happens, then another and then another. Some of the things that happen are good things but that doesn't make them any less complicating.

It's kind of like building a house of blocks. It all goes along very well - you have a plan, a routine, you stick to it, and then someone - or something - comes along and adds another block. And then someone else does the same. Or someone takes one away.

And then your blocks collapse, all is chaos, and you have no idea what to do next.

You can manage one of those things happening, sometimes even two, but the third and fourth and fifth things completely throw you. You lose whatever rhythm you had going - you know, work and writing and family and friends and... All those other things that we either have to do or love to do have toppled whatever control system or routine you had in place.

My life is like this ALL of the time. Every day or week or month or year I try for a new routine, one that will work right through the addition or subtraction of blocks. It works for a few days, sometimes even a month, and then that darn block too many topples my routine. Or that darn invisible hand (of fate? of chaos? of life?) takes away the block that was the cornerstone of my routine.

I've realized that the only routine that works for me is to have no routine. Oh, I'm going to try to have things that I accomplish every day - but those things are going to be done is very very very small blocks so no matter what happens, I can still do them. Every week is going to be different and, although I can create a new routine each week, that's a whole lot of work for a short period of time.

So this week I'm creating a whole new system for organizing my life. I'm calling it the no routine routine. There are a few things - writing, friends, family, work - that have to into my routine but I'm going to be flexible about all of them. If I have to write in half blocks, that's what I'm going to do. But I AM going to write every day. If I have to see my friends for breakfast instead of dinner and wine, that's what I'm going to do. If I have to exercise - ewwwwww - at 6:30 in the morning, that's what I'm going to do.

It's going to work. I know it.