Routine or Ritual? Both! Here’s why:

A routine is: habitual actions, that you do in a specific order, regularly (i.e. morning routine: wake up, shower, get ready, eat breakfast, make lunch..)

They are based on habit; repeated enough that you have them on autopilot.  The benefit of a routine is limiting your decision fatigue.  You only have a certain amount of energy each day to put into decision making, once it’s gone.. it’s hard to recharge.  By having tasks organized into a routine, you don’t have to decide what to do next every time you switch a task, you already know what you’re doing because you are following your routine. 

Routines are great for perfectionists (aside from saving decision making energy) they limit overthinking and overwhelm.  You don’t have to think about what’s next (+ overthink the pros/cons), you just do it.  There aren’t five tasks to potentially do, there’s one.  

What’s a ritual?

I’m going to breeze past religious rituals (though they are technically the same) and tell you that a ritual includes the meaning you make out of a task.  It can be similar to a routine in that you repeat it regularly, but instead of just ticking the tasks off the list, you acknowledge their value more.  Rituals involve intention, attention and repetition: you have a good “why” behind what you are doing, you remain present during it and you do it regularly.  Simply put, it makes the task special.  To you.

A ritual doesn’t have to take more energy than a routine, but the “autopilot” nature of blasting through a routine isn’t part of a ritual.  You might not have to actively think about what you are doing next because it is habitual, but you are still paying attention (autopilot/dissociation is off).  You notice the act you are doing, how it makes you feel, the meaning you take from it, why it’s special to you. 

Rituals are usually more enjoyable than a routine. Anytime there are some tasks you genuinely want to do, you want to feel more meaningful but you find you either are blasting through them without much thought or are avoiding them altogether; try to turn it into a ritual. 

Your perfectionist mindset might be saying: but that’s not efficient, that would be a waste of energy, that feels unproductive… But don’t listen to it.  If you can overcome those thoughts around creating a ritual, you’re on track to stop your perfectionism from ruling your life.  

That being said, there is limited time in the day and most of us aren’t in a position to create a day full of rituals.  This is where routine is handy.  Creating a routine is best for little tasks that you don’t want to indulge in, that add value but not meaning to your life (i.e. for me, brushing my teeth would be a good example).  Those tasks are great to work into a routine, to get more on autopilot so you can save your energy for what matters most to you.  A ritual can also be part of a routine.  My journaling ritual is a step in my morning routine (for example).

Creating a ritual: example

In an effort to not be too vague with “just make it a meaningful ritual” here are some examples of how you can make a journaling habit a bit more special (basically for free too).

~ lighting: find a patch of sunshine, natural light or turn the lights lower to set the mood

~ enrich the experience: brew a cup of tea, light a candle, put on some background music

~ dedicated space: a physical location in your house, one journal you always write in

~ protected time: make time to do it, slow down, show up for yourself

~ depth: journal beyond the weather/to-dos.  What feelings are hard right now?  What prompts can you use to dig below the surface? 

If you have made it this far and are still skeptical: you need it most. Try creating a ritual this month and decide after you’ve followed through on intention, attention + repetition if it adds meaning to your life. Your perfectionist mindset is lying to you!