I suppose that’s the price you pay for consecutive three-day weekends. With Monday being our busiest day at the News-Chronicle, it was strange last week to be sipping decaffeinated coffee in my pajamas at 9 a.m. instead of laying out pages. Strange, but nice.
Now it’s back to reality, and even though this week seems interminable, I’m glad. Being Lutheran and a fourth-generation German-Swede, it should come as no surprise that I’m a creature of habit.
For the sanity of my family and co-workers, that’s a very good thing. If I’m not ready to head out the door by 7:30 a.m., weekday or weekend, there’s a good chance nothing productive is going to happen that day. There’s a mental fork in the road at that time of the morning. One road leads to a day full of getting down to business ... the other leads to a Netflix marathon.
There’s a reason why most parenting books recommend developing routines for children — there’s nothing better for creating a sense of stability and security than knowing what to expect.
Take a look at any schoolchild’s daily schedule and you’ll see it clearly illustrated. Every minute is designated to a specific lesson or activity. If you ask any teacher, you’ll find out the most trying days in the classroom are the ones that diverge from The Schedule. (The capitalization is intentional; it really is that important.)
I don’t think it’s any different for adults. There aren’t many certain things in life, but having a general idea of what’s coming at you each day helps prepare you for that uncertainty.
It doesn’t take a big leap, then, to figure out why January is a popular month to purchase new personal planners and calendars, digital or otherwise. It’s a new year, time for a new start.
Benjamin Franklin suggested the following “scheme of employment for the twenty-four hours of the natural day”:
5-7 a.m. Rise, wash and address Powerful Goodness (God)! Contrive day’s business, and take the resolution of the day; prosecute the present study, and breakfast.
8-11 a.m. Work.
12-1 p.m. Read, or look over my accounts, and dine.
2-5 p.m. Work.
5-9 p.m. Put things in their places. Supper. Music or diversion, or conversation. Examination of the day.
10 p.m.-4 a.m. Sleep
Two questions should be asked every day, according to Franklin. Morning: What good shall I do this day? Evening: What good have I done today?
If a set routine was good enough for one of America’s Founding Fathers, it’s certainly good enough for me. While I don’t know that I’ll get up by 5 a.m. willingly (after the baby is born, though, sleeping in until then will be a luxury), it’s a good template to adapt for my own life.
Each day deserves routine to ensure a balance between work and play.
Sources: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and http: dailyroutines.typepad.com.
On the Lighter Side
Published January 11, 2012
2 comments:
This has reminded me (yet again) how much I need to schedule my life. I used to be the type to wake up at 5:30 every day, and now I find it difficult to wake up by 8:30!
It's a little more difficult when you're in college, I think. Your schedule changes from semester to semester and if memory serves, the rest is well-deserved! (Plus, your commute is a little shorter now than it was in high school!)
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