I hated routines. It seemed like a lazy and ineffective way to go through life. I preferred the idea of being mentally agile and seizing opportunities that pop up – without having to break myself loose from a physical routine or a frame of mind.
As a pilot and commander of an AH-64 Apache company, I was very aware of the benefits of routines. For complex tasks in complex organizations, they were critical in reducing errors. The established systems and processes sometimes slowed us down, but they served an important purpose. I certainly wasn’t advocating “throwing away the checklist.” Rather, I felt we should think critically about when to use or not use the checklist.
I would push back against my pilots and crew chiefs who really craved routines. They always seemed to want a nice predictable rhythm of the flight schedule, aircraft maintenance, sleep cycles, workout routines, meal times, etc. Who wouldn’t?
I would have loved to provide all of that, but I genuinely feared that it would easily lead to a complacent “auto-pilot” mentality (pun not intended). That can be dangerous, especially in combat. I would sarcastically tell them things like, “Sorry, but we don’t get the luxury of a nice predictable routine in this war. Maybe next time.” When I needed to be more serious, I would say “What we do is important. I need your brain switched on and engaged in every decision you make and action you take, not just running in the background according to the routine.”
We learned that the enemy is very observant and will certainly take notice of our routines. And when he does, he will absolutely use that against you. Any time or effort spent un-rooting ourselves out of our routine is time and energy not directed towards solving the problem or seizing the opportunity. In the context of combat, these moments can make the difference between life or death. That was a powerful and hard-learned lesson that stuck with me.
For the most part, I used that general philosophy in my personal life as well. In this context, the enemy was unintentional. The older I got, the faster time seemed to go by. I didn’t want precious moments to be lost to some routine that no longer served a purpose. I didn’t want to have eggs and toast for breakfast because I have it every day. I wanted to have eggs and toast because I actually want to have eggs and toast.
Then along came COVID. Most of the external things that push and pull our daily lives in different directions went away. I no longer had to react to traffic or find a parking spot. The impromptu requests for lunch with a friend went away. The gym was closed and pickup basketball games stopped. All those opportunities that justified avoiding a routine disappeared.
My lack of routines was actually very helpful at first. I had no problem adjusting to staying at home, taking classes online, or connecting with people in different ways. After all, I wasn’t in much a routine to begin with. My philosophy was vindicated! Well, not so fast.
After those adjustments were made, there was still time left over each day that used to be filled by something else. Now what? Those were the hours I always had available to jump on any opportunities that came up. Without those, I was only left with my personal routines – and I didn’t have any.
I quickly realized that I did not need a lot of structure when I had enough curve balls to swing at each day. When the pitches stopped coming altogether, I started swinging at anything. I needed some structure to focus my energy. I decided to give routines another try. Contrary to what made sense to me, creating a few mindless routines led to some deep, meaningful thought.
There’s no avoiding the numerous, small, seemingly mundane things you do each day. However, they do not have to hold you back. If you can do those daily chores on auto-pilot, it frees your mind to think deeply about the really important things. Not having to think about eggs and toast allowed me to think about what type of career would be a good fit for me and my family. The key for me was to be very deliberate about what routines I will follow, but even more firm on what I will not turn into a routine. Don’t straddle the fence. Either be on auto-pilot or be completely engaged.
If nothing else, COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to re-examine our lives in some way. I gained a new perspective on routines that will help when life returns to normal.