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Rigid routines are often celebrated as the secret to productivity and success. The idea of perfectly scheduled days promises efficiency, discipline, and a sense of control. But while sticking to a strict routine can bring structure, it also comes with its own set of challenges.
1You’re Relying on Every Day Being Perfect
Don’t get me wrong—it’s great when everything goes to plan. But unfortunately, life happens and some of your days will get thrown off-track. This could be something as small as going a few minutes over on a task to something big like a family emergency.
When you rely on every day being perfect, and something inevitably happens, you make it harder to complete your daily tasks. Moreover, I’ve found that I grew resentful toward others when I didn’t really need to.
Routines should be sustainable, and as part of this, you should allow for flexibility if needed. For example, suppose you’vebuilt a rigid morning routinethat includes you getting coffee from your favorite cafe. What if you go there to realize they’re closed today? Driving to another cafe will surely consume unallocated time, and will put your strict routine in shambles—potentially ruining your entire day.
2You Have No Room for Creativity
Sometimes, you’ll have your most creative ideas when you least expect them. For example, I’ve occasionally started my other tasks a few hours late because I had a sudden surge of creativity. My best works often come at spontaneous moments, but your mileage might of course vary. A rigid routine doesn’t allow for such creative bursts.
Oddly enough, I actually think that placing some restrictions can help you be more creative. However, I think that rigid schedules can be more of a hindrance. Outline your most important daily tasks and leave some space for your creativity to thrive.
3You Will Eventually Burn Out
I cannot count the times I’ve been overwhelmed by rigid routines, and all it does is lead to inaction and brain fog. Being inflexible almost always causes me to feel like I’m behind on my work, and I always give myself the hollow promise that I’ll finally rest once I catch up.
Spoiler alert: There will always be more work to do, and you will never catch up. Coming to terms with this, and relinquishing control, is empowering and sustainable in equal measure. Being disciplined but flexible is, in my opinion, one of the best ways todeal with workplace burnout.
4You Could Potentially Delay Project Completion
I’m sure that multitasking works for some people, but I am not one of them. Focusing on one thing at a time has always led to better results for me, and the quality of my work is also significantly higher when I do. Rigid routines have, more often than not, been a form of trying to do too much at once.
Some projects, such as your college thesis, need to be broken into smaller chunks. But for many of my daily tasks (e.g.writing articles), I’d rather complete one before moving on to the next. Having to continue later because my routine said so has always delayed my projects and resulted in more frustration than it’s worth.
If you have bigger projects, consider allocating them as much time as they need based on your availability elsewhere. Doing so will, from personal experience, help you finish them much faster.
5Being Overwhelmed Leads to Procrastination
Every time I procrastinate, it’s almost always one of two things: having too much to do at once or stretching too far beyond my current skill level.
Rigid schedules almost always lead me to the first category. If I feel like I have to follow my routine to a tee, I eventually get overwhelmed and my brain stops thinking. Unsurprisingly, this leads to getting less done and a vicious cycle of the same thing happening the next day.
While you should have a routine, you also need to make it work for you. In many cases, being too rigid will result in less progress toward your goals than otherwise. Keep some flexibility in your routines and be more of an essentialist with your daily tasks; most of the things you add probably won’t make a big difference.
