The Myth of the “Daily Routine”
Here is a maddening circle of circumstances that those of us in creative professions have to contend with:
If we want to reach our creative professional goals and fulfill our potential, we need to make progress which requires consistency and routine.
…AND…
……….There is no such thing as consistency or routine in creative professions!!!
…It’s infuriating…
Even in long-term scenarios, there’s only so much consistency:
In a Broadway show? Some days you have 2 shows or 1, afternoon or night….. At best you have a weekly routine. Not a daily one.
Are you a solo-artist (writer, painter etc) on a commissioned project with lots of say over your schedule? You can make a solid routine! But eventually the project gets shipped and comes to an end. Then back to the drawing board until the next deal comes.
Part of a TV show that’s been on the air 10 years as an actor, director, writer, or crew member? Amazing! Your call-times change every day- then there’s press days, events, etc.
^^And these are the best-case scenarios.
The rest of us take matters into our own hands and make a well-intentioned attempt at the elusive “daily routine.”
Then things pop up like auditions, gigs, requests, (on top of the regular “life” stuff) that take our attention and disrupt our plans.
…Rinse/repeat….
Ask any creative freelancer “What does a typical day look like for you?” and you’ll probably get a panicked expression, and then maybe a BS answer.
…But we DO need to put in practice and consistent work to stay on top of our game to be prepared when these opportunities present themselves!
(Gahhh!)
So what do we do about it?…
…I don’t know…
I’ve been trying to figure it out for a decade.
But…here are some things we could explore together:
Letting go of the “Daily Routine” Dream.
Many of us believe that the perfect daily routine exists…we are just failing to live up to it.
If you’ve held this belief a long time (as I have) yet you still don’t have a routine you can hang your hat on (as I don’t)…it’s time to release this belief!
It might be doing us more harm than good.
Acknowledge that a daily routine requires the luxury of predictability that we simply do not have.
→ Instead: Try embracing “Pocket Routines”
Or we can call them “if/then” routines.
Some examples I’m playing with:
“If I have to commute to the city, I work on a blog post on the train ride home.”
“If I’m working from home, my morning routine looks like…”
“If I’m scheduled to teach in the afternoon, I sing for 30-60 min. after my last lesson.”
“If I have an audition that day, my warmup routine looks like…”
Reminder, a habit is “an automatic response to a stimulus.” The stimulus doesn’t have to present itself in the same exact way every day.
…
“But Beth! You’ve taught us all these habit tools so we can show up every day! If you’re saying there’s no such thing as true consistency, aren’t all these habit tips pointless?”
No!
This brings us to…
2. Make a plan. Hold it loosely. (Expect the unexpected)
Yes! Do all your habit homework- set a cue, create a reward, find accountability, put it in the calendar (in pencil).
These tools support us greatly when surprises don’t pop up, and these systems keep us progressing instead of flailing when we do have a say over how our time gets spent.
WHEN things pop up and the plan has to change…
Move it, or Shrink it.
Maybe you have a list of things you do every day. But the “when” and “how-long” changes day-to-day.
Put the ideal time in the calendar, but if plans suddenly change, move it to a new place on the calendar,
(Note: this requires buffer time in your calendar! This won’t work if you are booked up every waking hour! If you’re a creative professional-prioritize flex time!!)
Or shrink it:
do it for 10 minutes.
Or 5.
It’s okay. We can’t do everything at our very best all the time.
But this keeps the important/big picture things part of our daily lives, even when the urgent pops up.
Plan for perfection, then let it roll off your back when the plan inevitably goes awry.
…
I’m just starting to embrace these ideas as we speak- I am far from masterful at this. But I’m finding more peace and more progress already.
Author Matt Haig has a quote I’m obsessed with “Get a routine baggy enough to live in.”
Would you like to join me? Which of these experiments might you try with me this week?