Routines: Monotonous but Necessary

January is a return to all things routine. It's a time to get "back into the swing of things," "back to the grind" and "back to the routine." None of those phrases have especially positive connotations associated with them.

The Christmas season contains so many special things— food, time with friends and family, and time off for the college student. Personally, I was able to spend many stress-free hours with my family playing games, battling at laser tag and traveling to Washington D.C. without the continued thoughts of school responsibilities looming over me. When we enter into January, however, the long winter months continue and we revisit the stress and monotony of our routine.   We are no longer able to hide from our responsibilities under the holiday season.

It is important to remember, however, that routine plays a very important role for all people, especially students.  Routine, in my view, has two redeeming qualities.  First, routine provides a structure for our lives.  While not having to be concerned with studying and work is heavenly, if we are without these ventures we are travelling aimlessly through our lives.

My eight-year-old son enthusiastically announced one morning, "Mom, I have the same routine every morning."  He then went on to explain in detail how he spends the first fifteen minutes when he enters school. He sees the benefit of beginning the day in a structured way in order to be able to complete the day's tasks.

Without routine, we can't accomplish our personal or professional goals.  Exercise routines are necessary to build muscle and prevent expansion of our waistlines, and study routines are necessary to build and expand our minds.

The second overlooked benefit is that the routine and the ordinary in life enable us to recognize and appreciate the extraordinary in life.  The routine events of our lives enable us to consider even the small happenings in life as extraordinary.  For example, how much more do we appreciate a day off after we have worked all week and what a gift it seems to be when a professor dismisses class a mere fifteen minutes early?

Last semester, after studying what seemed to be all evening, every evening, I often rewarded myself with 15 minutes of reading before bed.  The book I read was entitled A Walk in the Woods. It was about a man's quest to hike the Appalachian Trail.  It was certainly a respite to read about the outdoors after being restrained to my desk most days. I enjoyed that book immensely, because it provided a break from my tedious studying schedule.

A young woman at my church is returning to her classes at St. Francis College, and she has an 8 a.m. class every morning. (As I write this I can hear the collective groaning.) Because of this required sun-rise study, however, she will treasure her Saturday mornings all the more.

Our day-to-day demands allow us to enjoy our leisure, whether that leisure includes reading, running, sleeping or gaming.  So as our spring semester begins, with a bit of trepidation for some, let's try to embrace our schedules knowing that those schedules are getting us to where we want to be, and they are allowing us to recognize the little things in life as the extraordinary gifts they are.