Embracing rhythms over routines

Choosing flow in a world obsessed with structure and control

Hello you!

Virginia Woolf spent her days writing, reading and walking with her husband Leonard. She didn’t exactly breeze through life considering her mental health struggles but how she chose to exist sounds sublime to me. I imagine how gently the time passed, slow and rhythmic. Her simple and natural approach is so brave.

My word of the year is flow and we’re getting along well so far. The biggest shift I’m making to embody my word is abolishing routines in favour of rhythms. I love a routine, a checklist and a schedule but I can also cross over into unhealthy obsession, using them as an outlet for control. When an unexpected obligation crops up or I fall out of routine I can feel like I’ve failed and the whole house of cards collapses.

The problem with routines is they can easily become a coping mechanism for modern chaos. They have their place for sure but for me productivity culture can feel overwhelming and the glorification of structure becomes a stick to beat myself with. When we turn to routines as control mechanisms we’re faced with the illusion of control vs the reality of unpredictability. I’ve also found that strict adherence can stifle spontaneity and growth because I don’t allow myself to follow my curiosity.

We know routines are failing us when we burnout from rigidity or fall into crippling guilt and anxiety when they break down. Virginia’s life doesn’t sound routine to me. It’s more fluid and open to how she felt that day or in a particular moment, which I imagine it had to be because of her mental health. Still, she remained close to her anchors that grounded her and has been quoted saying ‘the mind must be allowed to settle undisturbed over the object in order to see it dispassionately,’ which reflects her understanding of the need for calm and clarity around her creative life and delicate mind. She knew what she needed and was committed to meeting those needs.

Rhythms on the other hand are natural patterns of energy, focus and rest. We only have to look at biological rhythms, hormonal shifts, moon cycles and the seasons for inspiration of how they work. The key differences between rhythms and routines are fluidity vs rigidity and adaptation vs repetition. They’re tides not clocks or jazz instead of sheet music.