Is establishing a routine important to help manage anxiety and overwhelm?
As with most big questions, there are two sides to this. Yes, it can be a helpful tool, and no, it can cause more anxiety and overwhelm - so the bottom line is it depends on your circumstances.
For most of us, having a routine helps to reduce our anxiety and our overwhelm. It can give us some control over our lives which we need. Routine shows up differently from one person to another.
In my own life, I've found that my to-do lists are the foundation of my routine. They keep me organized, prevent me from forgetting tasks, and offer a sense of achievement as I reflect on what I've accomplished at the end of the day. These lists provide a clear plan for my day and week ahead, helping me stay on track. If I can't find my list or don't have paper and pen handy (yes, I still use paper and pen), then I experience some increased anxiousness.
Routines are integral to our lives; from daily rituals like washing our face and brushing our teeth to more structured activities such as exercising or shopping on specific days. They allow us a sense of comfort by outlining where we should be and what we should be doing.
Before I started my wellness clinic years ago, I had my own routine after work. It included picking up the mail, cooking dinner, stretching, studying or doing paperwork, and then watching TV before bedtime. It was a routine I held dear, and even though I enjoyed going out with friends, it would take me a while to readjust afterward.
While routines can be helpful, they are also downsides especially when we become overly committed to them. They can stifle spontaneity and make us inflexible in our thinking. A strict and regimented routine leaves little room for life's unexpected events, and any deviation can throw us off balance and increase our anxiety and overwhelm.
In my case, I used my to-do lists as a way to beat myself up for not completing all my tasks; it became a game: I would add 20 or 30 tasks to my daily list to see how productive I could be, and when I couldn't complete them all, I told myself I was a failure. I believed that if I documented everything, I could control every aspect of my life. That was such a misguided notion.
The downside of an inflexible routine became evident as any minor disruption would disrupt my day and trigger frustration. This anger only deepened my anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed. In fact, even when I aimed to 'have fun,' it became just another task on my list to check off, rather than an enjoyable experience.
Over time I've learned that routines are important, but I have had to loosed up so to speak and learn to go with the flow. I will always have my lists, but I've learned to be okay with change, mostly!
So while routines can be an effective tool for managing anxiety and overwhelm, please approach your routines with a degree of flexibility. Life does happen and so do unexpected events and we need to be able to cope with the unexpected.
I'd love to hear how routine helps you in your life.