Or, “why I, your author, need a routine.”

One of my motivations for exploring the Book of Hours is the idea of the routine, or the daily practice, or whatever you want to call it. I’ve long felt that my own routine is suboptimal (although it is clearly enough to keep me as a functioning human being) and while I chafe at the idea of “rules” a more structured life has its allure.

I’m attracted to the idea of building prayer and spiritual practice into the daily routine as a matter of course. Rather than keeping it on the edges as an optional add-in, or a leisure activity, building it into the daily practice will keep it structurally sound. I believe this is one of the reasons that systemized religion will never really die out–it keeps the practice alive even when the burning desire isn’t there.

Daily habits are a way of getting things done–this has been quite the drumbeat in the self-help circles as of late–and certainly will help advance schemes and projects. I’ve typically approached routines in this way–that they’re for helping you better yourself. Get from 0 to 1.

What I’ve never really considered is that a daily routine is necessary for our brains to process the world. This isn’t just for self-improvement, but for baseline human life.

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson explains.

In an different video, Dr. Peterson remarked of building a daily routine: “Your brain will thank you for it — stabilize your nervous system.”

So not only are routines and micro-habits needed to propel you forward, they’re also needed to keep you stable and grounded as a human being. In order to set yourself up for success, and keep anxiety and other less-than-helpful brain handicaps at bay, a well-ordered routine is necessary.

This idea puts my inner libertine on edge, as it wants to do what it wants when it wants any day of the week…but let’s be real, few of us always listen to our inner libertine. We know better.

I like the idea of calling it a “daily structure.” Less focus on mundane and more focus on the scaffolding of life.