The Art of the Dodged Routine: A Dance of Procrastination
What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?
The Art of the Dodged Routine: A Dance of Procrastination
There are routines, the ones that fit snugly into the daily puzzle, and then there are… those routines—the persistent, nagging tasks that require Houdini-like escapes. We all have them. For me, these routines are the ones that offer no glory, no satisfying tick on a to-do list, but instead, stare at you, as if to say, “You can’t avoid me forever!”
Imagine this:
It’s a Sunday morning, a day free of expectations. Birds are singing, coffee is brewing, and then, just as I sit down to bask in my peaceful solitude, the dusty box in the corner—the one marked “Declutter”—catches my eye. That box holds the things we shove aside, the things that grow in silence while we’re busy pretending not to see them. Decluttering is my personal Everest, a task I’d joyfully swap for almost anything else—yes, even organising a sock drawer suddenly sounds like an adventure in comparison.
The Dreaded Paper Trail
The filing of documents, receipts, and statements is another relentless monster that haunts me. Each crinkled paper seems to whisper, “File me or face the chaos later!” Yet, I find myself playing a mental tug-of-war between today’s fleeting freedom and tomorrow’s inevitable avalanche of paperwork. Somehow, the idea of organising papers inspires a sort of philosophical reflection on the inevitability of clutter as a fundamental aspect of life. Who knew that procrastination could be so deep?
Exercise or Exorcism?
Now, don’t get me wrong; I love a good walk in the park. But structured exercise—planned, regimented, and predictable—feels like the adult version of homework. When faced with a workout routine, I become an elite escapist, adept in finding countless reasons to “start tomorrow.” Sweaty routines and I have an understanding: I admire them from afar, applauding those who endure, while quietly slipping out the back door to grab a cup of tea. Let’s be honest, lifting a spoon is a form of weight training too, right?
The Tyranny of the Inbox
Email inboxes might as well be infinite rabbit holes. I can ignore it for days, occasionally even weeks, only to have it swell into a beast with hundreds of unread messages. It’s always “clean up time” until it’s really time to clean up. I have an uncanny ability to ignore notifications, as if I have trained myself in the art of Inbox Blindness. Marking emails as unread becomes a sort of game—a tap dance around responsibility.
“Self-Improvement” Routines
Let’s talk about those ever-present self-improvement activities that beckon us to “become our best selves.” There’s a certain irony in promising myself I’ll start meditating while also committing to learning a new language and cooking healthier meals—on the same day. Perhaps someday, I’ll rise as a reborn philosopher, fluent in French, serene from meditation, with a fridge full of kale. But today? Today I’ll settle for mastering the art of saying “mañana”—tomorrow.
So, Why Do We Skip?
It’s easy to write off these avoided routines as trivial or tedious, but perhaps there’s something grander at play. Life is short, and while I don’t doubt the virtues of a decluttered cupboard or a chiselled physique, there’s an odd delight in embracing the perfectly imperfect. Skipping a routine here and there lets us revel in the unplanned, savouring the little freedoms that come from refusing to be boxed in by our own expectations.
So here’s to all of us who dodge routines with grace and skill, with a knowing smile and a hint of rebellion. May we continue to dance around the to-dos with flair, leaving just enough space for a bit of laughter and a lot of living.
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