A few weeks ago, I took the train to work on a Sunday. The trains ran a bit behind, so the commute took almost twice as long as usual. The office was silent and empty, and hallways remained dark as I walked through them, lights activating as I triggered the motion detectors. When I left, the trains ran behind again, forcing me to spend an hour at the train station before finally returning home.
It was a strange day that ended up throwing off my entire week. It felt as if everything shifted forward one day, so Monday felt like Tuesday, Thursday felt like Friday, and even Saturday felt like Sunday. I came close to attending meetings that wouldn’t start until the next day on more than one occasion before catching myself. The week seemed to drag on and on. When Saturday did come, it felt like Sunday, which meant it felt like I would be returning to work the next day. It wasn’t until Sunday that things began to return to normal, and even on that day, it felt almost as if I had a three-day weekend.
When the week was over, I reflected on it to try to figure out why it felt so strange. I knew it wasn’t from any frustration with the train systems, as I expect delays when taking the train to and from Manhattan and am more surprised when delays don’t happen than when they do. I don’t think the emptiness of the office played a major role, as I’ve worked in solitude in large spaces before.
I realized the source of that week-long feeling was the simple fact that I went into the office on a Sunday at all. I’m no stranger to working on projects on weekends, as I spend most of my off-time working on my own projects and businesses, but they never involve going into the office. For years, I’ve been on a weekly ebb-and-flow of working in the office job on weekdays and having the weekends for my own projects or the occasional get-together with friends.
This reminded me of a book I read years ago about willpower. One of the chapters focused on the story of a man in the military during the 1800s. He, and the soldiers he worked with, were under difficult situations and enormous stress day in and day out for months. However, the man in question still continued his morning routine of shaving, keeping his uniform crisp, and otherwise meticulously organizing himself. When other soldiers asked him how and why he kept such standards, he told them that it was crucial to getting out of there alive. The book then cited research which suggests that keeping a consistent routine makes you more effective throughout the day, and more importantly, can help you through hard times.
I generally recommend that people follow some routine or rhythm to keep themselves going. In the day-to-day, it can help you keep the ball rolling. In difficult situations, such as a death in the family, continuing to follow your routine may be crucial for your well-being.
