Why Routine? Do Things Differently

Dear loving people,

Those who know me, know how much I hate routine especially at work. In the early days of my career, I thought that the best way to fight routine was to change job and so I went into a cycle of changing jobs almost every two years. Then, that in itself became routine too so I thought of how best to handle the problem that was really beginning to drain my energy and here, I share with you the outcome of that reflection…

Imagine a scenario wherein you’ve been at a given task for over two months. Traditionally, it’s become a routine. Do you know that even the routine tasks can be done effectively? Trust me, you can effectively handle even the more difficult tasks differently. You only need to think before doing. Even if you know the necessary steps for accomplishing the task – think. In my case, I realized that all of the traditional solutions for reaching your goal are not effective with the set of skills and talents that you have! Think how you can accomplish the task more effectively, by using your skills, talents and knowledge. Then new ways for doing it will spring up just like that.

My father as a teacher, once lived in a rural fishing community. The inhabitants had a traditional way of weaving fishing baskets out of bamboos. They did that for as long as anyone could remember without innovation. A young man in the community at one point, got tired of seeing everybody weaving their baskets the same way every other year. He got creative and weaved some new designs and even went as far as painting them colorfully. He was greatly admired by all and honored at the village square. With time, he go to discover that the fish were attracted to some of the colors. His discovery did not only make him catch more fish but completely changed the way the baskets were weaved in the village. Everybody especially the young people competed amongst themselves to produce the best designs possible and it all became fund.

In the early days in the Bafut community in Cameroon where I come from, the community members had many methods for getting rid of routine jobs. For example, it took a long time for one person to cover a new roof in your house with some special grass harvested form the hills. But instead of doing it that way, they cooked a lot of food, and palm wine. And later they invite the vigorous men in the community to cover the roof, just like to a party.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and invent effective solutions before performing your tasks! When caught under pressure, do you find yourself giving up more often than pushing through the difficulties? In the heat of the moment, it seems like the easiest solution is to throw in the towel and move on to something different. We so often sell ourselves short of our true potential because we simply don’t have the energy or capacity to push through challenges, without the ability to see the value of its defeat.

“The human spirit lives on creativity and dies in conformity and routine” - Vilayat Inayat Khan