Stuck in a rut?

Have you seen the “Chicken Thursday” commercial for Old El Paso taco kits?

I always get a chuckle from it – the sartorially resplendent Mexican gentleman surrounded by a small flock of chickens wearing bibs emblazoned with the word “Thursday” on them. “Oh look, Chicken Thursday,” he says, holding up one of the red fowl.

But then I get to thinking – okay, so we’ve replaced “Chicken Thursday” with “Taco Thursday.” Is that really an improvement? Haven’t we just moved into a different rut?

It occurs to me that, for most of us, for the most part, life is really just following a routine.

We get up and go to work, come home, eat and rush out the door to meetings and activities – or driving our kids to their meetings and activities – and do it all over again the next day.

Even the weekends become routine: sleep in (or not), do some chores around the house and yard, and/or drive kids to activities, eat dinner, maybe go out to a bar or club in the evening.

Some – though fewer than in the past -- go to church on Sunday, or get in a round of golf, or do more chores around the house and yard, or watch “the game” on tv.

Monday comes, and we do it all over again, week after week, month after month, year after year. I often hear people complain about being “stuck in a rut,” and doing the “same old same old.”

But really, could we handle life without the routine?

What if every day of our lives were different, with the unexpected being the norm? Could we handle the uncertainty?

I think we get a great deal of comfort from having a routine to follow.

Certainly our days are seldom exactly identical; there is usually some variation to what happens. But overall our day progresses through a known pattern. After all, our brains love consistency.

It is when that pattern is disrupted that we, ourselves, become a bit discombobulated.

Of course, “variety is the spice of life,” and the minor variations typically satisfy us in that regard.

And, a couple of times a year we take a week off work, and some are lucky enough to go on a vacation.

Depending on where you go and who you go with, a vacation can be very liberating, with schedules and routines thrown right out the window.

On the other hand, many vacations are just a different routine in a different location.

Some people handle the routine better than others.

For instance, if working in retail or elsewhere in the customer service sector, one does the same job each day, but with different customers making different demands, and having different needs that must be met.

Similarly, teachers, hospital workers, and office personnel have general routines to follow, but within those routines each day is different from the next.

On the other hand, working in a factory one often performs repetitive tasks.

Emergency Services personnel – Police, Fire, Ambulance – never know what each day will bring, but still follow a basic routine during their shift.

Our whole society is built on routines.

Garbage day, for instance, is not random. We don’t want to have to guess when the garbage truck will go by.

Meal times may vary, but generally lunch is around noon and supper around 5 or 6 o’clock.

We get up, we eat, we do something, we eat, we do something else, we eat, do something else again, then go to bed. Repeat.

Of course, there are some of us who would welcome the imposition of a routine, or at least, a better routine than we have.

During the school year, my routine is to wake up, wait and see if the phone rings, eat, do something, eat… etc. I wouldn’t mind if “wait and see if the phone rings” was replaced with “get ready for work” on a more regular basis.

I think most of us thrive with at least a basic routine to follow. If we had to decide what to do with our time each and every day, I’m not sure we’d enjoy ourselves all that much.

Don’t get me wrong, while there are people who want and need a very structured routine, I think most of us just want a basic outline; a general plan for how our day should go.

After all, having too much time on our hands could end up getting us into more trouble than anything else.

Life is, in my opinion, all about finding a balance: a balance between boredom and excitement, between monotony and variety, between “same old” and something new.

Part of the problem that arises is our perception of why we are doing what it is we are doing.

My grandfather, after working at quite a few jobs, eventually was hired at the Steel Plant, and spent much of his career there in the same job: Pit Recorder.

I worked in the Soaking Pits as a Door Operator for a few months. Like many similar jobs, it was big on monotony, as was the Pit Recorder’s job. But my grandfather loved his job, and was good at it.

Most importantly, he saw it for what it was: the means to support his family.

In fact, he was offered a promotion to foreman several times, and turned it down each time. He didn’t want the added responsibility nor the uncertainty that went with being “management.”

He knew his schedule, he went in and did his job, and he left. He took his vacations when they were scheduled.

My job at the Water Treatment Plant was similar. You knew your schedule, went in, did your rounds and lab tests, and went home. You took your vacation when it was scheduled.

I’m not sure that if I hadn’t left when I did (returning to the Sault after my parents passed away) if I would still be there today. I enjoyed the job, but despite the occasional excitement caused by equipment failure, power outages, or other external factors, the job was pretty routine.

I like a bit more variety. But not too much; I like some predictability, too.


As for being “in a rut,” there are two schools of thought:

On one hand…

“The only difference between a rut and a grave are the dimensions”
- Ellen Glasgow

… a rut can be a very confining place to be.

On the other hand…

“The great advantage of being in a rut is that when one is in a rut, one knows exactly where one is.”
– Arnold Bennett

… it’s hard to go astray when one is in a rut.

Then again, I think it depends on whether or not we view ourselves as being “in a rut” or “following a path.”

And, when following a path, there is the opportunity of reaching a fork and taking a different path.

Even when one is in a rut, one is usually able to climb up to the edge and have a look around.


But… that’s just my opinion.