9 Old-Fashioned Reasons a Boring Routine Is Secretly a Gift

We live in an age of excitement and expectation. The internet is filled with inspiring stories of people doing amazing things across the globe. And many of us believe that our own lives can and should be filled with the same level of drama, action, and novelty as we see on the screens we spend so much of our time staring at.

After all, the world around us is progressing at such a fast rate with the continual advancement of technology, public policy, and cultural norms. Why should we settle for a boring old life?

While the points I’ve just made are compelling, over the past decade I have been slowly pulled in another direction. Instead of seeing boredom and routine as inevitable, but unwanted parts of life, I’ve come to appreciate them as a critical source of stability and meaning. The mere absence of excitement is not the same thing as boredom, in my opinion. In fact, many of the things I thought were boring and tedious in my youth have come to be seen as the foundation of a good and happy life.

Allow me to make my case with a number of simple reasons why I think a boring routine can actually be a good thing.

Reduces stress

A life filled with too much excitement becomes the type of emotional rollercoaster that leaves you feeling worn out and frazzled. Without an area of your life that feels predictable and under control, your body never gets the chance to enter “rest and digest” mode, also known as the parasympathetic state. This starts a cascade of negative effects in your body that eventually catches up to you.

Increases productivity

Routine doesn’t have to be seen as boring if you see its powerful connection to getting things done. The steady progress of daily work, even if it is simply putting out fires, leads to better outcomes than spreading yourself too thin across a vast array of interests. There’s a reason that great businesses and individuals emphasize prioritization of only the things most likely to move the needle. Now you can pass on that extra project without feeling guilty, knowing that you’re doing the more important work of getting things done.

Consistency is the bedrock of habit-formation

If you want to start eating healthier, exercising more, or any other goal, one of the most proven ways to succeed is to start small and find a way to be consistent. In this context, boring is good because it means you’re not being distracted by every shiny new thing that comes across your plate— you’re sticking to your plan.

Strengthens relationships

You may think that great marriages are built on excitement, date nights, and romantic getaways, but that is only partially true. Those rare events keep things fresh and lively, but the real magic happens through the thousands of mundane interactions and points of connection that happen in the day-to-day of ordinary life. “Boring” routines such as brushing your teeth or turning out the lights at the same time as your spouse may not seem to matter, but they provide the rhythm and structure of a strong bond.

Increases security

When it comes to retirement savings, there’s no safer bet than a broad investment in the stock market. While you could make a lot more money investing in individual stocks, there’s also a lot more risk and volatility. Most people aren’t comfortable betting the farm on a few risky trades, and for good reason. The boring (and smart) approach to investing is one that spreads out the risk and prefers the steady, boring, compounding of average investment returns.

Reveals the beauty of ordinary things

If you spend all your days chasing excitement and novelty, you’ll eventually become bored with everything. In order to maintain your previous levels of excitement, you’ll need to increase the dosage of novelty. This is because your brain adapts (in an effect called “hedonic adaption”) to the things it’s exposed to regularly. On the other hand, a boring routine has the opposite effect— it highlights the contrast with an occasional treat, which makes those special moments stand out even more.

Brings a sense of accomplishment

This one has certainly been true in my life. It’s not the long list of exciting things I’ve done or the novelty experiences I’ve had that make me feel accomplished, it’s the boring, unglamorous side of things that makes me proud. When I faithfully provide for my family’s needs or consistently live up to my promises, I taste the satisfaction that comes from a job well-done. This isn’t the type of work that draws accolades from the crowds, it’s the important stuff that holds our communities together and makes life possible.

Frees you from a constant search for excitement

The trouble with living for excitement is that you need a consistent stream of it to feel satisfied. But the more excitement you get, the less excited you feel— it all becomes part of the background noise of your life. The constant need to fill your schedule with novelty experiences is both expensive and time-consuming. A boring routine provides a simple solution to an endless supply of excitement: contentment in ordinary things. The less you need, the easier it is to find pleasure in the free and simple things of life.

Gives you more energy for what truly matters

A boring routine doesn’t mean you can’t fit in an occasional adventure now and then. It simply means your ordinary day-to-day life becomes the centerpiece of your identity and purpose. Structuring your life in this way leaves more emotional bandwidth for the things that truly matter— because you won’t be constantly wondering what else you could be doing with your precious time. You’ll know you have a solid foundation and you’ll be more likely to build upon it with meaningful experiences that compound with time.

The Downsides of a Too-Exciting Life

It’s not hard to make a case for how excitement and novelty can add flavor to your life. The challenge is knowing when those things have become too much of a good thing. Have you elevated short-term fun in a way that makes your life less meaningful or impactful in the long-run? It’s a deeply personal question, and one each of us needs to answer for ourselves. But my belief, based on the observations of my life, is that many people are missing out on the real rewards of routine and order in their life. They are chasing something that is always around the corner, rather than learning to be happy with what they have right in front of them.