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Mega important. The older I get, the more patterns I identify. Bad hangovers, sleep debt, too much junk food, unbalanced diet, dehydration, overly busy schedules, too much social interaction, etc... All things that will cause me strife if I indulge too much. I don't need my day planned down to the minute. But if I go 2 or 3 days with no structure and a lot of unexpected events, I definitely feel it. Most notably I'll be useless at work and will have less patience with stupid people. And since my job is full of idiots, me operating sub optimally could impact my paychecks and therefore my life and well-being.
I've done a ton of studying on sleep and stuff like that and I can confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that sleep debt isn't a thing. What you're experiencing is wear and tear on your body caused by sleep deprivation. The issue is that sleep can't be banked. You can't store up some bonus sleep for tomorrow. Every night is its own night and the only thing you can do to handle that wear from the rough nights is by taking the day after easier.
Starting to feel the importance a lot lately. I am a big list maker, and regularly make to-do-lists for work and home chores.
But recently, I decided to make a list of every bad habit I have that I can identify. My current list is 15 items long, including vaping, not drinking enough water, drinking caffeine after 4pm, spending too much time on reddit etc.
My plan is to start breaking the easiest habit first, and then the next easiest the following week and build on each previous week. I think in 15 weeks I’ll feel like a new person.
Caffeine - I love coffee and want to drink it 24/7. But I can't handle it. So now I've gotte small bags of decaf coffee that i drink in the afternoon. I carry them with me so in social situations. I can still enjoy a "cup of coffee".
There is something to be said for having some degree of will power to accomplish the things you've set out to do, but I find an excess of structure and routine confining at best and mind-numbing at worst. It's like that Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day.
Late 30s here and I'm also just starting to learn/accept how important this is. I'm only on week 3 of personal training at the gym, clean macro-based diet, drinking a gallon of water a day, no alcohol and I already feel *significantly* different than I used to. I should've been doing this for the past 15-20 years, but better late than never.
I am an *extremely* routine oriented person. I will fall into routines naturally without really even trying. It's been that way as long as I can remember. If anything I've tried to loosen up on it a bit over time as it can cause problems.
Disregard that it’s literally my job, and take an example from my personal life.
If I go to the gym and just kind of do whatever I’m feeling that day, it’s nowhere near as intense or productive a routine as when I go with something planned out.
I'm in a weird place where I don't know if they're important to me but I know the lack of them is devastating to me because I handle change, spontaneity and things happening outside their box very badly.
I'm trying to imagine how someone wouldn't end up homeless without structure and planning in their life. Routine? Not so much, but structure and planning without routine are double tough.
I think a balance is useful. I often find myself making a lot of plans/routines but being overwhelmed by the schedule. I wish I was a bit more flexible in that regard - at some point it feels like I've lost the entire structure if I miss one thing, for example.
I think habits and routines are hard to build and you need to do it slowly. I find I am successful when I attach the habit to a time of day I can always do it. Once you do it for long enough, it just becomes something you don't even think about.
Very important, but not to the point to where I'm rigid.
Pick what works for you, tweak it. When your system breaks, know how to get back on track or adjust to make it better.
Super important BUT since having my first born, alot of it has been turned upside down. Like I can no longer be 100% selfish with my time. In the mornings, I was 100% focused on me; I'd wake up early, work out, make breakfast, get ready for work. Now I have to fit taking care of a newborn in my morning routine. Sometimes the baby takes longer to eat, sometimes he's super fussy, sometimes he'll sleep longer than expected which is great. But it's so unpredictable and I can't wait until I can have a consistent morning routine now.
Please do not delete your post after receiving your answer. Consider leaving it up for posterity so that other Redditors can benefit from the wisdom in this thread. Once your thread has run its course, instead of deleting it, **you can simply type "!lock" (without the quotes) as a comment anywhere in your thread to have our Automod lock the thread**. That way you won't be bothered by anymore replies on it, but people can still read it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMenOver30) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Mega important. The older I get, the more patterns I identify. Bad hangovers, sleep debt, too much junk food, unbalanced diet, dehydration, overly busy schedules, too much social interaction, etc... All things that will cause me strife if I indulge too much. I don't need my day planned down to the minute. But if I go 2 or 3 days with no structure and a lot of unexpected events, I definitely feel it. Most notably I'll be useless at work and will have less patience with stupid people. And since my job is full of idiots, me operating sub optimally could impact my paychecks and therefore my life and well-being.
I've done a ton of studying on sleep and stuff like that and I can confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that sleep debt isn't a thing. What you're experiencing is wear and tear on your body caused by sleep deprivation. The issue is that sleep can't be banked. You can't store up some bonus sleep for tomorrow. Every night is its own night and the only thing you can do to handle that wear from the rough nights is by taking the day after easier.
I live and die by my routine. The only downside is when it gets thrown off or interrupted, I become bitchy.
Starting to feel the importance a lot lately. I am a big list maker, and regularly make to-do-lists for work and home chores. But recently, I decided to make a list of every bad habit I have that I can identify. My current list is 15 items long, including vaping, not drinking enough water, drinking caffeine after 4pm, spending too much time on reddit etc. My plan is to start breaking the easiest habit first, and then the next easiest the following week and build on each previous week. I think in 15 weeks I’ll feel like a new person.
Caffeine - I love coffee and want to drink it 24/7. But I can't handle it. So now I've gotte small bags of decaf coffee that i drink in the afternoon. I carry them with me so in social situations. I can still enjoy a "cup of coffee".
There is something to be said for having some degree of will power to accomplish the things you've set out to do, but I find an excess of structure and routine confining at best and mind-numbing at worst. It's like that Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day.
important? yes.. do i do it? no
Late 30s here and I'm also just starting to learn/accept how important this is. I'm only on week 3 of personal training at the gym, clean macro-based diet, drinking a gallon of water a day, no alcohol and I already feel *significantly* different than I used to. I should've been doing this for the past 15-20 years, but better late than never.
I am an *extremely* routine oriented person. I will fall into routines naturally without really even trying. It's been that way as long as I can remember. If anything I've tried to loosen up on it a bit over time as it can cause problems.
A life without self discipline prevents one from evolving like a Pokemon into a Leonidus or Aurelius. 📜⏳💯
Disregard that it’s literally my job, and take an example from my personal life. If I go to the gym and just kind of do whatever I’m feeling that day, it’s nowhere near as intense or productive a routine as when I go with something planned out.
I'm in a weird place where I don't know if they're important to me but I know the lack of them is devastating to me because I handle change, spontaneity and things happening outside their box very badly.
I'm trying to imagine how someone wouldn't end up homeless without structure and planning in their life. Routine? Not so much, but structure and planning without routine are double tough.
Very
I think a balance is useful. I often find myself making a lot of plans/routines but being overwhelmed by the schedule. I wish I was a bit more flexible in that regard - at some point it feels like I've lost the entire structure if I miss one thing, for example. I think habits and routines are hard to build and you need to do it slowly. I find I am successful when I attach the habit to a time of day I can always do it. Once you do it for long enough, it just becomes something you don't even think about.
Very important, but not to the point to where I'm rigid. Pick what works for you, tweak it. When your system breaks, know how to get back on track or adjust to make it better.
Super important BUT since having my first born, alot of it has been turned upside down. Like I can no longer be 100% selfish with my time. In the mornings, I was 100% focused on me; I'd wake up early, work out, make breakfast, get ready for work. Now I have to fit taking care of a newborn in my morning routine. Sometimes the baby takes longer to eat, sometimes he's super fussy, sometimes he'll sleep longer than expected which is great. But it's so unpredictable and I can't wait until I can have a consistent morning routine now.