Creature of Habit

(I've decided this is a good time to discontinue the "File Under" sub-heading of each post. I don't like to file and doing so with this post seems appropriate)

I am a creature of habit. Many of the things I do are done on a routine basis or on a schedule.

Work has structured me to do things on a schedule. I process payroll, our cycyle is biweekly so every two weeks, I repeat the same process. During that cycle, I issue payroll reports on the same days. There are managers who I know will forget about their reports, so I know to call them to remind them to complete their reports.

Because I run two offices, I have to post a schedule on my door to let everybody know where I'll be each day. If you were to look at my schedule, you would see that it's the same repeating 10 day pattern.

Outside of work, I have a number of tasks that I do on a regular basis. Most Monday evenings I do laundry. Sometimes I'll do laundry on a Tuesday, rarely will I do it any later than Wednesday. It definitely needs to be done on a weekly basis. The remaining weeknights I go to the gym.

Every morning, I begin my journey at Starbucks for coffee. I have a commuter mug. They know me at Starbucks, I've been coming here for 15 years. My order never changes. Tall coffee (it's a grande mug, they just fill it 2/3 full. Sometimes they fill it higher, I pour some out). The only change to my order is if it's orientation (2nd Monday of each month), I'll add a scone. I do this because I don't have time when I get to work to have my usual breakfast, a bowl of oatmeal.

When I do orientation, I present benefits. It's from a script, which I wrote. There's really no way to embellish benefits to make it fun so I stick to the script. When I ad-lib, I throw in the same jokes or quips that I throw in every month. I get the same labored laugh from the class every time. At the end, they ask the same questions.

Away from work, my routine is pretty steady. Friday comes around, and I can most often be found at my local watering hole. I go to the same bartender, Mark, and he makes me my same drink (which, get this! I recently switched to vanilla vodka with diet coke - watching carbs). Mark just asks if I'm having the usual, then fixes it. Saturday night, I'm usually there again. If I'm not there, it's because I've been invited over to Dan and Luis' house for something. It's been a while since something completely different has kept me out of the bar. My daytime routine is the same, too. Out of the house by noon, off to the gym, then lunch then wandering the neighborhood or doing housework.

With all that said, I don't mind being a creature of habit. It works for me. It's comforting and comfortable. Often it seems when I try to shake things up, something goes wrong.

So tell me about you? Are you a creature of habit? Do you have a routine you stick with or do you fly by the seat of your pants?