“The less routine the more life,” versus “The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.”

In the red corner, Amos Bronson Alcott, American reformer, philosopher and teacher, 1799-1888

In the blue corner, Mike Murdock, televangelist and pastor.
  

Shuffling uncomfortably in the middle but veering towards blue...me.

Funnily enough, the first, the red corner quote comes from Alcott.

To me, that's counterintuitive.


 I am a creature of strict routine. I get up at the same time every morning - 6.15 - I go to the yard at 7.10; when I'm at the yard I feed the horses and turn them out into their fields, or bring them in,  in exactly the same order. 

They like this. They wait by the gates in orderly queues, secure in the knowledge that nothing will be different. I don't need to put head collars on most of them. They know where they're going and walk beside me without fuss. I simply have to open the gate for them.

It's peaceful. I love starting my day like this. I could probably do it all blindfolded. In winter, I've often done it in the dark.

Then I come home and start work with a clear head.

Routines like mine are, on the one hand, reassuring. On the other hand, they're dangerous. I become so very reliant on them to give structure to my life that when I have to do something different, it throws me into a state of confusion so bad, sometimes, that I can't get anything done at all.

Scary. Scary for me, at any rate.  

So, Amos Bronson Alcott, I'm afraid I must disagree with you.

There's nothing like revealing too much about yourself in a blog...