Guy, Interrupted a.k.a A Routine Derailed

On any given day we all have a routine. And some of us are sticklers for our routines. Even though it is a kind of routine we sometimes wish we didn't have. And it is this wish that makes us imagine how things would be if we weren't stuck in the.... well for the lack of a better word, routine. And so we sometimes pray that our dull routine will get broken some day and things will change for good, if not better. By a special someone or something. However, however much we wish things should change, we are not prepared for the change when we meet it head on. So when the change does come in the form of something (or someone), we start wishing that such a thing had never happened and that we got our good old routine back. We think the timing of the change is all wrong. But then, perhaps, it is not.

The main problem with establishing a new routine is that you always end up comparing the new one with the old. Due to this, the transition period taken for adjusting to a new routine can be very very tricky. You can't help but think, 'Ah! Life was so much simpler before.' despite the fact that your old routine might well have been anything but exciting. Or simple for that matter. The change management you need to do is really a fine balance between what your head says and what your heart's planning to do. Your head needs to be conditioned to the fact that sometimes your heart can be right too. And vice versa. This takes time. If you crack during this period, you can easily revert to your old routine, or whatever is left of it. Upon doing so, you will continue to rue about the wrecked mess you are now left with. But if you overcome this tough time, you eventually will, well.., adjust. Till that adjustment happens, you tend to oscillate in a simple harmonic motion like a pendulum. Three steps forward one day and three backwards the next. Simple? Harmonic? Biology-wise, chemistry-wise or head-and-heart-wise, it is nowhere as simple or as harmonic as Physics says it is.

Something similar happened to me a few months back. Like many of you, I have a routine and I am a stickler for it. I have a well-crafted and well-engineered routine like a pair of rails on which I coast like a train knowing where and when to start, go, stop, go, stop and come back without too much fuss. For years I have been following this schedule. So considering that I had a smooth run for a long time now, the law of averages had to catch up with me someday. And that's exactly what happened one fine day. A few months back, the routine that had kept me (usually) well-disciplined and punctual (well, most of the time) got shattered. Come to think of it, it was actually a terrible day. The weather was muggy and the sun was relentless. And the phone was constantly buzzing. And then the routine-changer thing happened. I don't want to go into the details of the incident as it would make a good story for another day. For now, suffice to say that the routine-changer came in the form of a note written in long hand. Long story short, it  wrecked my beautifully crafted long-running routine. Though I was looking forward to such a positive change for some time now, I was not prepared for it when it did finally come and hit me. It was like a scene from that war movie where the train tracks along with the bridge on which they were built get blown up right at the moment a train is passing over them. Except, in this case, the train barely managed to stop itself before the bridge blew up. In short, even though I just stopped myself short of becoming a complete train-wreck, I was completely derailed. Routine-wise. I was this guy, interrupted.

It took me a while to assess the situation. After much root cause analysis and some quick damage control measures, I began to pick up the old pieces and add some new ones to re-establish a new route/routine. I also added some new connections. Slowly I began to reassemble the pieces and am continuing to do so even now. Some of the shattered pieces are too broken to be repaired. So I am adding new pieces, removing them, and adding them again. And every time I add a new piece, it is slightly but surely altering the old time-table. Some of it is welcome, and some of it is making itself welcome. All things considered, with a little bit of filing and chiseling, the pieces are fitting. As I said, I know my routine won't be the same ever again. Even if I could hypothetically remove the routine-changing event out of my life. So, considering what has happened cannot be undone, I will continue to be busy repairing the tracks till there is a new routine up and running. Or I will build new ones wherever required. I am even considering a major overhaul so that I can build a more sophisticated one with mag-lev rails for better time management. And once finished, I hope it'll last a while. A long while before the law of averages even come anywhere near it.

So, like I said, for now I am still in that transition time. My new routine is far from ready to rock and roll. Which means I'm still swinging in simple harmonic motion, like that pendulum I was talking about. I guess once all the adjustments are done, I should be able to come out of the pendulum-ing. Frankly, I still don't know why they call that a simple harmonic motion. A very understated name for a very extreme action.

So every once in a while I can't help but keep wishing I had my old routine back!