Hmmm, what is a habit junkie to do when the fates conspire against him?
I will readily confess that I am a creature of habit. Certain aspects of my behaviour are as predictable as the Maple Leafs missing the playoffs. (Sorry Leaf fans, couldn’t resist.) Some of my habits are good ones – others, not so much. Quite honestly, I am not entirely sure where the dividing line is.
A case in point: A stop at Tim Hortons is an integral part of my morning routine. The Tims I patronize is conveniently located just around the corner from where I work. On some days, my medium double-double is waiting for me when I get to the front of the line. Does that make the Tims employees enablers of my habit?
But to my chagrin, my Tim Hortons location of choice I is being renovated. They have put a Tims trailer in the parking lot in an effort to hold onto their customers for the month the renovations will require. Unfortunately, it is a poor substitute. My choices: Get in the lengthy drive-through line or stand out in the cold in the lineup to the trailer window.
I tried switching to another Tims location at the halfway point on my trip to work. It seemed like a plausible way to cling to my morning routine with minimal variation. But a couple of days shuffling along in a line of 20 to 30 people, glancing at my watch every three minutes, quickly discouraged that solution.
The problem is another habit of mine is always arriving early wherever I go. So my attempt to find a workaround for my morning Tims stop disrupted another aspect of my morning routine.
Matters were further complicated yesterday morning when a water main break forced me to alter my route to work .I walked into the office with only two minutes to spare before my target arrival time. I am starting to seriously suspect that there is a conspiracy afoot to foil my well-oiled morning routine!
There is always coffee ready and waiting in the kitchen area of my workplace. The practical side of my brain says: So just make do with the office coffee for a few weeks. Problem solved. The habit addicted side of my brain responds: But it isn`t Tims coffee. It tastes different. And it messes with my routine. I like my routine. It makes me happy.
I could, of course, buy a can of Tims coffee, brew a cup or two in the morning and bring it with me in a travel mug. But that would play havoc with my before-I-walk-out-the-door routine. Everything would be totally out of whack from the get-go. I get antsy even thinking about it.
Alas, there seems to be no way to jerry rig my morning routine to maintain a semblance of order. For the next month I will be living out the metaphor of a fish out of water.
I can hear you saying: Roll with it. Change is good. In the words of The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper: Change is never fine, they say it is, but it`s not.
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
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Tags: change · habit · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · routine · Sheldon Cooper · Tim HortonsNo Comments