This is part of the series How To Develop A Daily Routine. Check out more from the series!

Developing a good routine is one of the most important parts of my day to day life. It can be a crucial element to being as effective as possible.

But routine can be detrimental, too. It can become a rut if you’re not careful.

This was made very evident to me over the past few weeks. You may already know, I just moved my family from the Gulf Coast of Florida to southern Missouri to take the lead minister role at Cabool Christian Church. This is a very exciting time for me, as a minister, and for my family, not only as we start a new ministry, but start a new type of ministry. I’ve been a minister to teens for more than two decades, and making the transition to the lead role in a church comes with a new learning curve.

But the process of making the ministry change, both from youth to preaching, and from Florida to Missouri, has caused some significant upheaval in our lives.

I have a pretty typical routine that I adhere to most days. The past several weeks have been difficult, simply because the familiar routine hasn’t been there.

Here are a few of the elements that occur in my morning routine on a daily basis, almost without fail. My morning starts with a cup of coffee, brewed in my Chemex, once I get to the office. While the water is heating, I boot up my computer and pull out my iPad and journals. Once the water is hot, and the coffee is brewed, I sit at the desk, and read the days’ passages from my Bible reading plan, usually using the Logos app on my iPad. When I finish my general reading, I turn to the passage I’m writing. On a normal day, I handwrite several verses from whatever book I’m currently working through, usually eight to ten or so, in my Journible. While I am writing these verses, I watch for things that stand out to me from the passage, with an eye to what God may be trying to teach me for the day. These I list out in my journal, along with other thoughts and prayers. All of this usually takes me around an hour or so.

Once this is finished, I feel free to move on through my day. But if I miss this hour, my day feels completely out of kilter, all day long. My morning routine is a very crucial piece of the beginning of my day.

Since the move, my routine has been pretty mixed up, and is only starting to settle down into something resembling what I’ve maintained for the last few years. Keeping that routine is a very important part of my daily schedule. It adds a whole new dimension to my day, allowing me to be as effective as possible.

But routine can have a negative aspect as well.

Here are a few of the benefits and drawbacks of routine that I’ve found to be true in my life:

Benefits:

• A routine simplifies life, allowing us to tackle the complex in a more simple way.
• A routine reduces effort, since it’s close to a habit, requiring little thought in the execution.
• A routine increases our self-confidence, allowing us to perform the action with little room for error.
• A routine helps us to relax, knowing that we don’t have to guess about the actions or decisions to be made.
• A routine brings comfort, helping us approach the task, or even the day, with excitement.
• A routine improves skills, since you are repeating the same actions over and over.
• A routine improves memory, helping you to not forget to do certain things.
• A routine boosts productivity, helping you to work more efficiently.

Drawbacks:

• A routine can easily become a rut, keeping you from growing as you should.
• A routine can become rote and boring, causing you to not gain as much from the action as you could.
• A routine can lead to carelessness, once it is very familiar, leading to mistakes.
• A routine can cause you to become automatic in functions that should require more thought.
• A routine can easily lead to a habit, and the habit may or may not be beneficial.

I once heard of a sign at the beginning of a rough, rutted, dirt road in a very rural setting. As you entered the road, the sign warned, “Beware of the rut you choose. You’ll be in it for the next twenty miles.”

The same is true of life. Developing routines can be very beneficial to your day. But they can also become a rut that does more damage than good as you repeat it daily. Pick your routines carefully. They can be something that will be with you for a very long time.

What benefits or drawbacks have you discovered about routines? What would you add to this list? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.