Embracing Uncertainty: Life Beyond Routines

Do you have a morning routine? Do you eat your dinner around the same time each day? Or have a ritual at night that gets you ready for bed? Routines often serve as the sturdy pillars supporting our daily lives, offering structure and predictability. They help us navigate busy days, ensuring a smooth and efficient journey. For individuals on the autistic spectrum, the absence of familiar routines can be particularly unsettling and anxiety provoking, as it disrupts their sense of security and stability.

As much as I love rituals and routines for the comfort and sense of stability they provide, I also recognize the importance of switching things up so that your days don’t feel boring or mundane. We can get too stuck in what is familiar and often take the path that is easiest, this prevents us from growing.

Here are some ideas to embrace uncertainty:

  • Take a different route to work / school

  • Go for a walk without knowing the destination or duration

  • Get your shopping from somewhere new

  • Look at your wardrobe with new eyes and put a new combo together

  • Cook something different

  • Switch up your daily routine - have your coffee before your shower or put your socks on before your pants

  • Rearrange your furniture

  • Listen to a podcast on a new topic

  • Spring clean your life

  • Have a day with no plans and go with the flow

Know that routines and rituals are not bad — in fact they often ground us and can provide a level of comfort that’s really important (I advocate for them all the time!). However, also know that being too restrictive with your schedule, routines, or other elements of your life also likely isn’t serve you. Your brain loves to be on autopilot as it uses less energy. Switching things up fires neurons in your brain, keeping it fresh and active! Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to continue growing and evolving in response to life experiences, so give your brain new experiences to grapple with.

Make room for change, invite in a level of flexibility and know that you have the permission to switch your routines up for no other reason than because you want to.

Nicola Strudley