Embrace The Monotony
Sometimes life gets really boring for a while. Right now, it’s really boring and repetitive for a lot of people, including me.
I live in Los Angeles, which means most places around me won’t be opening up for a long, long time. I’m pretty much stuck in my apartment other than taking a short walk once or twice a day.
My days have become utterly predictable: get up and surf the net for a bit, work, relax for a bit, work some more, eat, take a walk, work, relax a bit, work some more, work out, cook dinner, watch TV…day in and day out.
That’s not exciting. But is it bad for me? Maybe not.
I’m more productive now than I had been at any point in 2019. I’m cooking more than I used to. I’ve lost a few pounds of fat, even in spite of the lack of exercise.
Monotony has an upside: when very little is happening, it becomes very easy to focus on the things that are happening.
If your life is boring right now, recognize the opportunity and take advantage of it while you can. Use it to build better habits and practice your ability to focus on what matters.
The monotony probably won’t last for long. You probably don’t want it to, nor does it need to. Enjoy it while it lasts, and use it to build habits that will last even longer.
-John
P.S. That last part– that good things don’t have to last forever– is very controversial in the fitness world. I’ll go further into that in my next article.