The routines we have in our lives, for better or for worse, dictate how we think of the world. When we have too many commitments the routines we create tend to favor convenience instead of what is actually best. I think this is natural since overtime we start to optimize the routine and learn new ways to make it faster. Oftentimes though I think we make the mistake of cutting out having to rely on other humans in our routines as much as possible since other humans are unpredictable.

Personally I have gotten so used to the convenience of phone-app-chain coffee that I never bothered to try anything else, even though the quality of their drinks were usually a miss. My mornings had started to feel the same: get out of bed, order a coffee on the app, drive and pickup the coffee and return home. I never had to interface with another human besides when they welcome me in (which I can easily ignore). I recently decided to try another smaller chain coffee shop near me and it has been a night and day difference. My new coffee shop feels like the customers want to be in there working and talking. The service and quality of the drinks/food has yet to let me down and I feel more connected to the community. To get to this coffee shop I do have to do more work and drive a bit further, deal with an annoying parking lot setup, and wait longer for my order.

I had fallen into the trap where I had fallen many hundreds of times before: I removed the unpredictability of humans in order for my own short-term convenience. This resulted slowly in my long-term convenience suffering and I had never really noticed this. I dealt with coffee that wasn’t always the greatest because it was more convenient instead of being a little uncomfortable and risking trying a different routine. In order to feel more connected with others, I think we have to make our routines more work than they currently are.