the.com/routine
The boring thing that quietly runs your whole life.
means A fixed sequence of actions you repeat regularly, often without much conscious thought.
from From French routine, built on route (road, way) — originally meaning the worn, familiar path one habitually travels. The sense shifted from an actual beaten track to a metaphorical one: a groove of habit worn smooth by repetition. The diminutive-ish ending gave it a slightly dismissive flavor early on, the sense of a 'little path' rather than a grand journey — fitting for a word that now means the small, well-trodden grooves of daily life.
- brain shortcut
- habits move decisions from prefrontal cortex to basal ganglia
- energy saver
- automatic behavior uses far less glucose than conscious choice
- dancer's word too
- a choreographed sequence performed the same way each time
- breaks fastest
- novelty, not laziness, is what usually kills a routine