Everyday routines and meaning and purpose in life
Life transitions, even those we choose, can upend our daily routines, making us feel a bit unmoored. You can think of routines as semi-automatic action sequences that we perform consistently during the day or week (like exercising at a certain time, reading before bed, chores on Saturday, Sunday brunch with friends). They provide a sense of structure and consistency, which help us feel at home in our own lives and maybe just a wee bit in control.
Research question: Do all routines, even the mundane ones, contribute to a people’s feelings of meaning in life or do only routines associated with meaning-rich activities do that?
How researchers studied the question: 93 college students responded to in-the-moment questions multiple times per day over a period of time. Questions pertained to what are you doing right now; the extent to which the activity is part of a routine; extent to which you feel like your life has meaning and purpose right now; and the extent to which you think the activity was associated with elements known to contribute to meaning in life (relationship closeness, goal pursuit, religion, doing something altruistic). Researchers analyzed over 1500 responses from these students to answer the research question.
Answer: Yes, engaging in any kind of routine, even those that are mundane, seems to contribute to feeling that our lives have purpose and meaning. This is especially so when the routine activity pertains to our goals.
So What? So often we assume that it’s the big life moments and extraordinary events that give our lives meaning and purpose but this study argues otherwise. Carrying out our plain old everyday routines can provide us with a sense of meaning and purpose too. It reminds me that when the scaffolding of my life has become dismantled in the aftermath of a life transition, re-establishing a few goal-related routines will likely help me get my mojo back.
How about you? What routines contribute to your sense of purpose in life? Where might you set up routines to help you feel more so?
Sources:
Mohideen F & Heintzelman SJ (2022). Routines and meaning in life: Does activity content or context matter? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Doi: 10.1177/01461672221085797
Find the abstract here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/01461672221085797