Homework

Homework

I found this reading very interesting and also puzzling. Ben Highmore is very critical of everyday routine, yet shows how everyday routine provides "happiness." Through this happiness, or unwillingness to "break the routine," Highmore is also ashamed that he is stuck in a routine. He expresses how he would like to "pick up new hobbies" or "start a new fitness program," but is stifled by the routine he has locked himself in. I am having a hard time knowing whether routine is necessarily a bad thing or not. If the routine we are in makes us happy isn't that a good thing?

I also found Highmore's connection to work and "being stuck in traffic" interesting. I can very much so relate to this feeling of driving to the office feeling like work, yet at the same time being a momentary escape from the everyday. Much like the traffic jam he describes as a time for us to finally be alone, I have felt this before at a red light. I would hope for it to turn red so I could extend my alone time out a little bit longer. However, this made we wonder.. Are we ever not doing something that is connected to our work? And if we are, how do we know it? If driving to the office is an extension of work then so to is making breakfast in the morning, walking the dog before you leave, and even all of the routine tasks you do when you get home. When we get home we get our routine out of the way so we can feel fulfilled, and this helps us fall asleep so we can get our work out of the way again.

I guess my ultimate question is.. As humans, is it our goal to get work out of the way so we can continue with our other routines, or do we strive to get our routines finished so we can feel fulfilled and continue with our work?

Thoughts?