Last week the Big Snow forced millions of us to break from routine. For some, it was a frigid nightmare of inconvenience or worse; for others (not saying who), it was an unexpected opportunity to stay home, bake scones and eat half of them, and nap in the afternoon. For still others, the snow was inconsequential: an elderly neighbor assured me she had candles in case the power failed; her condo association would shovel the walk. Her day was going to be routine.
What about your routines? Are you a creature of habit, and does that extend to your work? Is that a good thing? “Routine” has such a dead ring to it. I’d rather be a free spirit: sleep in if I please, have Twinkies and beer for dinner. But reeling through life free-form would leave chores undone and commitments forgotten. Routine is safer (and more nutritious).
A certain amount of copyediting is rote. My first mentor gave me a list of cleanup chores that I followed until it became automatic. As technology changed, my list and habits also changed, but I still always begin with a routine pass to take care of mechanical cleaning tasks. That’s good. It frees me to copyedit undistracted by double spaces or three hyphens in a row and confident that at least in many small matters the manuscript is consistently styled. Following a routine is efficient, and it ensures that no steps are omitted.
But what about the danger in routine, when it amounts to mindless automation and unfounded confidence in the results? What if we never inspect our habits for dust and decay? One of my former colleagues continued to handwrite all the type specifications on her manuscript printouts after we learned to code them electronically. Although she claimed it was “for good measure,” in fact it probably only increased the possibility of inconsistency and error.
As in most things, it’s best to have balance. Devise routines when they make sense, but revise them in response to special situations. (My routine now includes scones and naps on snow days.)
I'm Canadian. What's a snow day?
Posted by: Scott Rollans | 02/09/2011 at 11:28 AM
I like routines only half day.
Posted by: Sebastian Velasquez | 02/10/2011 at 08:32 AM
Another Canadian here--from Halifax. I love the blog, Carol! Just wondering if you'd consider posting your list of cleanup chores. I'd like to create my own list (right now I rely on my memory, which probably isn't the best idea) and yours would be a great model.
Posted by: Melissa Churchill | 03/01/2011 at 11:18 AM