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engagement and family time; sitting again by the kitchen table so to speak; understanding what is most important in our lives.
Book Review and interview: The Art of Routine by Angel Iscovich, MD
VOICE: Have you experienced any health benefits from some of the routines you have developed personally?
Transformation Through The Use of Routines Angel Iscovich, MD By Mark M. Whitehurst / VOICE
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OSITIVE SOLUTIONS AND IDEAS OFTEN ARISE OUT OF CHAOS and certainly the complex world we live in became increasingly more challenging and chaotic as the COVID pandemic changed everyone’s life. The latest book by Angel Iscovich, The Art of Routine, provides a clear and simple model for changing a life in need of an attitude adjustment or with a need to address chaos. In The Art of Routine, Iscovich and co-authors Joe Garner and Michael Ashley pull together some excellent research and contemporaneous situations to examine the use of routine and the structures needed to create new rhythms and a positive life path that is accessible to almost anyone.
The book, 171 pages (Skyhorse Publishing), offers a path to balance the non-stop change that has begun to characterize the COVID era and the 2020s. To open this topic up, Iscovich took time from his schedule to answer a few questions and reflect on the message of his book for VOICE readers. VOICE: What drew your attention to this subject matter? Why did you write this book?
Angel Iscovich: I was studying to develop Geriatric Emergency Care/
December 17, 2021
Departments back ten years ago and became interested in “centenarians” who I interviewed and studied their longevity. Two things they all had in common was a “stable environment” and “routines,” but the actual type of activity varied. It got me thinking that routine may be more important than the actual content and that routine applied to high performers, business, care of the young, and basically how we survive. I then realized that our bodies are wired with significant forms of routine, rhythm, regularity, and that is how we perceive the world. The sun rises and sets, the seasons are predictable, our hearts and other body functions have regularity and routine. The main aspect in the book, The Art of Routine, is to emphasize that routine may be more important than the actual activity we perform. It enhances longevity, high performance, care of the young, business results. Thereby, making for a life of meaning and purpose. In today’s world we are constantly interrupted and distracted with a tremendous amount of content and are not able to develop regularity, rhythm, homeostasis, which is how we are wired, how we adapt to our environments, how we perceive the world to give us a sense of certainty. This is why I advocate routine, rituals, traditions to make a better life and world. VOICE: Do routines assist in balancing people’s lives?
Iscovich: Absolutely. We see this in Medicine when we treat or care for individuals in the hospital or in mental health settings. The impact of stable environment and
routine are important in treatment and recovery. It has become more difficult to be able to balance our lives and achieve the equilibrium and homeostasis that our bodies desire and help us survive. In our very driven and communicated digital world, we are being interrupted and disrupted with tremendous content of what to do. We are also now able to change our physical environments with travel, our food staples/types are not limited, not allowing us to take the time to adapt to a place or a routine. I see many people most content when they adhere to routines and have structure and organization in their lives. VOICE: As the pandemic continues, how do you think routines will evolve? What do you see so far?
The pandemic has certainly disrupted our everyday lives and the routines we perform. I call that bursting our “Time Bubble.” But we are wired to find stability and routine to survive. We surely have had significant collateral damage from the pandemic, but there has been collateral value. Being forced to “shelter in place” has given us an appreciation for our physical environment and how important its function and aesthetics are. We will continue to evolve into routines that are at our homes and where we shelter. Remote work will prosper and we will need new routines on how to be productive. Home furnishings and remodeling will continue to have focus and value. Also, many of us were forced to engage with our families at home. This has brought new found value to the importance of
Iscovich: There are a couple of routines that I believe have good behavioral health benefits that I have developed. One is that of “daily affirmation.” Every morning at 7am I have scheduled on my smart phone a reminder of a daily affirmation. It can be very specific or a positive saying. Generally, I like to think about the day to come in a positive and enthusiastic manner. One other is taking the “quiet challenge” daily at 3:30pm and shutting off the smart phone, turning off computers, and spending quiet time alone to rest the mind or simply ponder, free of interruptions. This is particularly helpful for business life in leadership positions. VOICE: Do you see routines as preventive care?
Iscovich: Routines are preventive care in the sense that our bodies adapt to the routine and environments we live in. Routines related to exercise, diet, sleep are now well known for living meaningful and healthy life, that one might otherwise not have. There have been several studies on how organized and structured routines during the day make for better sleep. We also know that following circadian rhythms is beneficial and how night workers can be prone to diseases that can otherwise be prevented. VOICE: If routines have tendrils in the everyday and in spirituality, are there bits and pieces in all routines?
Iscovich: What is common in all routines, by definition, is that they are repeated with some form of time regularity. When studying history, religion, and social psychology one can see how important it is that some routines become rituals and some rituals become traditions. Just as we are sure that the sun will rise, repetitive social behaviors of tradition give us certainty and comfort in a disruptive world. The winter Holiday Season is a good example. More specifically, one can look at evening prayer as a routine that developed prior to sleep, to calm and clear the mind prior to sleep, and that we will awaken to a new day. www.angeliscovich.com