Do you know the most important thing that your job gives you?

For some, it might be a good experience (skills or otherwise) or belongingness (if you are lucky) to be around like-minded people. For some it is money.

But even those two or three aspects don’t come close to the most important aspect of any job.

Ask a 55-year-old who has just retired “ what is the one greatest thing you are going to miss from your many years of employment?”

And she will say “routine”.

The most important thing your job gives you is routine.

Your employer gives you an objective and resources to attain that objective. Some are given better resources and better objectives.

Most people are not able to answer this most important question: “ What am I going to do tomorrow if I quit my job today? “

The newly acquired freedom for that 55-year-old is overwhelming.

She never thought about how she is going to develop a new routine.

Those who are not caught up in the fabric of employment define and meticulously develop their own routines.

My mom is a house-wife and she was never employed. But she has a powerful routine which she has developed for herself. She created her own objectives and hustled to gather resources to fulfill them. No corporate gave her any routine or purpose.

To live a purposeful life you need a solid routine, you may or may not need a job to do that. 🙂