Routine, Schmoutine — Turns Out It Works

By Tim
When Vanessa first floated the idea of a “structured daily routine,” I pictured a military barracks. Wake up at 0600. Shine boots. Salute somebody. Instead, I got MiM. Which, to be clear, does not require me to salute anyone, but does expect me to put on pants before lunch.

MiM gives me a list every morning. Hydration, writing, yoga, walking the dog. It’s a polite but persistent nudge — like having a personal assistant who never rolls their eyes. I’ll admit, at first I treated it like spam. “Oh look, my wife’s app thinks I should drink water. Adorable.”

But here’s the twist: it works.

The more I follow the routine, the less my day unravels. Writing, for example. I’d stopped for a while — too many mental cobwebs. Now, with MiM reminding me daily, I’m back at it. Some days I’m brilliant. Other days I produce what can only be described as “words in a row.” But either way, the muscle is moving again.

The best part? I can see my progress. It’s right there in the little check marks and logged moments. I didn’t think I’d care, but apparently my brain likes gold stars as much as it likes coffee.

I still grumble when the yoga reminder pops up, because no app should expect a man my age to touch his toes without incident. But I do it. And then I feel better. And then I hate to admit that I feel better.

So here’s my official statement:
MiM is helping. The structure, the research, the small daily wins — they’re stitching my days together in a way that makes sense. I may never salute Vanessa, but I will, grudgingly, thank her.

And I hope it works for you too, but maybe, just maybe, you’d like to help? We’re looking for a few more Trailblazers to join in the research. It’s fun, it’s informative, and with any luck, it’ll help a whole ton of people down the line.