The Value of Routine

Outside of the Port Authority building in New York is a statue of Ralph Kramden, the fictional bus driver from the hit television series The Honeymooners.

Kramden and his best friend, Ed Norton, were often involved in get-rich-quick schemes that failed miserably and embarrassed them to their wives. But their horrible decisions endeared them to a laughing audience. 

In the video above, Ralph is preparing to be on the game show "Name That Tune," with a chance to win $1 million, while Norton, an accomplished pianist, is assisting him in his prep. 

Norton has a specific routine before playing the piano involving hand gestures and playing "Way Down Along the Swanee River," but it irritates Ralph, who fails to understand the real importance of a ritual. 

While Ralph's ultra prepared — and can name tunes from all musical genres — when "Way Down Along the Swanee River" is played, he gets stumped. He knows he's heard it before but can't think of the title or artist, only Norton's routine.  

Naturally, Ralph loses, but Norton provides a powerful reminder of the value of rituals. 

In his book "The Expectation Effect," author David Robson writes that having a specific routine for any work is critical to enhancing performance. We know that Steve Jobs, President Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg all wore the same outfits daily to reduce their decision-making opportunities; yet, we don't know their rituals.  

Tennis great Serena Williams always bounced the ball five times before a serve. Rafael Nadal always took a cold shower before a match. If basketball players perform the same routine when attempting a free throw, their success rate has been found to increase by over 12 percent.

These simple rituals don't produce winning results, but they do enhance performance. 

What are the benefits of having a ritual besides laughing at Norton's? A ritual is our way of warming our minds for the task at hand and getting ourselves mentally prepared for our days. They help us jump into action while transforming the mundane into the critical. In essence, they allow us to alert our minds that the time is now. 

The best part of having a daily ritual is that it's our own. We don't have to copy anyone else; all we need is to become consistent with how we start our day.

Once we finish, we almost always become better.