Routine Obsession

Why have we all become so interested in other people’s routines?

Need proof? Check the 4.5 million on TikTok alone.

Yes, that fitness influencer’s bizarre 3.30am rituals got me thinking about this, but our collective fascination goes WAY deeper.

As TIME magazine says:

People have been obsessed with how the famous spend their mornings for centuries.

Let’s dig into what we need to know…

Be Like You

The obvious reason is that we want to learn how the people we admire live their lives and to see if any of it will rub off on us.

We wonder whether they have any simple secrets behind their success (and we also love sneaking a peek at their inner sanctum).

As The Guardian writes:

“The optimised morning routine has become a near-mythical ideal for young people, sold by fitness influencers… promising that everything in your life would be better if you, too, had the discipline to just get up early.”

Habit Tracking

But it’s more than just morning routines.

We now live in a society that nudges us to track everything in our lives. And makes us feel like if we didn’t track it, it didn’t even happen.

As The New Statesman shares:

“… this habit tracking has become a perennial practice for many, a lifestyle in and of itself. Rather than being encouraged to make minor changes in a few small areas, we are now told that swathes of our lives never previously monitored are in urgent need of intervention…”

What does this mean for marketers?

Our obsession with other people’s routines isn’t going away, so there are easy opportunities for brand integration.

But perhaps more importantly, as this article says, we should remember this:

Absurdity stands out on social media.

There’s no point sharing a routine if it feels, err, routine. The more absurd, the better.

Of course, doing this requires a brand that can laugh at itself, which isn’t right for every marketing team.

Oh, and why is having a morning routine like being a Vegan? Because both sets of people are guaranteed to tell you about that facet of their lives before you even asked.