I live a really structured life. I like my routines and would describe myself as quite disciplined. While this year I have been much better at making room for fun and play in my life, I still tend to schedule in that time. Doing something last minute is not my thing. I’m not spontaneous at all. Translation: I can be pretty boring sometimes.

When it comes to my responsibilities and obligations I hardly ever blow them off. I was never one to procrastinate on a project. And in school I was never the type of student that would play hooky. But in the spirit of adventure and fun, which is my theme for this year, I decided to shake things up.

February was a really busy working month for me, and as a result I fell way behind on all my paperwork. This past weekend I decided that I would devote Sunday to catching up on all my administration work so that I could start the month of March organized and prepared. But, then I got a last minute invite to join some friends out at the Polo club. I had never been to a Polo match before and since I’ve been wanting to try new things I agreed to go out, but just for a few hours. My plan was to stay no longer then 3 hours, so I could have fun but still get back home and get work done. Well….after 2 glasses of champagne I decided to stay a little longer. In fact I didn’t end up getting home until well past my bedtime!

Now that is extremely late for me, and extremely out of character. Yes, the cocktails might have had something to do with it. But the main reason I stayed out so late was that I was having so much fun! I was with some of my closest friends having the best time, and I just didn’t want the day to end. Basically I blew off my responsibilities so that I could make some epic memories. And it was totally worth it.

Of course I am still behind on paperwork and will have to stay up late this week in  order to get it all done. But that sacrifice is well worth it. I realized yesterday that life is a lot more fun when I loosen up a bit, break some of my own rules, and step out of my rigid schedule. There is no doubt that structure and discipline are important if you want to live a successful life. I would strongly encourage everyone to develop a basic routine that helps keep them on track. But then also know when to throw your routine out the window and shake things up a bit. The best memories aren’t planned, they just happen. And if we leave no room for spontaneity in our lives, we’ll most likely miss out on all those fun experiences.

This week look at where you can be a little more flexible in your routine. When is the last time you had a completely spontaneous fun day? If you can’t remember it’s been way too long, and it’s time for you to shake things up.