Anyone who knows me can vouch for the fact that routine rules my life. From the morning alarms that ensure I have enough time to stretch, enjoy a coffee and some reality TV before work to the self-care Sundays that recharge my batteries for the week ahead, incredibly precise schedules determine almost all of my daily actions.

And while solid routines have long been proven to boost productivity and instil better habits, their lack of spontaneity often exacerbates the very feelings of distress they’ve been formulated to overcome. 

Though it might seem counterproductive, opting to detour from today’s world of online planners and task management apps and instead embrace the unexpected can actually boost your mood and overall mental well-being.

According to online health advice service Lifespan, being more spontaneous can help us become happier, more creative and even rewire our brains. 

“Doings things differently forces the brain to forge new connections between its cells, boosting brain capacity”, explains Dr Hilary Jones.

With this in mind, this summer I’ve been veering away from routine and consciously making an effort to seize opportunities as they arise. 

From a spur-of-the-moment road trip to an unplanned yet wholesome girls’ night in, here are some of the ways spontaneity has allowed me to live my most joyful summer…

Whether I’m tackling work-related deadlines or juggling the seemingly ever-growing pile of life admin, to-do lists can quickly become the antithesis of my productivity.

Like many others, I can’t help but curate to-do lists, even on days off. From the washing pile sitting in the corner to the tedious bits of life admin I have to do as a freelancer, every to-do I scrawl into my diary sees my precious downtime decreasing rapidly.

Not allowing myself to give in to that nagging inner voice demanding that each task be completed, I recently shrugged off my entire day’s list to do something I know brings me immense joy – reading.

My scheduled chores were swiftly bypassed in favour of a day spent moving from bed to couch and back again, a great book in one hand and Goodreads loaded up in the other.

Diving into my favourite series of fantasy novels, I started on Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince – which I devoured – and ended with The Queen Of Nothing by the same author, zoning out of my own reality and diving head-first into a far-away faerie universe. 

I don’t carve out enough time to read on a daily basis, so spending the whole day wrapped up in an alternative fictional world hit the spot. 

Having lived in Birmingham with my bestie for over a year, I grew accustomed to meeting up with her regularly. Cosy mid-week movie nights and weekend dinners at the latest hotspots became the highlights of my schedule.

So, when I made the move back down south to London, the distance, coupled with life’s priorities, saw our meet-ups dwindle to quick FaceTimes when we both had a moment free.

It was during one of these calls that we both realised we had the entire day off work in the coming week and with neither of us having any concrete plans, we decided to seize the opportunity and plan a lunch date at our favourite Middle Eastern eatery in Birmingham City Centre.

The two-and-a-half-hour car journey from London was definitely worth it and before I knew it, we were making our way through a delightful mezze platter, catching up on lost time and reminiscing on all the memories we had made in the city together.

Spontaneous road trips don’t get much sweeter than that.

How typical – when the weather app shows a full day of sunshine with temperatures of 25°C, and you look outside to find the UK has other plans.

This moody island and its inability to make its mind up about the weather have been the downfall of many of my nights out this summer. So, when rainfall struck again, the pub garden dinner I’d planned with my closest girls was over before it even had the chance to begin.

The likelihood of us all being free on the same Friday night any time soon was close to non-existent. So, we quickly put our creative minds together and found the perfect solution: an indoor cocktail night with Baileys Deliciously Light unanimously chosen as the star of the show.

It worked as the perfectly creamy sweet treat straight over ice but my favourite way to serve it was in a Baileys mudslide, a wonderfully chocolatey digestif with a hit of coffee which was sipped as we played card games, shared our favourite snacks and talked the night away into the early hours.

It was a homemade indulgence that we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy if we were out and about and the perfect tonic to the less than impressive forecast.

Seeing Two Door Cinema Club live for the first time was nostalgia at its finest.

The likes of Undercover Martyn and What You Know were the soundtrack to my twenties and brought back fond memories of screaming lyrics at the top of my lungs while getting ready to go out with my friends.

So, when an unexpected opportunity to tap back into those dearly-held memories came up one evening, I couldn’t resist it.

While indulging in my usual bedtime ritual of sending videos back and forth to my girls, one friend sent me some clips of the Two Door Cinema Club’s past performances and we were completely in awe of the gig’s atmosphere.

Agreeing that it would be incredible to be a part of the crowd and witness them on stage first-hand, we decided to search for tickets for their next tour – only to find that it was already in motion, with tickets in the final phase of release.

The next few moments comprised a lot of “should we, shouldn’t we?” but both of us decided that not everything in life needs to follow a set schedule and that we should follow our instincts and grab this opportunity before it bypasses us once again.

We booked the tickets there and then, and when the big day rolled around, we left with sore throats and full of regret-free smiles.

Whether you’re searching for the ultimate way to rescue a weather-ruined night out or looking to treat your closest friends to the perfect dinner party digestif, Baileys Deliciously Light is going to be your go-to sip.

Please drink responsibly. Please do not forward this article to anyone under the age of 18.