What's up with Mary?

Routines, and why they matter. Also, 7 other things worth your time.

My first job out of college, I was a reporter for the New Haven Register newspaper. I shared an apartment for a while with a friend named Mark.

We moved in different circles, but he was a good roommate. We’d hang out. Many weeknights, we’d “go see what’s up with Mary,” as we called it.

I know this sounds like slang for marijuana, but it wasn’t that at al…