I'll conclude this little series on entertaining by writing about a benefit of hosting guests that you might not expect me to value. If you read this blog regularly, you know I love my routine. But one of the benefits of hosting guests is that it shakes your routine up a bit.

Perhaps your routine involves doing laundry every Wednesday. But your house guest wants to take you to dinner on the last night of his visit, so you can't. Or you have a set routine before you leave for work in the morning — a routine interrupted by the need to serve breakfast to your guests and engage in polite conversation.

Routines, while helpful, can become ruts. It's right there in the word: RoUTineS. You can prevent that by not adhering to them slavishly — by shaking things up when necessary. Now, you don't abandon your routine because you'd rather play a game on your phone or because you just don't feel like fulfilling your responsibilities. But a guest is a good reason to step back.

There are a few benefits to shaking things up on occasion:

• It can give you perspective to decide if the established routine is still working for you.
• It might help you find ways to streamline your routine, making it more pleasant and effective.
• It can feel like a delicious treat.
• Settling back into your routine can feel like coming home after a long trip. The excitement was fun, but you have a new appreciation for the comfort of the ordinary.