Rituals play an important part in business life. They help to create a sense of normalcy, get into a groove, solve problems, stay healthy, etc. But rituals can also be counterproductive and destructive.

We hear a lot about baseball players and their pre-game rituals. Players do certain things in order to get physically and mentally ready for the game. They eat certain foods, listen to particular kinds of music, arrive at the stadium at a particular time, dress at a certain time, and take batting practice at a certain time.

With so many games on the schedule for an MLB team, rituals become deeply ingrained. They are not just superstitious practices, but rather important habits that bring comfort and familiarity both at home and away from home, when the players are in unfamiliar surroundings.

Baseball is also known for its in-game rituals, particularly for prima donna hitters who step out of the batter’s box to adjust their gloves and helmet, spit sideways, post a Tweet, and whistle a favorite song before facing the next pitch.

Arguably, these are unproductive rituals—they slow down the game, thereby increasing game length and decreasing game “watchability”. There has been much talk about whether the game is adversely affected by such elaborate rituals and whether or not institutional measures should be taken to prevent them.

I liken this to business. In business, we have rituals that help us to create the right frame of mind for productive activity.

Take office workers like me. We get to work at a certain time, grab our cup of coffee, say good morning to our coworkers, settle in at the desk, log-in to the computer, skim the headlines, check the email—and then we feel ready to address the first important task of the day.

These are pre-game rituals for business people. They are important because they put us in the proper frame of mind to work productively. I’m not out of town on business often, but when I am, I try to make sure that the important aspects of my ritual remain intact.

As with baseball, business rituals can be taken to an unhealthy (and unproductive) extreme. Obviously, it would not be productive (in most business environments) to develop the ritual of checking the sports headlines every 30 minutes, updating your Facebook status four times in the morning and six times in the afternoon, spending every lunch hour completely sedentary, and taking a half-hour nap under your desk in the middle of the afternoon.

Good business rituals are important. Poor business rituals are a challenge to both employees and management. Today, let’s think about our rituals—and whether or not they will contribute to our productivity and happiness.

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