How To Create A Solid Routine for Every Day

Have you ever heard the expression idle hands are the devil’s playground? 

A report from Forbes.com found that sources of millennial anxiety may include a difficult job market, student debt, and psychological issues such as ambition addiction, career crisis, and too many choices.

With all of these stresses, it is often much easier to feel overwhelmed and therefore decide to put off tasks.

The Effects Of A Lack Of Routine

When you put off tasks you are choosing to have no established routine. This is what leads to a general feeling of stress and perpetual chaos. 

Many people resist establishing routines because they don’t want to feel like every day is a mundane. They want more individuality. 

However, having no routine (which ultimately is a lack of structure) is so much more draining mentally, physically, and emotionally.

When there is no set routine to fill your day a person is much more likely to engage in excessive behaviors. These behaviors could include overeating, drinking excessively, a sedentary lifestyle, oversleeping, etc.

Why Is Having A Routine Important?

Consider the lifestyle of the people you know that are successful. You’ll likely find that they engage in an everyday routine. People who establish and maintain routines are almost always physically and mentally healthier and more productive.

When you make plans with a mentally healthy person, they check their calendar because they are organized.  

For disorganized people, the morning can be very difficult. Beginning a new day can feel like a major challenge when there is no structure. 

All of your to-do list items are frantically bouncing around your head, if they haven’t been freed from their cerebral prison. 

How do you free your mind and make room for mental clarity? 

Having a routine can significantly help with stress because there is predictability in your life due to more action being taken. 

Routines are a set schedule one creates for themselves to get things done and maintain structure is an otherwise chaotic world. 

When there is a set schedule for tasks such as doing chores, work tasks, exercising, paying bills, schedule doctor’s appointments, food prepping, etc. the world becomes a more predictable place. 

The predictability of routine can provide a sense of direction in an otherwise unpredictable world.

There is peace and a sense of calm in knowing what will happen next as opposed to “I feel too overwhelmed to get anything done!”

You keep repeating in your head “Make sure you go grocery shopping, make sure you go grocery shopping.” 

Maybe you do go grocery shopping, but not at the expense of having tasks like this take over your mind with repetition because your worried you will forget.

Things you need to accomplish week after week can easily be recorded somewhere so you don’t have to worry about forgetting.

Most importantly, you are causing yourself unnecessary stress. Unburden your mind with a routine you can visually see.

When Considering Your Daily Routine…

Get It Out Of Your Mind

Trying to store our “to do” list in our memory banks can feel overwhelming and you could miss important deadlines in which things need to be accomplished.

With technology today, there is no excuse for being disorganized.

Ways in which to organize your information include using a paper calendar or digital calendar such a google calendar, setting reminders on your phone, and so on. 

Some people like to have an actual planner they can write in and keep with them.

Others prefer to do everything electronically. Whatever type of person you are, staying organized is your key to success. 

Writing out a list you can see works by reducing chaos and lending structure to your day. To write an effective list, start with your top objectives for the day. 

Keep it small, realistic, and focused. 

Write out everything that you need to accomplish in the week ahead.

Next, list these things in matters of importance. Consider ditching the items that are low on a long list, because they could be weighing you down and are unnecessarily distracting. 

Be sure to add tasks you complete every day of the week, such as making the bed, laying out your clothes and food prepping. Include everything so it can have its place within your daily routine.

Once this becomes your normal routine, it’s easier to accomplish even more tasks because you feel a sense of control by creating a good habit that encourages an organized lifestyle.

Prepare For Your Day The Night Before

Before bed, take some time to plan out what tomorrow will look like, including all the chores and tasks you need to get done.

This can include making a to-do list in order of what is most important or time-sensitive.

This can also include setting an intention for the next day so that you feel a sense of direction. 

You can put reminders on your phone for tasks that are outside of your normal routine (i.e. making an appointment with your doctor), to ensure you complete your tasks. 

Wake Up Around The Same Time Everyday

If you start work at 9 am and you leave yourself enough time to brush your teeth and throw on clothes, you will feel disheveled and you will start your day feeling anxious. 

This leads to a feeling of discomfort and chaos. Instead, be sure to leave yourself enough time where you do not feel like you have to rush. 

Start slow and steady and you just might have a more relaxed day.

Declutter Your Life

If you tell yourself you would like to be more organized from here on in and your living space looks like you got robbed, you’re not setting yourself up for success.

 Keep your space, especially your workspace, as neat as possible and throw away things you do not need. 

Then, you will see less physical clutter and therefore feel less mental clutter. This leads to feeling better prepared to take care of business.

Have A Morning Routine

This could include getting out of bed and brushing your hair, washing your face, brushing your teeth, mediating, exercising, setting morning intentions. 

If you are not a morning person, have your clothes laid out for you the night before so this doesn’t slow you down. 

Have a coffee pot with a timer that brews your coffee for you at a set time each day (also a great way to save money rather than convincing yourself, you need to buy fancy designer coffee every day!)

Whatever it takes to ensure you have predictability in the morning. 

Plan Ahead

Sure, it’s exciting to be spontaneous. However, when there is consistently a lack of structure in your day or week, this causes a sense of chaos. 

Do things to prepare ahead of time for your week ahead. 

For instance, Sunday is a good day to decide on meals for the week, plan out your days to the best of your ability, and decide which tasks can realistically be completed on each day and at what time. 

Make Sure To Consistently Eat and Drink

So many clients say to me “I get so busy, I just don’t have time to eat.” This is an epic mistake. You need food and water to keep up your energy and remain productive.

If you’re putting off eating, you’re more likely to feel fatigued, irritable and your mind will be cloudier. 

Make food a priority to maintain good mental health and physical balance.

Exercise 

Ideally, this would be in the morning. If you make mornings a lot harder than they have to be like me, this may not happen! Be sure to get some sort of exercise into your routine. 

You could decide to not exercise because you don’t have the time available you would like to commit to it or choose exercising in whatever amount of time is feasible. 

It’s a much better decision to get any exercise in that you can. Youtube.com has a multitude of short interval exercises such as 5-minute ab workouts, High intensity, full-body 15-minute workouts, etc. 

Do not forget to include exercise in your daily routine any way you can and you will notice how much more energy you have. Often, you make better food choices as well.

Be Selfish!

Putting your needs first and ensuring that your mental health is as stable as possible helps create a sense of control and aides in having better relationships.

It is for the greater good for yourself and those you love in the end.

You can be there for your loved one’s once you’ve taken care of business.

Set A Routine That’s Right For You

The best way to approach establishing a routine is to be as specific as possible by adding tasks to your schedule at a set time each day or week. 

Making things as predictable as possible and leaving very little room to deviate from your schedule is where you will see success in your routine. 

More importantly, you will feel more grounded, in control, and less stress overall. 

Once You Have Your Routine…

Once you’ve established a routine, give it a little time and it’ll start to feel like second nature.

It is at this point that you can now challenge yourself by adding something new and valuable to your life each week. 

Be mindful of the things that you’d like to add to your routine, but have felt too overwhelmed to add, such as regular exercise and social interaction.

For example, if you’re a morning person, you may want to establish a routine in which you commit to exercising two to three days a week at 7:00 am for 20-45 minutes.

If you do any more than this, amazing; you’re ahead of the game. However, it is important to start realistically and be honest with yourself when seeking goal acquisition. 

Your routine has to work with who you are.

If you like to stay up late, setting the intention to get up early as part of your routine may decrease your success of feeling a routine is within your capability.

Evan Williams, the founder of Blogger, Twitter, and Medium, takes a break in the middle of his day to go to the gym.

“My focus is usually great first thing in the morning, so going to the gym first is a trade-off of very productive time. Instead, I’ve started going mid-morning or late afternoon.”

Creating a daily routine that includes sleeping, eating, exercising, and recreational activities in a busy schedule, allows you to work better, be more efficient, and stay fulfilled. It keeps the momentum going.

Consider The Best Mental Health Routine

However, many people create a routine to help them physically and fail to consider the importance of doing the same for their mental health. 

Getting into a daily routine can benefit your mental health because it creates stability, structure, and predictability.

You may already incorporate relaxation skills or distraction behaviors into your routine to maintain good mental health.

If not, some to consider are meditating, diaphragmatic breathing, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, setting daily intentions, etc.

The way we think and therefore behave is crucial to our overall success in life.

Monitoring and challenging negative self-talk can make space in your mind for a sense of clarity and direction.

Negative thoughts, or pessimistic thinking, can prevent you from enjoying life. This type of thinking can distract you from focusing on what’s important and drain your energy. 

Practice challenging your negative thinking every time you have a negative thought that does not serve any positive purpose. Here’s how.

Having a daily routine can help significantly reduce stress. When you try to rely on your memory to accomplish things from one day to the next, you’re more likely to lose information and become frustrated when you keep forgetting to do things. 

Trying to remember things can be stressful and can fill our brains with everything on our ‘to do’ list; which can be incredibly overwhelming. 

Routine can take the guesswork and uncertainty out of your day, which allow you to feel more in control and less stressed.

The benefit of having a daily routine is that you are allowing yourself to reduce putting things off, you’re focusing on what matters to you, and keeping track of your goals. 

Having a routine can help cultivate positive daily habits and to prioritize self-care. Organizing your time increases the opportunity to schedule important things.

Organize yourself around your values and goals and allow your best self to shine through.