How to make and keep a routine (complete guide)

Routines are something to be discussed. Having a routine can help with a variety of things in life. Here is how you make and keep a routine:

Set Clear Goals

Having clear goals can help you develop a sense of purpose by showing up each day and tackling things. Short-term and long-term goals both help with where you want to go. Whether it be a month from now or 5 years, it is important to have that foundation. Having a sense of purpose helps you develop your routine around things that are meaningful to you.

Start Small

It is important to build momentum starting with small achievements and successes. Going full speed from the beginning can lead to you burning out and not achieving everything you wanted. It is important to build up to achieving things and start off with a few things in your routine. Then gradually add more to it. For example, starting off with saving $100 in a month is easier than trying to save $1,000 in a month. Especially if you’re not making that much money at the beginning of your journey. Starting off with a smaller number that is likely to be achievable. This will help you build momentum for bigger goals and, you may end up being able to achieve your goal.

Prioritize Activities

Prioritizing tasks can help with achieving your goals and ultimately, help you continue with your routine once you establish it. Writing down what needs to be done is a great way to get your thoughts out and onto a visualized list of what needs to be accomplished. Next, numbering each task from most important to least important based on urgency, and time needed can narrow down which tasks are more important than the others.

Time Blocking

Going along with prioritization, time blocking can separate tasks and activities into specified time frames or blocks to prevent multitasking and being able to focus more on just one task at a time. It is best to do things right the first time, rather than haphazardly and then have to spend time later fixing or redoing things. Time blocking helps with that. It takes the prioritized list that you previously made and then gives a time frame in which to focus and complete it.

Establish Consistent Times For Waking Up and Going to Bed

It is important to keep a regular sleep schedule. With technology and now apps on our phones that track a lot of our daily lives, there is no surprise that there are sleep-tracking apps available. These apps can help you see patterns in your sleep that you may not be aware of. Getting routine sleep can be a challenge and I’m guilty of staying up late at night and then having problems being motivated the next day. Having a schedule for both waking up and going to bed is paramount to keeping a routine.

Meal Planning

Most of us have busy lives, and that is one reason why eating out is so popular. Meal planning can take a few hours to prepare multiple meals. But after that, you’re done and you just heat up the food as necessary. Another plus is you can make whatever you fancy and keep it refrigerated until you need it. Also, you know how the food is prepared and most times it saves you money compared to eating out.

Limit Distractions

With so many distractions these days, this is a challenge for us all. But for a routine to happen, we all must make sacrifices and only focus on what is important. Taking time away from social media and other distractions can improve the chances of a routine sticking. Sometimes it is best to step away from things and just focus on your own goals for an hour or two. Time blocking can help with this because it provides a time frame for socialization if that is needed and other things to be taken care of at certain times.

Exercise Regularly

Physical activity has a variety of benefits. Taking time to walk around the neighborhood, using a treadmill, or just some basic bodyweight-type exercises like pushups or sit-ups can have tremendous positive effects on your mental health. Getting outside and simply walking a few minutes per day can help you focus and build energy for the rest of the day. Physical activity on a regular basis helps to reduce stress, improves your overall health, and helps boost energy levels to make it through the day.

Reflect and Adjust

Taking the time to review your routine and determine whether things are working out or not is a good task to do and keep up with. Sometimes the routine we create initially doesn’t work out and some tweaks and modifications are needed to keep going with the routine in general. It is better to make changes than to fall off and not continue with a routine at all. Make sure you take time to periodically check how things are going with your routine.

Celebrate Achievements

Acknowledging your achievements can bring that extra motivation to help you continue with your journey and not stop. You must stop and celebrate small wins to keep you going so that when the bigger accomplishments happen you know how far you’ve come to get to that point. Take time to enjoy the fruits of your labor and celebrate both the small and big wins in life and with your routine.

Stay Flexible

This goes along with periodically reviewing your routine. Sometimes life happens and we can’t always go running at the same time every day. Or an emergency pops up with you or a family member and you must put things down to take care of it. You must have the flexibility to sometimes change things up. Unexpected events will always come up and you will have to adapt your routine around the unexpected things happening. Don’t get discouraged though, everything passes, and life still goes on. We still have to just pick up where we left off and continue with our routine.

Incorporate Breaks

Taking breaks throughout the day in between your tasks will help boost productivity and creativity. Being able to step away for a few minutes rejuvenates and helps you step out from being focused on something and allows you to focus on something else for a few minutes. These few minutes though will refresh you so that when you return to what you left off doing, you’ll have better focus and be more productive after the break.

Conclusion

Using these methods will help you make and keep a routine each day so you can focus on achieving goals. Flexibility is key to everything in life. You have to be able to modify and change with life’s unexpected things that happen.