Counselor's Corner: Why Routine and Structure Are Good For You

When you are needing to get something accomplished, set a goal, or make progress in an area of your life; routine and structure will be important.

Let’s look at a definition of routine:

A regular way of doing things in a particular order.

►Routine builds perseverance.

Why do you need perseverance? Perseverance builds persistence in a steady course of action, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles or discouragement.

Whenever you set out to accomplish tasks, in particular achieving goals you will be excited in the beginning. Anything new can be exciting, but when the emotional high leaves after you realize the goal you made is not as thrilling as actually making the goal.

Setting your mind to get something accomplished is only the first step. 

The stage after you decide to set a goal or accomplish a task and before your goal is achieved, there is the “in-between” stage. This stage is where routine and structure will be important. Doing the same thing over and over again may sound a bit boring, and frankly it can be, but it pays off! For example when I made the goal to start running 2 years ago, I was enthusiastic to begin. However, my enthusiasm for running ended pretty quickly after I was meet with sore knees and calves and not wanting to get up at 6am to run. Now, I look forward to running and no longer experience the physical pain I did before. What happened to get me to this point? I developed routine for my running that developed into perseverance when there were days it was a challenge for me to run.

If you are not organized or a planner and tend to be more chaotic and disorganized, having structure will allow you get those goals accomplished that you want. Without goals and direction you will most likely will get off course and very likely not get what you want done.

►Structure enables you to set goals for the day, the week and throughout the year. It is important that you write out your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals and make them as specific as possible. Unstructured people have more difficulty achieving long-term goals, and tend to easily be distracted by other things. When you are distracted, you lose focus. If you lose focus you will not stay on track.

Structure builds consistency. Consistency is important because it creates stability and not chaos. Many of your day-to-day actions will become automatic when you build in structure, this can be important for activities you do not enjoy like chores. You will feel more tranquil when there is a certain amount of order in your life. An orderly home can bring much peace. If you have difficulty with spending money being structured can curb your spending. You will be more focused on paying your bills, tithing, saving, and then spending some on you.

►Lack of structure leads to impulsiveness. When you are impulsive you may do things you regret later.

When you build structure into your life you actually get more done, and can have spare time to do the things that you enjoy.

►Routine and structure are very important for people in recovery, have addictions, deal with ADHD, depression, or work from home.

►Routine and structure:

Frees your mind of clutter.

Builds good habits.

Increases efficiency and productivity.

Builds momentum.

Helps you stay on task.

Feel less overwhelmed with your work load.

Better time management.

Research has shown that throughout history most successful people in their fields almost all had daily routines.

►Reflection questions:

1.      Should every day of your life have routine and structure? No, you can have a day to relax or go on vacation, you just can’t do that every day. Make sure to have time for breaks and enjoyment in your routine. Life happens, so there will be times that your routine and structure are broken, just make sure to get back on track as soon as you can.

2.      What daily routines do you need to implement? Weekly routines? (Remember to write them out and be specific).

3.      How can you have more structure in your life? How will you incorporate time for breaks, relaxing, and enjoying life being structured?

4.      What are the benefits of routine and structure for you personally?