Usually
you associate being routine as boring. How can doing the same things consistently
in your life be exciting? Keep reading as you will find surprising benefits of
establishing routine in your life.
Reflect: Do
you want to be more productive, more efficient, complete your goals, and stay
on task? Do you find yourself making your to-do list or your weekly schedule,
but not sticking to it?
Routine
can be defined as doing the same task/activity, in the same manne until the
task/activity becomes a part of your daily schedule.
Establishing routines takes time and consistently.
Being disorganized, unstructured, and lacking in good planning will result in
wasting valuable time that you could have been using to accomplish goals and
overall be more productive in every area of your life.
►Practical Ways to Establish Routine in Your Life:
1. Go to bed and get up the same time
every morning. Getting up early will help jump-start
your day to getting those things you want to get accomplished, however, this
means you may need to go to bed earlier to get up earlier. “The early bird gets the worm.” You can increase
your sleep 30-60 minutes on the weekend if needed.
2. Set a morning routine.
Do the same things every morning, such as spending time with God, exercising, drink
a glass of water, and eating a healthy breakfast or power smoothie.
3. Set a night routine.
Do the same things every night before bed, such as reading, praying or brushing
your teeth.
4. Make your bed daily!
That’s right, making your bed daily creates a simple routine that can be mastered
and helps you in establishing more difficult routines.
5. Make a daily gratitude list.
This simple act done daily can increase your overall sense of well-being,
contentment and boost your mood.
6. Have a chore day
or specific times that you will do your chores, otherwise you will most likely
have a disorganized, messy home. Don’t wait until you feel like cleaning your
home or doing laundry, most likely you will not feel like doing these daunting
chores.
7. Make a daily, weekly and monthly calendar.
Write out your overall schedule for the month and daily make a list of your top
priorities that you want to get accomplished. Make sure to schedule time with
friends/family, your Sabbath, enjoyable activities for yourself, and any interests
that you have-otherwise people/events will devour your time because of your lack
of planning. Keep in mind, things do come
up that alter your schedule, and you should make necessary adjustments in your routine
when needed, however, this should not be the norm. If you make adjusting
your schedule to meet the needs of others, you will not get accomplished what God
may have for you or even what you would like to achieve. Don’t let others
dictate your schedule, because they will, but be proactive and plan ahead.
8. Reward
yourself weekly when you stick to your routines.
►Benefits to Establishing Routines:
1. Good
habits will form such as exercise and bad habits will break.
2. You
will get more accomplished professionally and personally.
3. Provides
you with structure, and a way of organizing your life so it makes sense to you.
Those that lack structure in their lives tend to be undisciplined. An undisciplined
life can lead to a chaotic life.
4. You
feel like you have a sense of ownership in your life and order, and helps
create boundaries with those who would encroach on your time.
5. Provides
you with direction, you will know where you are going so you don’t remain stuck
or idle.
6. Increases
efficiency. Routines form habits, and once habits are formed the act of
automation increases efficiency in your life, by enabling you to do things
without consciously thinking about them.
7. Routines
decrease stress and anxiety. Knowing what you are to be doing a daily basis
creates comfort and predictability.
8.
Builds momentum. “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.” For instance, running a
mile a day, means in a year you will have ran 365 miles.
9.
Helps you become faster and more
adept to what you do each and every day. If you are a writer and write daily,
inevitably you will become a better writer.
10. Routine
actually saves you time! You’re not wasting your time making decisions, preparation
or figuring out what you should be doing each day.
11. Helps
you to prioritize what is most important to you, so that you are not expending
yourself doing things that will consume your time.
12. Reduces
procrastination. When you have a routine, you will get things done because you
know what you need to be doing and those things become automatic.
You can have a tighter routine on the weekdays and a
lighter routine on the weekend to create times for fun, leisure and relaxation.
Many successful people have established routines in their lives. If you want to
be successful in any area of your life, maintaining a routine will be
important. The certainty of routine can help you to mange the uncertainty that
life can throw at you. Coping with unpredictable periods in your life is more
doable when there is a predictability of a structured routine. Routine is essential
for those with depression, anxiety, and who get overwhelmed from stressful
situations.
Let’s
Discuss:
What can you begin to do today to establish a routine
in your life?
