4 Tips for Establishing Routines

Being intentional about routines and habits is something that I feel quite strongly about! In conversation if you mention you are trying to get into the habit of x, y, or z, get READY, cause I will gab your ear off about strategies, techniques, and motivation!

I am a big creature of habit, so the routines I do or do not have really shape my life.

“We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

As my favorite quote so wonderfully points out, the big things really are a combination of small daily decisions! I’ve heard it said that actions that become habits take far less brain power and energy to complete. So once something important is a habit you’ve got extra brain power to use on other tasks, rather than using all your energy on a few things.

When it comes to routines I believe they can set the tone for everything. If you do the same order of things every single morning you are less likely to start your day feeling overwhelmed, chaotic, and behind. Same goes for the evening, working out, etc.

I am no expert on this subject, but I do spend waaay too much time reading about the brain and how it correlates to routines (does this fascinate anyone else??). So let’s chat about it! Here are a few tips that have been helpful for me in establishing fruitful routines.

 

1. Have a reason you want to establish the routine. Rather than doing it because “it seems like a good thing to do” or “it works well for other people,” get to know what is truly important to you and why. When the task gets old or monotonous you can come back to this reason and be energized to keep going. If you don’t have a solid reason as to why you are forming a habit, you most likely won’t stick with it.
2. Start small. For me, this is the hardest and most important. I have a tendency to start with goals like “work out at 6am every day, 7 days a week.” I obviously don’t live up to the goal, then stop it all together. I’m sure you’ve heard this tip before, but I’m sure you are also guilty of doing this at some point or another. Let’s say, for example, that you are trying to set a morning routine of several steps, start with just step 1! Once you do it every single day for a month or so, add your next step! I would encourage the same with making daily Bible reading a habit. For me, it didn’t work to commit to reading 5 chapters a day (until it was an established habit), but I did start with 1. I like to make the goal small enough that I feel ridiculous making excuses about not doing it.

3. Set a specific time and stick to it. Whether it be immediately after waking up or a specific time of day, keep it consistent! It will train your brain to expect it at that time! You can even set an alarm on your phone for it! I am currently breaking the habit of looking at social media at night so I have an alarm that goes off every night at 10pm to remind me.

4. Pay attention to what is working and what isn’t working. Make use of the areas in which you thrive and let go of the rest! If you prefer working out in the evening, don’t force yourself to do morning workouts just because people say it’s a good habit! Play to your strengths, don’t force your weaknesses! And don’t be afraid to tweak your strategy as you go.

I hope these tips help you while establishing new routines! Let me know in the comments what you are trying to make into a habit! Let’s chat!