9 Ways Having a Routine Can Change Your Life
Our everyday life pretty much consists of taking care of the tasks and chores that need to be done. Whether is it cleaning your house, going to work, making lunch, taking care of the kids or some other thing that we are obliged to do. A lot of time we feel overwhelmed by all of that and we wish to escape for a few days to recharge our batteries.
We’ve all read many articles with the lists of the best morning routines to make our days and our lives better. And most of them are great, sharing tips for a healthy start of the day. In this article, I want you to understand the importance of having a daily routine and how it can completely change your life and make that feeling of being overwhelmed go away.
Is your routine good for you?
When you search for a word routine in a dictionary you’ll find this meaning: a sequence of actions regularly followed. Most of us already follow some kind of routine, but does it make us productive? Happy? Confident? Are you satisfied with how your day went at the end? Or most of your days end with you being tired and overwhelmed by even thinking about the things you need to do tomorrow?
Let’s look at kids and how most parents set a daily routine for their children. They wake up at the same time, eat at the same time, even play at the same time. And don’t get me started on what happens if they skip or postpone their nap time. They get nervous and cry. We, as adults, are learned to control our emotions. So you will not see many grownups crying if they didn’t have breakfast in the morning. However, keeping our emotions inside leads to stress, anxiousness and, in the end, zero productiveness.
There are many ways how having a daily routine can change your life and here are some:
1. Having a daily routine makes you free
I’ve heard some people say that sticking to a daily routine makes you boring, that you’re not living your life to its full potential and that you have to be open to new adventures. However, most of us still lead lives where some things simply have to be done. Like, going to work, take care of our family, do the daily house chores, etc.
Creating a daily routine that works best for you makes you productive, you get things done without the mess in your head. You don’t have to worry about all the tasks you need to do because you know that they will be done. You don’t have to make decisions every day because you’ve already made them when you started keeping a daily routine that works best for you and gets things done. And you even get to look forward to the part of the day when you’ve finished all you had planned and now you get your free time. Deserved. Not only does that make you happy, but it also makes you free.
Related: The Best Morning Routines That Increase Your Productivity
2. You finally have time for yourself
According to most life coaches, the biggest thing people want is more time to themselves. They want to slow down and feel a sense of peace during the day.
When you keep a daily routine, your everyday tasks no longer bother you. They don’t take as much time as they did before because you save time on planning and making decisions every day. You know what you have to do and when you will do it. Even if you have small kids, when you keep a routine, they will follow it. I have 3 kids with a small difference in their age (at one point they were all practically babies) and I’m speaking from my own experience.
If you work 9-5, use your lunch break to make time for yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you going alone or with a colleague, what matters is that it calms you down.
Related: The 6 Most Effective Self-Care Tips For Working Women
3. You become a master of efficiency
“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.” is a quote by Zig Ziglar that perfectly explains how having a routine, a sequence of actions we regularly follow, makes us more productive. The more we stick to it, the better we’re at it.
For example, think of a first day, a first week or even a first month at your job and compare it to a workday after six months of following the same routine. You get much better at it and you even make your own workflow which makes you more productive.
Related: How To Be Less Busy And More Productive
4. Procrastination is no longer your problem
If you are not organized with the things you have to do, you procrastinate. You avoid dealing with even a 5-minute task. But when you follow a daily routine, you’re not even thinking about your tasks as something you need to do, you just do them. For example, when you wake up in the morning, you’re not thinking “Oh my God, I need to brush my teeth. I’ll do it later”, you just do it. Because that is a part of your morning routine.
5. You stop feeling overwhelmed
We feel overwhelmed by the thought of all the things we need to do which we’re not doing. Having a daily routine makes that feeling go away because we know we have it under control. Let’s face it, we can’t do everything in one day, but when you know you’re going to do it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, it doesn’t bother you.
6. You become more satisfied with your life
As I said many times, having a daily routine makes you get things done and getting things done provides you with the feeling of great satisfaction.
“Enjoy the satisfaction that comes from doing little things well.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
7. It builds self-confidence
The feeling of everyday satisfaction we start to have when we follow a daily routine, makes our self-confidence go up. It makes it easier for us to deal with the things that are beyond our control and are not included in our list of actions we regularly do. The fact that you’re actually doing things gives you a sense of power and control.
8. You make new goals
Before you started having a daily routine, your main goal was to get your everyday tasks and chores done. With having all that in order, you’re ready for setting up new goals and challenges for yourself. Now with a new mindset that says “I can do it.”
9. You have your everyday life in order
Following a routine is a great way to keep things under control. If you start skipping some, you will know that you’re going off-road. And you will also know your way back.
Handling your tasks as a part of your routine can improve your life in many ways. Of course, you are the one who chooses the way you will follow your routines. For example, my weekend routines are different from the ones I follow during the week. My Monday routine is not the same as my Friday routine. Also, I think it’s important to say that it is absolutely fine (even healthy) if you choose to do nothing on weekends.
We all lead different lives, have different goals, needs, and wishes. After thinking about what you want to achieve in your life, setting a routine that works best for you will help you stay focused. There’s no point in waiting, this is the best time to start your own routine.
