How to Stick to a New Daily Routine

Having a solid daily routine can create a sense of grounding in your life that leads to maximum productivity and wellness. However, creating the ideal schedule and actually sticking to it are completely different things. Developing habits that help you stick to your plan isn’t always easy.

Ready to set up and stick to a daily routine for yourself? There are several benefits associated with a daily routine that can significantly improve your life. Check it out.

5 Benefits of a Daily Routine

1. Routine Lets You Control Your Day

While life is full of unexpected circumstances, having a daily routine allows you to better control your day rather than having it control you. You can take the wheel and decide what direction you’ll take from the moment you wake up until you go to bed.

You’ll be better equipped to handle daily situations by committing to and sticking with your daily routine.

2. Routine Helps Prevent Stress

Feeling stressed and overwhelmed by the demands of daily life? You’re not alone. According to one Gallup Poll survey, about 8 in 10 Americans are affected by stress. A whopping 79% of people polled reported that they feel stress sometimes or frequently throughout the day.

If you’re a part of this stressed out group, sticking to a daily routine can help. Stress, anxiety and insomnia expert Dr. Steve Orma maintains that having a routine is excellent for stress management.

“Create a set schedule for doing chores, work tasks, meetings, exercise, paying bills, and all the usual things you need to do,” Orma says. “Once this becomes your normal routine, it’s easier to accomplish everything because it becomes habit.”

3. Routine Allows Us to Use Time to Our Advantage

Regularly sticking to a routine helps decrease our need to think about what comes next, which saves us the time of considering our next move.

When you establish a daily routine and stick to it, you know exactly what’s coming throughout the day.  Rather than spending time each morning planning, you’ll be able to spend your time taking care of what needs to get done.

4. Routine Inspires Increased Productivity

Having a daily routine will also help improve productivity and beat procrastination. When we don’t have a clear direction of where each day is going to take us, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and give up completely.

Creating a daily routine will help you get done what you need to do because you know what to expect. A routine helps us prioritize and focus our attention on what needs it the most, which can increase our productivity.

5. Routine Can Improve Your Sleep

Getting better sleep is one of the best benefits of implementing a daily routine! If you have trouble sleeping, you’re certainly not alone. Whether you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or simply can’t seem to sleep at all, a daily routine might be exactly what you need.

The National Sleep Foundation states that sticking to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake time every day (even on weekends) can help regulate your body’s internal clock and help you fall asleep and stay asleep for the night.

Easy Tips to Help You Stick to a Daily Routine

As beneficial as following a daily routine might be, we know that it’s often much easier said than done.

Below are some tips that can help you embrace and stick to your daily routine:

• Be Aware of Why Past Routines Have Failed

Rather than giving up on creating a new plan, reflect upon the reasons why past routines you’ve tried have failed. Think about how the habits you engage in on a daily basis may be preventing you from following the routine you’ve set out for yourself.

It takes determination and strong will to establish (and stick to) a daily routine.  If you’re not aware of why you’ve been unable to stick to a daily routine in the past, you’ll likely sabotage yourself in the present.

Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get different results.” If you want different results, you’ll need to try different approaches. It’s important to identify what hasn’t worked for you in the past and adjust your daily routine to one that better fits your life.

• Start Your Daily Routine First Thing Each Morning

It’s important to start your daily routine first thing in the morning. The way we start each day has  nearly everything to do with how the rest of our day goes. Creating an ideal morning routine sets a strong foundation for a stress-free and productive day.

Remember, your morning routine will be unique to you. How can you improve your daily morning routine?

Are you waking up early enough to quietly savor those precious moments in between the dream and waking state, or do you hit the snooze button for 30 minutes and then rush to get out the door? Do you pick your outfit  the night before or stand in front of your closet for 20 minutes deciding what to wear? Do you leave the house knowing you used the early hours to your advantage, or are you in panic mode because you’ve been rushing around just to get out the door on time?

If you really want to stick to a solid daily schedule, start with your morning routine. Many of the most successful people swear by starting their mornings the same way every day, including weekends and on their days off. Start your morning with an established routine and you’ll have done wonders to rewire your brain with the willpower it takes to follow the rest of your day according to schedule.

• Create an Ideal Daily Schedule

Does the word schedule make you cringe? You may have been against routines in the past, but creating a schedule is a great way to decrease distractions throughout your day.

Take a moment to consider your life and everything that is a part of it on a daily or weekly basis. Family, friends, fitness, personal time, work– the list goes on. Start by making a list of everything that needs to get done daily, weekly and monthly and work out how you can best fit everything into your schedule. When your plan is curated to your specific priorities, your daily routine will begin to fall into place.

• Focus on One Thing at a Time

Distractions prove to be some of the most significant obstacles on our path to following through with a daily routine. If you really want to embrace a schedule you’ll follow without fail, turn off your phone, stay off social media and stop checking your inbox throughout the day. It can be difficult, but resist the urge to do something else when your mind starts to wander.

By focusing on one task at a time, it’s much easier to stick to a regular routine. When you’re working on your next deliverable, work on the deliverable. When you’re at the gym, be fully present with your fitness. Doing more at once doesn’t make you more productive. In fact, it pulls your attention in too many directions to work efficiently.

Distractions are everywhere. Don’t let them dictate what you do and do not accomplish.

• Use Calendars and To-Do Lists to Your Advantage

Have you ever noticed how good it feels to check something off of your to-do list? This is because your brain releases dopamine – a chemical associated with feelings of pleasure, reward, and motivation – for even the smallest wins. We’re more likely to repeat the same action when we feel dopamine’s effects.

There are countless apps available that are designed to help you better manage your day. Google calendar is a widely-available option.

If the thought of doing one more thing on a screen makes your head spin, an old-fashioned to-do list written on paper will work just as well. Bullet journals are also another fun and creative method to help you keep track of your daily routine.

There’s no single “correct” way to create a to-do list. Whether it’s a list, calendar or app you use to manage your daily routine, make sure it works for you.

Are You Ready to Commit to a New Daily Routine?

When it comes down to it, the only way to really stick to a new daily routine is to actually make the commitment. Life coach Tony Robbins mentions that your daily behavior reflects your inner state. What does your daily routine tell you about your state of mind?

Your daily habits determine your happiness.

Get in the habit of committing to a daily routine and you’ll join the ranks of some of the happiest people.

It’s said that it takes 66 days to instill new habits. If you’re starting from scratch with a new daily routine be patient with yourself After 30 days, you’ll start to really see results. It’s important to keep going. In 66 days, the tasks that make up your daily routine will become ingrained habits.

It’s said that change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end.

With enough willpower and commitment, you can do absolutely anything you put your mind to. And when it comes to committing to a new daily routine, you are limitless.

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