A routine is something or a series of things that you do every day. Weather you know it or not you already have a routine if you have any habit, you have a routine. A habit is formed by doing something repetitively (WE ALL HAVE HABITS) let me explain: It doesn’t matter what time I go to bed at night, even without an alarm I am always waking up at the same time every morning whether I want to sleep in or not because that is the time my body has become accustomed to. That is a product of my routine!
Your routine is important to a big part of your life! What are you kidding me I don’t even think about it I just do it? That my friends is exactly my point. You do it without even thinking about it. People who spend time working on their skills eventually become successful at them. How successful depends on how much work you put into them. Athletes, Doctors, Artist, Lawyers, you name it those people no doubt had a routine that helped them home in on their perspective skills. Taking time to hit the ball courts, Paint, or study. Those are all things they would need to be successful. You don’t just wake up one day and go oh I’m a lawyer today. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way. You must be consistent and set aside time to work on reaching your goals.
Listen, I’m not telling you to plan each minute of your day. That would not only be counterproductive but all around bad! What I’m saying is for you to realize your full potential, you are going to need a starting point, a guideline so to speak. Let’s face it life will throw you curve balls everyday but, if you have a routine in place, it makes dealing with those curve balls and getting back on track a little bit easier.
Now that you know what a routine is and that it is vital to success. Here are a few reasons why you should plan and follow a routine.
1. A routine allows you to have structure
A routine allows you to have structure. You become comfortable with your daily life. Knowing what needs to be done and doing it without even thinking about It because it has already become a habit
2. Saves you time
Having a routine saves you time by allowing you to concentrate on the prioritized task in your life. What time that would have been wasted on things of no value is now dedicated to helping you reach your goals. Having a routine allows you to get up and get started verses getting up and wasting your most valuable resource time, by trying to figure out what to do.
2. Helps you become more efficient
You Become more efficient because you already know what needs to get done on a daily basis and know how to do it because you have done it so many times before.
3. Create good habits/breaks bad ones
You see the trick to creating good habits is repetition and consistency. I heard a quote somewhere once that said if you show a monkey how to do something more than five times it becomes a habit. So, get used to doing things that are good for you not the other way around. At some point those things will become natural practice in your life. Having a routine will also make you more aware of bad habits you have picked up along the way. So, replace those things with good ones.
4. Helps you prioritize your life
A routine forces you to decide what is important to you It also forces you to deal with those tasks first. If your priorities are messed up your routine can help you determine where and how to fix it.
5. Keeps you moving forward/Builds confidence
People tend to avoid and procrastinate on doing task that make them uncomfortable or stressed to just think about however, if they are already part of your routine, you’re more likely to finish them and feel better about yourself for getting it done so quickly and gracefully. That’s right you’re a habitual problem fixer.
6. Reduces stress
Having a routine helps you reduce stress in your life by allowing you to be able to tackle task without even really thinking about it. The act of doing something gives you a sense of control of your life and helps to be more comfortable with the task at hand.
7. Helps you keep track of your successes and failures
Having a routine can also help you track your success and failures by holding you accountable. If you are having a hard time sticking to your routine that means your life and priorities are a mess and you might want to reevaluate them. However, if you’re following, you’re routine and doing great at sticking to it that’s awesome and you’re nailing it! If you’re nailing it maybe, it’s time to reevaluate and challenge yourself to grow and add a few things to your routine. For example, you have set your weight loss goal to 50lbs, and you have already lost it why not set the bar a little higher next time instead of your normal 10 pushups you do 20.
Your routine is not set in stone and its good necessary even to reevaluate it and adjust it as you live your life. As you reach and fall short of your goals. Reevaluate your routine. Let your routine change and grow with you.
