Routines often get a bad rap. If you Google quotes about routines, you will see things like “routine kills imagination”, “routine curbs enthusiasm ” or even “live more of your life with less routine”….and to that I say “Nah, Son”.
The past year has made it very clear that I am a mess without a routine. I am a self proclaimed professional procrastinator. When I was younger, the adrenaline rush from getting things done at the last minute worked just fine. However, at my Big Age, I have far too much to do on any given day to put everything off to the last minute. I have commitments, deadlines and an overall desire to have some much needed and well earned rest.
The truth that I ultimately had to admit to myself before fulling embracing creating routines, is that procrastination isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Yeah, you feel like you are delaying doing something because you will get it done later but you waste time thinking about it when you could just DO IT.
This is where ROUTINE enters the chat. Earlier this year I took a Process Improvement course and spent the entire 8 weeks focused solely on improving my morning routine. You know, wake up, get ready, log into work rinse and repeat, right? Through this course, I found that for the best morning, my morning routine actually began the night before.
The benefits of having a routine are plentiful:
- Routine makes you more efficient by reducing decision points!
- Routine creates structure in our lives (structure is good!)
- We have a finite amount of time, Routine saves time!
- Routine reduces procrastination!
I found so much time in my mornings and that translated into a much better, far more relaxed day because I was no longer frantic in the mornings.
I have taken what I learned in that Process Improvement course and incorporated it into many aspects of my life implementing routines for just about everything. As a Mom, I now try to stress the importance of having routines with my son. I know that I have passed down my procrastinating ways and I don’t want that for him. He’s a year away from being in college and on his own for the first time and I want to set him up for success in every possible way that I can.
Want to build a routine? Here are a few easy steps to get you started:
- Decide on one aspect of your life that you want to create a routine around (i.e, morning routine, bedtime routine, a routine for studying or even a routine for repeatable tasks you do as part of your job)
- Create small goals or milestones; what do you hope to accomplish by creating this routine?
- Develop a plan! A sure way to fail is to not plan, write down what you will do and the order you will complete tasks
- Give it a go, remember small steps everyday matter
- Recognize your wins and where you can adjust the plan and be o.k. with making modifications
- Celebrate each and every win as you make your new routine a habit!
So, while those quotes at the beginning of this post make routine seem all bad, I say give me routine! Routine makes me a better and much more productive person.
