Why Routines Are Important

If you want to successfully crush your goals, establishing a routine is essential.

Routines Create High Achievers

Routines create high achievers. I had to learn that my own routine doesn’t have to look like someone else’s. I was unsuccessful establishing a routine because I was too busy trying to mold myself into accomplishing things that didn’t fit my personal desires. My goals don’t have to look like the next person. Maybe the next person wakes up at 4 to work out every morning because they want to do competitions and they have to be at work by 7. Competitions are not my goal. I just want to work out to get in shape and I have a more flexible schedule so I can work out when it fits my schedule.

The first step in establishing a solid, successful routine is establishing what your goals are. Write them down. Visualize what it will take to get there and what routine will suit you best.

Once you have your routine established, your daily items become second nature and you’re able to save your mental energy for things that require it. For example, if you wake up and drink coffee while reading your emails, doing your devotions or meditation, etc. then this becomes a habit and you don’t have to think about what your first step is when you get out of bed. If your routine when you get home from work is to cook dinner, wash dishes, and respond to five emails then you’re able to complete these tasks more easily and without much thought to it. You’re able to produce more work when your brain is on auto-pilot for the everyday, mundane tasks.

Our brains associate different things with different events. For example, if you’re getting up for the day and completing your weekday tasks, then your brain gets into weekday mode. If you’re getting ready for the day in your weekend fashion and routine, then your brain gets into weekend mode. Our ability to box things into different categories has the ability to set us up for success if we take advantage of it. I’ve been dropping my children off at daycare, going to the gym, and then coming home to start working. Once I get out of the gym, I notice that my brain switches into work mode so the days I don’t make it to the gym, it takes a little more time for my brain to switch back into work mode.

Venturing outside of your routine doesn’t mean you won’t achieve great things but it certainly makes it easier.

Routines establish accomplishment

If you like feeling that sense of accomplishment at the end of a long day, routines help to give you the sense of achieving something. I’ve noticed a huge mood shift in myself as I’ve been able to go from feeling like I didn’t accomplish a thing to being able to rest in peace. Starting a business is hard work and some days I’ve gotten a lot done without feeling like I’ve gotten a lot done. Sometimes our day is full of small tasks to contribute to a bigger task. When we don’t finish the big task, it can often feel like we’ve wasted the entire day. Routines help erase this feeling. When we accomplish our routine goals during the day, we feel the beginning and the end of that day without feeling the weight of unaccomplished tasks that may take the entire week. Sure, I didn’t get my project done but I was able to wake up, get to the gym, make dinner and do the dishes for my family. These are great accomplishments and the structure of this routine helps me to feel relief instead of discontentment.

I can now start my day with a purpose since I’ve started my own routine. I don’t wake up confused about what to do next. I don’t go to bed feeling unaccomplished. It helps me to feel the consistency even when life can bring inconsistency.

I used to get extremely upset when things disturbed my routine. Now, I accept it as part of life. I don’t always accept this gracefully and it’s definitely something I’m still working on. However, I accept that some days are less successful than others and every small task matters. If I’m only able to get one small thing done that day, I still see the importance in that accomplishment because now I’ve trained my brain to see the good in the small accomplishments as opposed to feeling defeat over the unfinished tasks.

Routines are great for mental health

Routines not only support your sleep cycle but they also help you to feel more in control of your day (within reason). The feeling of accomplishment can bring joy. Sleep is incredibly important to our psychological, emotional, and physical well-being. Having a routine of getting to bed at a certain time will help you to establish discipline. Going to bed at a certain time also signals your body to start preparing for rest. When you wake up at a certain time, your body is able to wake up more refreshed and ready to start the day.

When I’m busy and I feel like nothing is going right, it often makes me feel so much better knowing that my daily routine is established. I feel organized, less stressed, and less rushed in my day. This creates a healthy mentality for my day and makes me feel much more at peace. If you struggle with anxiety, I highly encourage you to take a baby step towards establishing at least one change towards a better routine. Not only does this help with the stress of everyday life but when life throws curveballs and we experience uncertainty in our lives, our routine creates a healthy amount of certainty that can keep us grounded.

Routines eliminate your need to plan

Planning can take up a lot of time. I used to set time aside every night to plan my next day. Now that I have a routine, I know what I’m doing the next day and at what time. I no longer have to guess what I’m doing in a day because I’ve been doing it everyday. Everyday may have different work projects but my morning and evening routines haven’t changed. I’m able to save my planning energy for my daily work and it’s greatly impacted my business in a positive way.

Routines also help you to prioritize what’s important and eliminate those tasks that aren’t accomplishing anything. Carefully planning our routine ahead of time helps us to realize what will actually help get us to the goal we are trying to achieve.

Contact us today

If you need help delegating tasks in order to establish a smoother routine for your business, contact me today.