Do you need help to stick to a routine? How long does it take to stick to a routine? Does your routine feel overwhelming? I will help you to get the best idea or technique to stick to a routine.
What does stick to the routine mean? Sticking to a routine is important for following a specific procedure or action plan. You need to stick to the routine and stay focused If you want to reach your goals.
Creating a routine is one thing and sticking to it is a different thing. I have created routines for myself, but I fail to stick to them. For me sticking to a routine was rough but after constant trying over the years I have come to find some ways and techniques that have been working for me.
Earlier I was a night owl, now I’m a morning person and have a solid morning routine which changed my life. As a busy full-time working mom, I have enough time to manage my career and home.
A productive morning keeps me focused on my priorities and helps me to relax and grow!
In this post, I write about how you can stick with a routine so that you can change your life more productive.
How To Stick To A Routine
How To Stick To A Routine #1. Check Out Why Your Current Habit Didn’t Stick
Before jumping right into routines, address the root cause of the issue of your previous routine.
Understand why you keep failing to wake up early in the morning.
An effective method for diagnosing and resolving problems is Root Cause Analysis. Determine what happens to the habits and negative events that occur while practicing it.
Evaluate the complex systems that surround those issues to identify key points of failure, then find solutions to those root causes.
For example, As I told you I was a night owl and I couldn’t wake up early for a long. I kept doing was to keep trying and failing the next day.
I finally realized it was just going nowhere and I began to analyze my situation to understand why I couldn’t become a morning person. You must go through a self-analysing process.
How To Stick To A Routine #2. Pick Routine That Reinforce Each Other
Habits and routines are not only the things we do but they are also the way we think and believe., They influence what we do, what actions we take, and how we behave. See our habits are interlinked. Some routines have a stronger linkage with each other than others.
For example, sleeping early and waking early are linked to each other, waking up early means sleeping early.
If you want to stick to a routine, identify the other routines that are tied to it and make a holistic change. These habits and routines will stay with each other and can help you by joining together.
For example, my new habits of waking up early, sleeping before midnight, being on time, meditating, and having a raw food diet are all interlinked.
- Waking up early means I have a calm and productive time to do my tasks, which helps me to sleep earlier in the night. This helps me to wake up early the next day.
- Waking up early in the morning helps me to get my tasks completed on time. To make this happen I must follow my early bed routine to protect my waking time unaffected.
To cultivate a habit of sleeping/waking early, just start simultaneously with the habits and routines that are connected. Thus you can sleep and wake up early perfectly and adopt good habits.
How To Stick To A Routine #3. Plan Your Routine Along With the Timing
Having a routine keeps you in control of your life and It will guarantee that you’ll reach your goals for sure.
A proper schedule with time will also let you know when you are on or off track with your habits. If have no idea let me show you how it is done. Time blocking your schedule is important to get control of each task.
- Make a list of all the tasks
- Batch them and get your block schedule system
- Slot them into the schedule for the day
- Be aware of how much time each task requires
- Assign exact timings for when each task starts and ends
I’ll prioritize the important ones and postpone the unimportant ones If there are more tasks to be done than my schedule allows.
Decide how long your routine will be. A morning routine should be 30 minutes minimum to a maximum of 3 hours long. Try to be realistic in deciding this, if you are new to having a morning routine for yourself.
The reality is that we are high when setting routines, It feels super easy we think we can do it all. But when the time comes we forget about it and feel guilty and discouraged.
There’s a very high chance it might not get done, If you don’t plan exactly when to get the habit done and instead just arbitrarily say that you want it to be done sometime today —this is why most people’s habits don’t stick.
Decide how long your routine will be and based on that decide on the time you need to create your routine and stick to it.
4. Stay Ahead of Your Schedule
Now we know about our routine and time to do it, right? It’s time to stay ahead of your routine which can make you extremely motivated.
Momentum plays a huge role in our success. We also experience the momentums of success more frequently, because sequential runs in our habits lead to high performance levels.
Waking up early in the morning means I’m faster than others in my routine which motivates me to work fast and stay ahead.
I will be motivated by every single thing that I have planned If I stay ahead of my schedule. The key thing is no resistance to getting them started at all.
Suppose your task takes more time, then use the 80/20 rule, 80% of our results come from 20% of our efforts.
Planning tasks in a chronological manner will help you allocate time for each one of them and get ahead of your work schedule.
Try to plan your day by starting with the most important tasks that need a lot of concentration.
you will find it easier to stay motivated if you stay ahead of your schedule.
5. Track Your Habits
Tracking your habits keeps you right on track, and changes your perspective of the world by showing how far you’ve come when you think you’re not making any progress. Creating good habits is just stepping forward and finally getting started.
A habit tracker helps you to do this,
- Just pick up a pen and a notebook.
- write down the name of your habit.
- Leave some space next to it for tracking and you have a habit tracker.
You don’t need a perfect beautiful habit tracker, instead focus on making it happen.
6. Do it for you
The core focus of your daily routine should not be on pleasing or impressing others. You might find less satisfaction in creating one and you would be enjoying it. After all, the goal of creating routines and sticking to them is to care for yourself.
Remember that no matter what routines you choose or how they might fit into your world, make sure that you’re the one who they fulfill.
Final Thoughts
My new routines and habits have deeply entered into my daily life by following these step-by-step habits. If you can implement these tips you can easily stick to your routine. Consistency is the key to sticking to any habit or routine.
Try them out for yourself and let me know how your new routine is coming along for you.
I will see you soon in another blog post!
With
❤️
Nasreen
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