The Road to Success: Building a Routine

Successful people emphasize how building a routine can lead to success. There’s a good reason for that. 92% of high performers and successful people have a routine. Routines are tried and tested to boost motivation, productivity, and, most importantly, your satisfaction. It might sound like we’re jumping on the bandwagon, but this is a ride you don’t want to miss.

If you’re feeling suffocated by the idea of fitting into yet another mold, hold it right there. Habits and routines are very personal, and you should only go for what works for you. Through our research, experiences, and client feedback, here are the five benefits and reasons why you need a tailor-made routine. 

Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.

— Jordan Peterson

5 Reasons You Should Build a Routine

1. Routines Move the Needle

Having no structure to your day is draining. If you’re reading this, you’ve seen it and you want to get out of this cycle. Here are some additions you can make to bring regularity into your daily life:

• Have a Morning Routine: Start your day on the right foot. Divide the morning hours into ‘you’ time and ‘work’ time to find the perfect balance. Wake up early, freshen up, and eat breakfast to get energized for the day. Afterward, keep an hour or two to get on top of your emails, plan your day, and finalize your to-do list. If you’re a night-owl, plan your best work times accordingly.
  
• Give Yourself a Head Start: Your motivation is likely at an all-time high each morning. Take that chance. Focus on the tasks that need extra attention, are urgent or seem harder than the rest. Once you get them out of the way without procrastinating, you’ll feel accomplished and satisfied for the rest of the day. 
  
• Make Things Easy: You don’t need earth-shattering habits to build an effective routine. Do small things that add to your convenience, such as limiting distractions. For example, checking emails only twice a day, not keeping your phone nearby during certain hours, or breaking large projects into bite-size chunks, so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

Tip: Remember to create a realistic routine that you can follow in the long term.

2. Reduce Stress & Improve Decision-Making

We tend to underestimate how much harm stress causes us. It’s not just headaches and irritability; it also compromises our mental well-being and our physical health. Constantly being alert or feeling impending doom will likely cloud our minds and put us in a bad headspace. Take a look at how cortisol affects your body.

To tackle stress, we first need to know the value of a calm mind. If you’re constantly overthinking tasks, deadlines, and decisions, you’re not giving yourself the chance to slow down and gain control over the situation.  This overwhelming feeling of things slipping out of your hands will make rational thinking difficult. By calming your mind, you’ll be able to use logic over pessimism and self-doubt. 

Other ways you can strengthen your decision-making include:

• Limiting your choices
• Weighing relevant options
• Taking advice from experienced peers, mentors and/or professionals 

Remember that some indecisiveness or second-guessing is completely normal! It’s part of your growth. 

3. Help Maintain Control

The number one benefit of having a routine is being in control. You’re in charge of your mood, progress, and success. Choosing the timeline and priority of tasks helps your work seem manageable and creates time freedom. 

Moreover, following a well-structured routine improves your work-life balance. You’ll see the difference when you start taking ownership of it all. Once you make it a habit to plan your day, you’ll learn discipline and flexibility, which are necessary to take the lead in your own life. 

4. Foster Good Habits & Consistency

When you repeat certain tasks regularly, you develop your consistency muscle. You learn and familiarize yourself with discipline. There’s immense power in daily practice.

One difference you’ll notice between successful and unsuccessful people is that the former group nurtures good habits. They follow the simple rule that good habits make you, bad ones break you because they’re aware that resources and skills alone aren’t enough. Their key to success is a routine filled with habits that enhance them.

But what are good and bad habits? 

Good habits are planning, time management, taking breaks to recharge, waking up early, staying consistent, and whatever else boosts your productivity. 

Bad habits include procrastination, not prioritizing tasks, taking too much onto your plate, and anything else that burns you out. 

5. Get Closer to Your Personal Goals & Values

To make it more interesting, you should have a routine that compliments your dominant personality type. You may be Action, Emotional, Practical, or Social, and your habits will match these needs. This may be one reason why some popular routines or habits don’t resonate with you because they’re not your type!

Routines will catapult you into new levels of personal growth. Your day-to-day life will positively change when you choose to polish your habits and save time for what matters. You have the freedom to decide whether that’s your health, family, friends, or other irreplaceable aspects of your life.

Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.

— Anne Lamott

Take these words of wisdom with you wherever you go and remember it’s okay to take a timeout and come back stronger. Routines are a life hack that will help you find time for yourself in a world full of crazy schedules. 

Ready to Build Your Life-Changing Routine?

Have you tried building a new routine? Did you get rid of old habits that were holding you back? Comment or send a note to share with us how you set yourself in motion!

And get in touch when you’re ready to build a customized routine that brings you closer to your goals!

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