Having a routine can be the key to your happiness and success as an individual. There are so many benefits to sticking to a good routine, such as improved stress levels, mental health (less anxiety) and more time to relax. A great idea when you’re planning a routine is to replace your bad habits with good habits. Maybe you binge-watch your favourite Netflix show whilst eating breakfast in the mornings? but instead, you replace this by going for a walk or run to set yourself up for the day. Or maybe you get up too late and don’t have time to exercise or eat breakfast and want to start getting out of bed earlier? Whatever your goal is, it’s important to plan and install it into your routine plan.
So, that being said, here are some helpful tips to get into a good routine…
1. Decide what needs to be in your routine
Ok, first things first, you need to decide what should be included in your routine. Write down the most important things first – exercise, meals, morning/nightime skin routine? Then think about things that you want to do more of but tell yourself that you ‘don’t have enough time’. Maybe it’s learning a new language or reading more? once you’ve written everything down that you want to include in your routine, it’s time to plan.
2. Layout a plan
Once you’ve decided what to include in your plan, you need to decide how long to plan for. One week? two weeks? a few months? If it’s your first routine plan, we suggest planning for one week to see how it goes. Then you can see what did and didn’t work and use this knowledge with your next plan. Remember to be realistic with your routine so you don’t feel disappointed with yourself if you don’t stick to everything.
3. Set small goals to start off with
It’s important that you set yourself small goals that are achievable, especially with your first routine plan. You can work your way up to the larger goals! Progress should be the most important thing for you. For example, if you’re goal is to complete a 5k run, start off doing a short run and increasing your time each run. You’ll get there eventually!
4. Be consistent with time
Time management and consistency is key to a good routine. Getting into a good routine means planning to do things at the same time each day. For example, eating breakfast, skincare routine, work out etc. If you do these all in the morning before you start the day it will be hugely beneficial to you. Also, once you get used to it in your routine it will feel like second nature.
5. Track your progress
Tracking your progress is essential. You need to see how much you’re progressing and what you can do to improve. Referring to your progress helps you see how far you’ve come which is great for motivation and a confidence boost! You’ll get to see how your focus and hard work has paid off and will find yourself looking forward to the next challenge.
6. Reward yourself
And finally, reward yourself for sticking to your routine, you’ve done great! If you’re doing well at sticking to your routine, make sure you find time to fit some rewards in, treat yourself or do something fun (you deserve it). It can’t always be all hard work and no play. Also, when you treat yourself, your brain releases a chemical called dopamine, which makes you feel good and happy! It’s important to stay happy so you’re motivated to continue your success from your routine. And isn’t happiness the overall goal anyway?