I think you’ll agree with me when I say:
It’s REALLY hard to make a daily routine and stick to it.
Or is it? Well, it turns out you can drastically improve the chances of sticking to your daily schedule by setting up a successful habit framework.
In this post, I’m going to teach you daily routine secrets that can change your life — and how to modify them to fit you like a glove.
Let’s get started!
How to Make a Daily Routine for Yourself & Drastically Increase Your Productivity
Setting a schedule for myself — I need more convincing
Establishing good daily habits and routines makes us feel great about ourselves and our productivity. Once you’ve tasted how good it feels to be in control of your life and time — you’ll never go back!
But why is it so hard to create a routine and stick with it? Being creatures of habit, we actually all HAVE a routine — but is it the one we really want?
We are what we repeatedly do” ~ Aristotle
What if I don’t like routine?
What are the benefits of having a daily routine?
- Routines limit our choices and prevent overwhelm (one of the biggest benefits!).
- Routines give us a framework to build on so we know what to expect each day.
- Routines help us use our time more wisely instead of wasting this precious resource on indecision and unworthy activities.
- Routines free our minds up for more productive work in shorter amounts of time.
- Your daily routine and good habits will boost your mood and give you confidence about your day and abilities.
A balanced life will feed your soul in ways you’d never imagine…
- Prioritize your goals and dreams for the future … not just the grocery list!
- Let your mornings nourish you instead of ruining your brand new day.
- Give yourself the gift of planning ahead and knowing what’s for dinner.
- Buy only the sections you need!
It’s time to put REAL LIVING back on your to-do list. Learn more here!
The 2019 Balance Your Life Planner
You don’t need motivation: You need discipline
Motivation is a routine and habit killer. Motivation versus discipline is a very important piece of sticking to a routine.
If we wait until the motivation strikes to build a healthy daily routine, it will never get off the ground. There’s a good chance it’ll end up in the graveyard of New Year’s resolutions after about a week.
Motivation is very passive. A feeling that comes over us that’s very inconsistent.
If we switch mindsets to the popular Nike refrain of “Just Do It”, success will be just around the corner. Putting healthy habits to work for us, slowly and methodically, will build a framework of discipline.
* If procrastination is your biggest battle, take a quick detour with me and see what three simple words can do to change everything.
It’s self-discipline, and that natural high of accomplishment, that helps us build a routine and stick with it.
How to plan out your day at work or home with a schedule wish-list
Write down a list of tasks you need to tackle regularly — daily, weekly, or monthly. These are the important things you’d like to be doing consistently.
Get it all on paper. It may feel overwhelming if the list is long, but we’ll work on prioritizing and setting up a structure that works for you.
*On a side note — Bullet journals can add an element of creativity and fun to scheduling.
This video blows my mind — makes scheduling your routine seem like a treat!
You can check out the bullet journal method here.
Next, pick two areas of your life where you’d most like to see change and consistency, and start with those. You can implement some or all of the following tips into building your personal daily routine.
Developing Stellar Habits
A Miracle Morning
The obvious place to start is with a healthy morning daily routine. If you need help for your mornings, choose two things you’d most like to work on, and put a couple of small changes on autopilot.
I’m self-employed, so my mornings used to be a disaster. I stayed up late and slept in most days. Learning to be a morning person was the only way to increase my productivity and increase my income as a result.
And I actually succeeded! You may be a notorious night owl like I was for years, but if I can become a morning person — ANYONE CAN!
You may have a morning schedule that works well already. Everyone’s needs are different, and you’ll likely struggle in some areas but not others.
Getting out of bed at 6 am certainly helped me with the late nights; I struggled to keep my eyes open by 10 pm.
I did this day after day for nine months [there’s the discipline part] until it became a no-brainer habit.
I added 3 full hours to my mornings with this one change!
Morning hour magic — how to harness it!
- Set an alarm across the room so you have to stand on your feet to shut it off — walking will help you wake up.
- Brush your teeth right away — something about mint-flavored anything is an energy boost.
- Put on your workout clothes or get dressed according to what your morning plans are.
- If you can, try a diffuser with an energizing scent like lemongrass.
- Check out my sunrise wake-up light alarm clock can also be a total game-changer. The light gradually goes from 1% to 100% brightness and has several amazing nature sounds for the alarm.
My success with a daily morning routine has been almost 100% because of Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod — it has absolutely transformed my days!
It’s an inexpensive, almost guaranteed way to overhaul your morning (and maybe your life); it’s a quick read and dives into the good stuff pretty quickly. That’s my kind of book.
Related time management and productivity articles:
Time Management and Prioritizing Tips
Increase Work Productivity in Four Easy Steps
Setting a Schedule for yourself
Setting a schedule for yourself will help minimize distractions and overcome those days when you feel unmotivated. Your daily routine won’t be derailed by social media, internet surfing, or unimportant interruptions if your schedule becomes the anchor of your day.
“Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle
How to make a daily routine for yourself
- If you’re self-employed, it’s imperative to manage your time with daily, weekly, and monthly task scheduling — this keeps you on track and frees your mind from unnecessary decision-making.
- Having a planned-out schedule encourages us to stick to a routine.
- Map out everything you’d like to accomplish with work, family, fitness, etc.
- Make a habit of looking at your planner, calendar, or bullet journal first thing each day. This creates a habit of importance. It reinforces to your mind that you’re giving priority to these new goals.
- Implement your written plans and goals in small chunks. An important act of self-care is being patient with yourself and not giving up after a few tries with a new habit.
The next post in this Productivity and Time-Management Series teaches you the art of prioritizing your to-do list in order to maximize time management skills.
Set an Exercise Daily Routine
Most of us try, and fail, to implement some sort of exercise routine into our days. However, regular movement is a very important part of self-care and productivity. If you carry extra weight like me, this healthy weight loss routine is very beneficial.
Your best bet is to stick it into your daily schedule and build slowly on it, one baby step at a time. The key is to start small, but build up from there!
You may have motivation issues at first — but putting small goals onto autopilot (like setting an alarm for 6 am), will slowly transform them into disciplined habits that aren’t swayed by how you feel about them each day.
You can start with doing 5 push-ups, planks, etc. after each bathroom break. If you work outside the home, do these before getting dressed and again when you change clothes after work. Start small.
Here are some benefits of squeezing even a little bit of movement into a daily exercise routine:
- Most of us sit many hours a day — improve your health by adding in a few squats, planks, jumping jacks, marching in place etc. each time you stand up — whatever your ability, just move for 3 or 4 minutes
“Sitting is the new smoking”… When I heard that not long ago, I got pretty fearful of all the hours I sit while I blog and research. So, I decided to make a change.
Setting up a healthy home office is a must if you want to incorporate beneficial movement into jobs that are mostly sitting.
- Movement brings mental clarity and energy when you’re in a slump
- Exercise helps when you’ve hit a work or writing block — take a quick walk, go up and down a flight of stairs at work — get your heart rate up for even 5 minutes and it may be just the help you need to get going again
- A walking or exercise break during the day can also give you extra thinking time — some of my best ideas come to me when I’m moving my body and letting my mind wander
Keep on schedule: how to make it Stick
This brings us to the hardest part of building a daily routine — making good habits stick. There are no hard-and-fast answers, and you may be different from the next person.
The biggest thing to remember is that it takes time. Just be patient with yourself!
Keep on schedule — tips and tricks:
- Your biggest challenge is getting started — choose a few things you’d really be excited about changing and start there.
- Baby steps — those changes you feel passionate about, break them into small challenges and put them on autopilot (no thinking/second-guessing).
- You may benefit from making set deadlines or goals for each thing you’re trying to add to the daily routine.
- It generally takes around 90 days to really establish a habit you don’t have to think about anymore — many say 30 days or less, but that’s usually not the case for most people.
- A great planner in bold colors builds a positive mindset while setting up new habits — it’s really fun to cross off small (and big!) wins each day — visual reminders are powerful, and bright colors are energizing!
- Don’t get discouraged or caught up in perfection — your daily routine is meant to serve YOU, not the other way around.
* If procrastination is your biggest battle, take a quick detour with me and see what three simple words can do to change everything.
You’ve made it to the end of this post! I’m proud of you — you’re determined to make a change. If you adopt some of these habit-forming frameworks, your days and routines will change for the better. I’m here to cheer you on…you’ve got this!
One small step towards a healthy habit will eventually turn to many accomplished goals. CELEBRATE EACH WIN!!
Related daily routine articles:
10 Healthy Practices for Your Best Morning Routine
An Effective Weight Loss Routine that Doesn’t Involve Keto
The Productivity Measurement that Will Kick Your Procrastinating Butt
Please PIN and Share!!
Hey Stephanie! And I love your blog! I just spent some time deep creeping through your content as well… 🙂
For a year, I had stuck to an awesome routine where I would get at 5, workout, and get ready at 6 and be out the door by 7. Since blogging – I have been thrown for a loop! Too many late nights (blog work really doesn’t start until the fam all goes to bed) and end up staying up too late. I’ve often started getting ready by 6:30 and still trying to be out the door by 7! yikes!
I think I’m starting to get into a routine better; I realized if I’m not interrupted at work – I can blog on my lunch break and crank out about 600-1,000 words in about an hour. Automating Pinterest by using Boardbooster, but still having to be a good tribe member can take up a lot of time too! Thanks for the tips – and I may have to try the lemongrass oil scent! I use other ones…for promoting health, but, I’m not much of a fan of them, but lemon is one of my favorite scents!
Hey Mrs. DS!
So glad you stopped by…so fun to find new blogs!! Thanks for the compliment, also. 😉
Routines are sooo hard to stick to. I’ll master mine one day…sounds like you’re getting one down that works for you!
You’ll be hooked on that lemongrass if you already love lemon. It’s pure sunshine in a bottle!
Stephanie, Your site has a beautiful layout and your posts are well written. Good job!
I started using a sunrise alarm clock a couple years ago and it made a huge difference in being able to get up in the morning. It’s hard to stay in bed if the room is bright. Mine is across the room on a dresser so I have to get up to turn it off. Great advice.
Hi Scott!
Thank you for the kind words and for sharing your experience with the awesome sunrise clock! I love mine also. Anyone who struggles with seasonal issues or lives in a place with a long winter (like me in CO) can benefit from these types of light therapy for sure.
Have a great day!
Nicely written and very helpful. Thanks for the insights. 🙂
I loved your bit about exercise and standing desk. Also, you are so right when you said we shouldn’t be too discouraged when we can’t stick to a schedule. They are supposed to help us 🙂
A schedule puts us in an automated mode. I also wrote about the importance of schedules, healthy habits and routines that we can follow daily to live better, and a possible efficient work schedule.
Do visit my blog to read the article and let me know if you like it. 🙂
Thank you, Priyanka!
I so appreciate you stopping by and offering your thoughts. Your blog is lovely…great post on schedules and routine! Loved it 🙂
Stephanie
Wonderful post. These habits are ones that all of us should use but we sometimes forget in the rush of every day work. A great list to keep nearby and remind yourself to slow down and pay attention. Thanks.
Thank you for the generous comment, Timo!
I wrote this mostly to keep myself in line as this doesn’t come easily to me either. Most of us likely struggle to stay consistent and consciously plan our days.
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie DoppleGanger, I enjoyed reading this post about the best way to make a daily routine. I totally fail to make a daily schedule and stick to it! I tried to follow a daily routine that is advocated by Tony Robbins and these other self-help gurus a while ago but didn’t stick to it. One of the parts of the daily schedule was to have an ice cold shower to get the lymph fluid flowing…no wonder I didn’t stick to it!
These days I do try to follow that advice you have about exercising first thing and not doing too much so that I can stick to it. If I can stick to it then even if it is not a lot of exercise then at least I am getting something done.
Thank you, Russell DoppleGanger, I do appreciate the nice comments.
And I can hardly blame you for not wanting to take a cold shower first thing in the morning! Ouch…
I do hope this daily routine advice was helpful, and you’re able to make a schedule for yourself that fits your lifestyle and business needs. That’s the most important part. Does your daily routine suit your needs? Most people don’t realize that a daily schedule is there to serve them.. not the other way around. 🙂