Wait, I Need a Routine?

You realize that if you want things to be different, you have to be willing to do something different, right? 

It seems pretty self explanatory and obvious, but yet here you are doing the same things and still wondering why you’re stressed, overwhelmed, or just haven’t seen any changes or progress in your life.

You don’t like how you’re always feeling rushed, that you wake up feeling behind already, or how you just have no semblance of structure. Answer me this: Do you have a routine? Does it work for you?

If you’re reading this and you’re still feeling behind, or you’re now more concerned that you aren’t doing it right, or just don’t even know where to start … You know I got you!

What is a Routine?

Let me start with a rough definition of what a routine is, then we can get into it.

Routines are the usual way or order within which you do things. Think of a dance routine or your pre-game routine if you play a sport. It’s the logical steps and sequences that you do that build on each other to make a complete whole.

Thought of another way, routines are a collection of habits or actions that you do on a regular basis in order to bring structure or order to your day. 

A routine is almost like a pattern of behavior, your ritual, your system, or whatever other word that you want to use to describe it. Basically, it’s the things that you need to get you on track and to help you get back on track if you get off track … So yes, you need a routine!

Yes, You Need a Routine

Why would I say you need a routine? Uh … Well, first off, how has not having a routine been working for you? I know you didn’t think I was going to waste time to tell you to keep living life all recklessly without a routine. 

Did I just … Yes, yes I did. I said not having a routine is reckless. 

Take a minute … Ok, how about a few seconds because I know y'all and I know me too … Think about how you feel when you wake up in the morning, do you know what you’re going to do? Are you rushing?

What about in the middle of the day? After someone has distracted you … Or you took a break … Or you just never got your traction to get started in the first place?

Ok, and what about before you go to bed? Did you get done what you needed to get done? Do you know how you’re going to start the next day, or have you planned what that will look like?

As you can see, yes, you need a routine! Routines can help you … No, let’s change that, routines will help you! They’ll help you to improve the way that you plan your day and ultimately the way that you navigate your day.

Adulthood, adulting, whatever you want to call it … Just living life can sometimes be a struggle. We were in such a rush to grow up, and now here we are with all these responsibilities and things that we have to do and now we’re struggling! Isn’t that funny?!? We often rush to get to these things and then once we’re there and we have them, we’re looking for ways to simplify them. Well, a routine is a great way to simplify it!

Life isn’t going to just suddenly get easier, unless you work to make it easier. Routines are the way to simplify it!

Where Do You Need a Routine?

Uhh … I mean, the more the merrier, right? It’s going to help you after all and that’s the purpose of it. So, where do you need a routine?!? That’s something for you to think about. No seriously, I need you to think about it … 

I want you to have a routine that you need and that works for you. Since routines are about the way that you do things and the steps and order that you go through, think about things that you have to do pretty consistently or that you want to do consistently, if you aren’t yet doing them. Start there. That’s a great place to start with creating a routine.

If you know that there’s an area or place that you’re really struggling in and you know you just need some extra structure in, that’s a good place to start in deciding that that’s where you need a routine.

How about this … Visualize the way that you would like a typical day to go. Start with your morning, then walk yourself through your day. We all have some semblance of a routine in that we’re adults, we work, have jobs or run businesses, have other responsibilities … What I’m saying is this: There are things that we do every day, there are things that we need to do every day, there are things that we want to do every day, and there are things that we have to do each day. So, use those things to build the routine. If it’s something you need, want, or have to do, create a routine that’s incorporating it into your life. This way, you’re not only ensuring that it gets done but you’re also putting yourself in a position that’s setting you up for success. Because you won’t be caught behind the 8-ball in suddenly remembering that you have to do it. 

Routines can be used to help you plan your life. So whether that be planning your month, your week, your day, or specific parts of your day, you can have a routine for it all.

How Do I Use Routines?

Do I have a routine?!? I know you aren’t really asking me that, right?!? Me … Coach Lee … The Productivity & Accountability Coach, the one who is always telling you to plan things out, to brainstorm, to get organized. Now I know you know that I have a routine. I have routines and systems for so many things!

It’s funny because I was co-hosting a room on Clubhouse and we were talking about routines, and I was asked to describe my morning routine and I was saying that for me, my morning routine lasts like four hours, from the time that I wake up until I get in my car to head to work. Now, don’t let this overwhelm you. Your routine doesn’t have to be four hours, there’s no set time for a routine. 

And, the routine isn’t so much about the length of time that the routine is, it’s about what you need or want to accomplish during the time frame. 

I have created routines and systems for my planning, for my blogging, for my content creation, for my weekends, and specifically the things that I do during the weekend. I’m not even about to try to list out all the things and ways that I’ve created routines and systems, because I do so much stuff now habitually because it’s become ingrained and as a habit that I know that I’ll miss stuff. 

Honestly, it wasn’t until sometime last year that I started trying to be more intentional about documenting the routines, systems, and habits that I have so that I can teach them more to my clients. During the coaching session, my clients and I would be talking about them in calls and they would ask me questions about them, then I realized that there were routines and systems that I had. I looked at a lot of it as just habits, and they are, but really habits and routines go together.

Don’t overcomplicate it. The word choice for it isn’t the big deal or the end all be all, doing the work is the big deal, so do the work!

What Now?

Now that your curiosity has hopefully been piqued, I hope you’re really thinking about routines now and how you can create these habits and systems for your life. But, don’t think that this is the end of the conversation. 

We’ll go deeper into this in the next blog, talking more specifically about morning and evening routines. So if you have any specific questions on morning and evening routines, be sure to drop them below, so I can make sure that I cover them.

But, use this time to do the work. Whether you’re doing the work on your own, or you’re booking a call for us to work through this together, it’s time to do the work. You know you need a routine, or you have a routine and it isn’t working for you, well it’s time to change that. Take what you’ve learned in this blog, do the work to think about where you need a routine, and think about what you’re doing on a consistent basis or need to be doing on a consistent basis, and start brainstorming … So you can create a routine for that area. 

You got this … And if you don’t have it, let me help you have it. Finding what works for you doesn’t have to be something that you do alone, you know that right? I can help …

~Coach Lee

Productivity & Accountability Coach