Why routine is important but not sustainable?
I am a creature of habits and it is part of a balanced life to be a creature of habits.
From young age we are driven by routine and routines bring comfort, security and stability in our lives.
What is a routine?
A routine is a number of steps or activities that we do regularly and when those are done without even thinking about it, they become habits.
You get up in the morning, you take your shower or brush your teeth or hair, get dressed, have coffee….
This is the routine you were taught growing up and that sticks with you for the rest of your life and become part of your daily life, you start of the day with that habit.
But after that when growing older you need to make up new routines which allow to get through life without wondering what the next hour will ask of you.
It allows you to keep some kind of control of the activities that are required to happen in your life.
If you can get some of those routines to become habits then they are stable and you do not need to risk loosing them.
Those are your basic routines and those can differ from one house to another depending on the priorities and the requirements of that home.
Your life requirements will dictate your next routine that needs to become a habits for ever or a certain period of your life.
When a routine becomes a habit it frees so much of your mind for other activities, the goal is to create as many habits as possible.
The theory is that it takes 21 days to create a habit but only one day can take that habit for ever.
I know it is contradictory I said once a habit it is for ever and now I say it disappears after one day….hold on your big horses.
The 21 days rule is to build a fresh new habit, it takes years for that to actually settle.
Now that the confusion is eliminated, let’s me give you a life example.
I decided to add an activity to my morning habit, this was to do 10 minutes of Yoga every morning as I have a bad back and want to get some stretching in everyday.
I, for a total of 10 days, was getting up and before the shower/getting dress activity was doing 10 minutes of Yoga.
My back was filling great and I could see such a difference in my energy level….only positive right, so why did I not continue?
Well I had to leave for a family event and this stop my building of the habit and even though I know how good it is for me, I still have not added it back.
If I had been doing Yoga for 5 years, me going away would not have stop this process, I would have found a way to get it done, it’s not like I stopped showering, getting dress or drinking coffee when I was away?
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
You can see my blog on pre-covid life – when life passes you by for more routine details link below
Why do our good attentions do not stick when it comes to create good habits?
First of all, bad habits are easier to get into because they are the things that are more attractive such as watching TV, playing, meeting friends…eating crisps, sweets instead of cleaning the house, working out, eating fruits….
I also believe that routine and balance are easier to achieve when you are single and stable in your activities.
Once you introduce a foreign body such as a partner, then that routine needs to be modified and as long as your partner is a creature of habits too, you can be once again in a stable modified routine.
Life is more predictable and planned and controlled.
Now if you partner is not a creature of habits, then things become more interesting or challenging if you do not have the same priorities.
You can kiss bye-bye to a planned life without frustration and compromise.
Photo by Keira Burton from Pexels
Another reason why you do not stick to your routine is change of priorities within your own life.
I love routine but I also have many hobbies and very big expectations on how many activities I can fit in my 18 hours that I am awake, Yes I do need to sleep now and then.
I mean I have added writing a Blog to my busy life….I also want all of the below, knowing that this is not an exhaustive list and not in order of importance.
I want to be fit and exercise so I need work out routine
I want a clean house so cleaning routine
I want to be feeding my brain so reading, puzzle, movies….
I want to have fun - so nights out, games night….
I want to have a fulfil relationship so romance and sex
I want to have a nice house so DIY and decoration project, no this is not part of cleaning.
I want to relax so TV and knitting or stitching projects
I want to be a good mum, so quality time with the kids
I want to explore the world- so holidays
And the list can go on and on…
Photo by Tara Winstead from Pexels
So how do you build a routine where all you expectations are fulfilled?
Well let me tell you, you cannot have a successful routine that fits all especially as your priorities shift all the time- life happens all the
time - You have children, their priorities explode your priorities -
Any unforeseen unplanned everts destroys your routine, working late one night, being sick, washing machine breaks down and you need a few days to replace….
So how do you stick to your routine?
You need to sacrifice some items in your list for a specific routine, but when doing this you limit your life and a life limited is a life half lived in a way.
So the other option is to work on a rotation routine.
This is a new strategy that I am challenging myself to create so I will probably write a blog about that.
Hopefully in the future I will write on the feedback of that new process once I managed to introduce it and see if it actually worked.
Here is my theory, instead of a daily routine I am planning on a monthly routine scheme.
I will try to fit all my life desire and break down the priorities into projects to complete.
Because let's face it without dead line, we never complete our projects.
Even when writing that, I realise it is a big challenge but I am finishing this blog and starting immediately, otherwise it will remain a theory and that is not good either.
Until the next time, wishing you all a wonderful week….
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