The Benefits of a Routine & Habit-Filled Day
Have you noticed that it gets harder to make decisions toward the end of the day? You’re too tired to figure out what to have for dinner or even too tired to decide what to watch on TV! That’s because we all have a limited amount of decisions that we can make in any given day. Our focused attention, literally, gets spent.
Knowing this helps us prioritize. We can cut out a lot of decision making by implementing habits and routines. That way we save them for the important stuff. It also frees brain space (RAM in your ‘necktop computer!) for more creative and productive thinking. Routines are a great tool that simplify our lives and cut out a lot of our daily stress.
Chances are you already have a morning routine. You get up, you get your coffee, read the paper or check email and fix some toast before heading into the shower. Now, let’s expand on that... If you create a “uniform” for yourself, you don’t even have to think about what to wear. You just grab a pair of pants and a shirt, or a skirt, tights and sweater and you’re off.
Implement some routines into your days wherever possible.
・ Meal planning helps you figure out what meals to fix and eat.
・ A cleaning schedule makes sure you stay on track with your household chores without you having to spend any valuable decision making skills in the process.
・ Wrap your day up with a bedtime routine that not only helps when you’re too tired to make smart choices, it also helps you fall asleep more easily. HINT: What worked(s) for your baby / toddler works for you as well. Go figure!
Start by doing a few chores in the evening that make the next morning easier. For example, making sure the kitchen is clean and the kids’ school things are in order are great examples. Plug yourself in and your own gotta-get-done-items. Come up with a few calming things that help you slow down and get ready for sleep: Read a book, listen to some music, a self-hypnosis audio program or wind down with a cup of herbal tea.
Sit down with a pen and piece of paper and think about what parts of your day and week you can turn into routines. Write them down and create daily to-do lists for yourself until you’ve established these new habits and routines.
Spending a little bit of time creating routines and habits will make your day run a lot smoother. You might just find yourself less stressed and get more done during your productive hours. And that’s a beautiful thing. It allows you to save plenty of decision making for the fun stuff like figuring out what park to go to, what family movie to watch, what board game to play or planning out your next amazing get-away!
I look forward to hearing from YOU and how creating daily routines and habits have helped you.
To living more ease-fully,
Matthew Fallon, CH.t
