creating a routine (and sticking to it!) is an essential part of achieving your goals. it keeps you accountable and utilizes your time so you can do the things that get you closer to your goals! hereâs an easy outline on how to do it.
what do you *need* to do?
make a list of essentials you need to do everyday, or on certain days. include things like homework, cooking, going to work etc. any daily tasks.
what do you *want* to do?
now what are the things you wish you had the time or motivation to do? studying, exercising, practicing art? include hobbies or skills youâd like to do more often. what are the things that will bring your closer to your goals?
create a table. i use google docs but any typing/spreadsheet application should work. i like docs because itâs simple and i can make it pretty lol.
i make 8 columns, one for every day of the week and another for the times. you can make more or less depending on how many days you want to follow a schedule. next you add rows. the first row will be the days of the week. the rest will depend on how strict/general you want your routine to be, but i recommend being as specific as possible (though keep in mind that it needs to be DOABLE. donât overload yourself).
now that youâve created the table, the real planning begins! begin with the time you want to wake up. add in all of your âmust doâsâ first and the time they should be done. i personally do the most difficult parts in the morning but whatever works for you!
now that you have that basis, fill in the other parts of your routine. when do you shower? do your skincare? eat breakfast? go to sleep?
okay, so you have your essentials. time to fill in the things you want to do! these donât have to be daily activities, but create a set time you can do them on x days. you can get really creative with this! ex: on mondays and wednesdays i draw at 2:30, but on fridays i sew instead. you can make this more general as wellââpractice hobbyâ at 3:00. you can then choose from a list of different hobbies each day, giving you some variety!
i *really* recommend allocating time to do yoga, meditate, or journal. if you would like to do something more regularly (clean, bake, etc) schedule these in! donât forget to include breaks or leave some time slots blank. you donât need to plan *every minute*.
be mindful of the times! some activities are better to do in the morning, while you might find it easier to do other activities later. also think about the amount of time you are giving yourself to do a taskâ is it enough to account for unexpected challenges? is it realistic?
add each task to the designated square, under the specific day and in the correct time.
select a day to do a practice run of your schedule. take notes of any areas you felt you needed more time, or didnât follow through with. did you plan too much, finding it hard to keep up with or too rigid? did you not plan enough, leading you to lose momentum and fall off?
have you thought of any other activities youâd like to incorporate? do you need more breaks? do you need to be more general, or more specific?
reflect on your day and adjust your schedule again based on these notes. i want to emphasize making it realistic. donât exhaust yourself.
and youâre done! now you have to stick to it.
much easier said than done, iâll be honest. but youâve created a routine to do the things that will bring you closer to your goals!! itâs so important to view this positively. you will be so much more motivated when itâs difficult. continually remind yourself that these things are bringing you closer to your goals.
actually *doing* the things will be challenging. but the hardest part is convincing yourself to do them. I suggest telling yourself to do said task for at least 5 mins. if you still donât want to finish it after those 5 mins, you can stop. once you start, youâre much more likely to continue. and once you get used to repeating the routine daily, it gets much easier!
i created my own routine at the end of march. i gave myself time to exercise, meditate, and write among other things. whereas i used to do them maybe twice a month, i now do them everyday! and the results have been SO worth it. i believe you can do it too!
