Hey friend!
The past few weekends I have been traveling and out of town and it has really thrown off my weekly morning routine. Which in turn just stresses me out and it’s like this vicious cycle where I feel off my game and like my life is running a mile a minute. Which of course I am grateful for but I definitely perform better and am happier when I really take part in my routine.
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Routine’s are super important to me. I just really thrive when I have a consistent schedule at certain parts of my day. Don’t get me wrong, I love an unstructured day and on the weekends my routine really doesn’t happen at all, but during the week I like my mornings to be structured.
I like to wake up early, workout, walk Miller, and take time for myself. It’s just really important to me to have that time for me so I can perform better throughout my day. I have gotten really good about having a structured routine. But there are times where I fall out of it and it seems like getting back into a routine is even harder than building one in the first place.
This past week it felt like I hit snooze more than I really woke up early and did my routine. This sort of threw off my whole day because I was stressed about working out after work and feeling off about not getting ready for the day. I feel like this also happens when I am super busy on the weekends and I’m tired and really could use the extra sleep.
I wanted to give you a few tips that really help me refocus and get back into my routine when I’ve found myself falling out of it.
PRIORITIZE SLEEP
When I find myself getting out of my routine it is usually because I am exhausted and really need a mental reset. I really try to prioritize my sleep when I feel myself getting burnt out. I’ll go to bed at least an hour earlier, not over schedule myself during the week so I have time to sleep more. I think this is probably the biggest thing to remember when you find yourself breaking your routine is to listen to your body and give it what it needs – sleep!
STUDY HOW YOU ARE SPENDING YOUR TIME
I listened to a podcast recently where they were talking about productivity and how to become more efficient with your time by studying your calendar. Really looking at how you are spending your time allows you to become aware of things you might not have realized. Does this meeting really need to be an hour? What could I get done if I got back that 30 minutes? By studying your schedule you are also allowing yourself not to walk into a meeting “blind” having to play catch up but rather you’re on the forefront giving yourself the ability to become more efficient in how you manage your time. If you are finding yourself out of your routine, studying your calendar can also allow you to become aware of things in your schedule that are preventing you from making the time for your routine.
TIME BLOCK
Similar to the above, if you are finding your schedule is overly busy. Forcing yourself to time block your time will allow you to manage it better. If you are in a busy season of life doing the dishes, laundry and chores might seem like the last thing you have time for. But by time blocking your day or even just parts of your day it will allow you to become more productive in how you are managing your time.
FOCUS ON REIMPLEMENTING ONE THING AT A TIME
I really try to do this when I find myself trying to get back on track with my routine. If one part of my routine is to wake up earlier then I’ll set my alarm for 10 minutes earlier than I am currently waking up. This allows me not to take on too much at once if also trying to workout in the morning isn’t happening. If part of your routine is making sure the kitchen is clean every night before bed try focusing on one aspect of that routine. Maybe tonight you just load the dishwasher and tomorrow you wipe down the counters too. Adding on parts of your routine rather than trying to jump back into it helps you ease into things which in turn helps you stick with it.
DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF
Rebuilding your routine isn’t going to happen overnight. The biggest thing I need to remember is that if I miss parts of my routine here and there I can’t be too hard on myself. I try to really take pride in the pieces that I am able to accomplish rather than criticizing myself.
I hope these tips help you figure out how to take pride in the parts of your routine you are able to accomplish. I know how hard it can be to fall off track but just remember routines are meant to have some slack so giving yourself a break is well more than warranted!
xoxo,
Zoe