The Subtle Power of A Daily Routine

"The blueprint of your future can be discovered in your daily routine."

Without even realizing it, we subject ourselves to a loosely similar routine every single day of our lives. Most often, we move through our days without giving much thought to the big-picture impact of our repeated actions.

Various studies have concluded that your daily routine can have deeply impactful psychological benefits, including alleviating anxiety, ADHD, and insomnia. While this should be enough reason for you to be paying more attention to your daily habits, there are many more ways in which routine adds value to your life. Performed intentionally, a routine can reduce stress levels and foster productive habits. Done mindlessly, a routine is meaningless.

Routine Provides Structure:

Routine creates a sense of familiarity and control that can reduce your stress levels and help you feel more in control of your time and of your life. Creating blocks of time for certain activities during the day can help you awaken every day with a sense of purpose.

It helps you save time because you are already aware of what your outline for the day looks like. As soon as you are done with one task, you know what comes next on your schedule. This structure provides direction and control in your life.

Routine Improves Your Sleep:

Research indicates that having a well-structured day allows you to sleep with ease at night. Heading to bed at the same time each night, and waking up at the same time every morning helps regulate the body’s internal clock. Once you have eased into a routine, you are certain to have a much easier time falling asleep and staying asleep.

Routine Helps You Stay Focused on the Present:

When you know what is important to you, and craft your life around those priorities, you not only lay a clear path toward your goals and aspirations but also make the space to enjoy the journey along the way.

When we choose to be intentional with how we spend our time, we naturally prioritize the things that bring us the most joy and eliminate a majority of the time we spend in incessant thinking. Cultivating a routine not only helps us live our lives more fully but also fosters a sense of mindfulness.

Now that we have eased into the new year, this is the ideal time to refresh, reorganize, and ease into a slower, more mindful way of living. 

A little mindfulness tip: When doing mundane tasks like prepping dinner or folding laundry, focus all of your awareness on the task at hand. The rhythmic movement of your hands, the feeling of each fabric you touch, the smell of spice or fresh clothing.