A Therapist's 3 Tips to make your routine stick

Last week I wrote about some of my tips on creating motivation when working from home, even when you don’t want to, and discussed the importance of creating and maintaining a personalised routine. What I have noticed since working in my private practice is that many people have difficulties with creating a routine that works best and sticking to it.

Why can routines be so challenging to create and maintain? And how long do you have to stick with a routine for it to stick or before you realise it’s. total flop? While it may not be the most exciting or fun thing to do, having a routine to follow brings in a lot of benefits, from reducing stress to creating better sleeping habits. So, how can you reap these benefits quickly?

Morning person? Night owl?

The first step in creating a maintainable routine is to think and reflect if you are more of a morning person, night owl, or (maybe like me) an afternoon person. I find this to be a crucial first step because not only does it give you an insight into your behavior but it also allows you to work with your internal schedule without feeling the need to drastically change everything about your day. This means if you are better working into later in the night and waking up later in the day, you can keep doing that. Not everyone needs to be a morning person to be successful.

Once you’ve figured this out, start scheduling tasks that take a lot of energy (mental or otherwise) in the times where you are most active or awake. By doing this, you’ve already set yourself up for success for the upcoming day — you’re more likely going to feel motivated and excited to do the work because you have the energy to complete the task. Through understanding and managing your energy levels throughout the day, you can better gauge when you are the most productive and when to start tackling those big tasks.

Start scheduling tasks that take a lot of energy (mental or otherwise) in the times where you are most active or awake.

Categorise and Prioritise

The best parts of setting up a routine are staying on track with work and assignments (especially during this time) and feeling like you’re tackling that to-do list. Those seemingly never-ending to-do lists…

So, how can you create a daily routine with tasks that seem to be constantly changing daily? And how do you know what tasks to do first? To put it simply, categorise and prioritise. Easy said than done, of course, but let me go ahead and give you a quick rundown of how to do this.

Your to-do list may seem like it’s constantly changing, whether that’s the tasks you have to do for work, school assignments, or tasks for your home or yourself. But, most of the time, they stay within the same category. This means those home cleaning tasks will always be categorisable to home cleaning, the same with work or school. Keep it simple and categorise your routine, this gives you the ability to fill in that time with whatever tasks that need to be done that particular day.

Once you have your tasks categorised, you can then move into prioritising. This can be prioritising each category and prioritising within the category itself, and this can also change day to day. So, let’s say you work a Monday to Friday job, you will prioritise your work category Monday to Friday, making sure you focus on those tasks first before doing anything else. But the weekends may be a different story — maybe Saturdays your prioritse your home tasks and Sundays your self-care tasks. Tasks and priority lists are subject to change day to day and it is okay to adjust accordingly.

Keep it simple and categorise your routine, this gives you the ability to fill in that time with whatever tasks that need to be done that particular day.

Take it for a test drive and adjust when needed.

Okay, so you’ve figured out when you’re the most energised, you’ve made a list of your daily tasks, and you’ve prioritised them accordingly. Great, then you’re all set to give it a try! Sit down and write your schedule out for the next week, and really stick to it. I mean, stick to it even if you hate waking up early and going to bed early, or whatever it may be. The first few days of a new routine are always the worst, so try to stick it out for a full week. Just remember, making a routine a habit takes time and dedication, so stick with it.

Maybe you've tried for a week and you still hate the routine you've created -- maybe you've given yourself too much time for certain tasks and it feels like wasting time, maybe you didn't give yourself enough time, maybe you forgot to add in breaks during the day (yes, schedule those, too). Whatever it is, something just isn't working and your motivation has completely plummeted. That's okay.

This doesn't mean you're a failure or that you're incapable of sticking to a routine, it just means this particular set up just wasn't right for you. So, you readjust. Maybe switch up your activities (for example, work for an hour then go out for a walk, work for another hour then do something else), or maybe you need to scratch the whole thing and start all over again. That is okay. Keep reworking it, keep at it for at least one week, and reevaluate.

The first few days of a new routine are always the worst, so try to stick it out for a full week.

Finding the "perfect routine" is no science and you can't follow an exact recipe. It takes trial and error, it can take failure and frustration, but it is possible to make a routine that is perfect for you. It’s crucial to personalise your routine because what works for your friend probably won’t work for you. Reflect on when you feel your best during the day and take advantage of those times, make a list of priorities for each day, and don’t be afraid to switch things up if it just isn’t working. Once you’ve found that routine and rhythm, be prepared to reap those benefits!