There is a lot of things I don’t have control over in my life, many of us feel the same way. Humans find safety in consistency, something like a routine. It just allows us to know whats going to happen during a certain time of the day as well as how to plan for those things. While unemployed and trying to find purpose in my life, it’s been really hard to maintain a routine when I don’t have anything actually forcing me to rush out of the house or get work done. I have plenty of time to do whatever it is I have to do, so I procrastinate and usually never get it done. It’s a crappy feeling and I hate myself at the end of the day. So my friend who is currently going to law school (which they are so incredibly brave for it) asked me about how to create and build a routine. What a great idea and I can keep everything in one place on my blog!

What times?

To start, you’ll have to pick your time slots, the time can be has specific or general as you want. I only really keep two sets of routines, morning and night. I usually leave my days pretty open or basic, for example, 11am-2pm is working time, hour for lunch, and then back to work till 5. But what that work is, commissions, blogging, volunteering, it all changes day to day. If you go down the route of just a set morning and night routine, think about how you want to start and end the day. How much time do you want? Will this change daily? I like to give myself enough time to not rush so I can comfortably get through my routine. Another thing you’ll want to keep in mind is intertwining everything. I’ll go through my own routine to explain it. In the morning:

• Drink water
• Brush teeth
• Wash face
• Walk
• Stretch
• Rinse
• Shower
• Eat

So obviously some very important things humans already do everyday, brush teeth, eat, drink water. But in between each of those necessary tasks, I implement another activity that makes me feel good, walking, stretching, washing my face. This way I don’t have to add an extra hour of my morning to incorporate the feel good activity, I just include it in-between the things I already have to do. I also go off the idea of “well I’m already here brushing my teeth so I might as well wash my face.”

What are the things you like to do?

To create a more fulfilling routine, not just a routine to do basic human necessities, think of things you like to do or things you’ve noticed makes you feel good. Is there a certain workout you like? Is there a creative activity that helps release emotion? Or do you want to find ways to include gratitude, self-esteem, and coping skills in your life. This is the place to do it! Or maybe you even want to keep it pretty general and give 5-10 minutes to learn about something new! This is where the routine becomes yours. Below I’ll list out some ideas to get you started, I’ll separate morning and night but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Morning	Night
Painting	Breathing exercises
Writing	Gratitude journaling
Working Out	Reading
Scheduling your day	Scheduling the next day
Researching a new topic	Star gazing
Saying affirmation in the mirror	Meditation

How to incorporate it.

Just do it. Even if you miss a day or forget to do it in the “right order”. Don’t tell yourself, “oh well, I’ll just try again tomorrow” or “I’ll do a fresh restart next week.” You’re only hurting yourself when you tell yourself to wait. If you have the opportunity, do it as soon as you remember, this can help remind yourself how you feel with that activity.

This happens to me all the time. For example, I started helping with a program on Mondays and wasn’t able to to do my full morning routine, specifically my walk around the park. But when I would get home around lunch time, I would then take that walk. While it wasn’t done “correctly” that’s not what important here, it’s the fact that I took time out of my day to prioritize my well being! Additionally, I was able to get myself out of the house and into the sun which is always a plus.

From time to time, I also allow myself to switch things up a bit! Sometimes I’ll stretch before I walk or the last thing I do is rinse after eating. You change day to day so allow yourself some wiggle room to accompany that normal change.

How are you feeling?

This is what is going to keep you consistent, you’ll need to notice how you are feeling when you do these additional activities. You don’t want to dread having to walk a block in the morning, it’ll keep you in bed and maybe just avoid the routine all together. But if you can’t wait to read another chapter of your book, it’ll feel better to get through the routine since you’ve allotted yourself time to do it! Don’t do a routine because it’s very “girl boss” or “trendy” or “what pintrest said to do,” do it because you want to feel good and you want future you to be happy as well. This will also help in shaping a routine that is specifically for you and not crossing your boundaries or expecting you to do the impossible. There’s no shame in not being able to walk on the treadmill at the maximum speed and the highest incline, do what works best for you. Then maybe one day you could achieve that, but keep your routine comfortable so your more inclined to keep doing it daily.

At the end of the day…

Lastly, I never really listed these out on paper and put it anywhere, I just did it and changed it around as I continued the routine. So if listing it out and putting it on your fridge helps, do it! I added things as I went, really, I started with stretching in the morning and it kind of just went from there! I always asked, “is there something else I can do it the morning to help myself be ready for the day?” Or even at night, how can I help myself settle down and be comfortable? My panic would get the worst right before bed and instead of just waiting for the panic attack to come and then start to my coping skills I started journaling, slowly sipping on my magnesium drink and practicing breathing exercises. This actually helped me go to bed less panicked and I got a more restful sleep.

This is all a pain, you’re not going to get it overnight and you’ll learn a lot more about yourself along the way. Maybe you never actually liked stretching and find that it doesn’t align with a goal of yours. Just a reminder that things change (things being you) and it’s best if you let your routine change along with you.

Thank you so much for reading! Have a wonderful day!