By its own definition, a routine is, “nothing to write home about.” The mere thought of getting up every morning at the same time to choke down a quick breakfast we’d rather not eat and head off to a job we’d rather not discuss not only doesn’t get our juices flowing, it’s quite often something that makes us rethink many of our life choices. How much of the rest of our day falls into such a mundane routine varies widely from person to person. However, researchers are discovering that a routine isn’t really the evil necessity it’s been vilified to be. In fact, a routine has been shown to ease insomnia and reduce the symptoms related to bipolar disorder and ADHD.
(Read: Consistent Routines May Ease Bipolar Disorder).
Those aren’t the only benefits of having a routine.
How a Routine Reduces Stress
Routines such as organizing your life to create healthy habits can reduce stress by putting parts of your life on autopilot. For instance, picture yourself in the morning, trying to run out the door in a hurry.
Where are your keys? Where’s your wallet?
If you create a routine by making it a habit to put your wallet and keys on a side table or hooks near the door when you get home, you never worry about where they are again.
If you fix your lunch and breakfast before you go to bed and if you make it a routine to set out your clothes for the next day’s events – no matter what they may be – when you wake up, your lunch is ready, and since you already know what you’re wearing, you actually have time to eat breakfast. That has to be less stressful than running around looking for your purse and scrambling through your closet because what you thought you were going to wear is still in that unsorted pile of laundry (and is it really almost laundry day again?)
Creating these autopilot routines allows you more time to find excitement and adventure. There’s less drain on your energy reserves and you’ll have more time to plan surprises and think things through with more clarity.
How to Develop a Stress Relieving Routine
Time to Think
The common thread that runs through the process of the treatment of anxiety, insomnia, and stress is identifying the routine. If you’re suffering from bouts of anxiety, you need to determine the root cause of your suffering and address it. One of the most common and effective methods for protecting your mental health is to allow time for thinking. The only way to ensure this time happens is by finding a time to add it into your daily schedule.
This doesn’t mean you have to build a mini temple and sit in Lotus position for hours. Many people find time just by putting on headphones and listening to an instrumental piece of music for ten to fifteen minutes. Instrumental music works well because you’re alone with your thoughts and not guided by the meaning behind lyrics.
Time to Write
Another popular way to get your thoughts in order is by journaling. Just writing down everything that worries you and that you’re grateful for has a way of relieving the stress of internalizing everything.
Time to Do Everything – Create a Schedule
Creating schedules doesn’t mean you have to micromanage your day. It simply means you know that the phone bill is due on the 11th but they’ll take it out of your bank account on the 8th due to their autopay policy. It means you don’t have to go to the grocery store four times this week because you did enough meal planning that you picked up what you needed during your weekly shopping trip. It means you don’t have to squeeze in a workout session because it’s already on your weekly schedule.
These schedules and routines take the stress out of your day, give you the confidence to plan for things like exotic vacations, and start to pinpoint other things that may be creating anxiety in your life. Giving yourself one less thing to worry about can make a world of difference in how you face your day.
Routines not only help you do the right things, they help you do them well. Practicing routines helps to keep you on track so that you’re not forgetting your phone every time you walk out the door. The more routines you have in place, the easier it is to face unpredictable events that occur every day.
Routines offer a home base – an anchor – to keep your emotions and anxieties in check when you need backup for stressful moments and events. Routines offer comfort and can keep your health on track, from knowing when you’re going to make a week’s worth of meals to knowing when you’re going to workout to even knowing when you’re going to sit down and finish that model tank you’ve been working on.
How Do I Create a Healthy Routine?
The first thing to do is to write down exactly what you do every day. Then, look it over and see what looks good and what could be changed. Don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t look all that great.
Also, take a look at the goals you’ve written down for yourself (you do write down your goals, don’t you?) Then, do a side-by-side comparison of how much you’re doing every day to meet your goals. What can be changed? What can you do to create a routine that would be better aligned with your goals?
The more you can write down and identify, the easier it will be to create routines that are not only effective, they actually free up your time to do more things that you love.
