How to Stay Consistent with Your Daily Routine
By Amanda Da Silva, B.Hkin, B.Ed, and M.Ed
5-minute read
Routines will vary depending on a person. No matter the case, these small activities form a system according to which we all function. And such a system determines how we work, how our relationships look, and what we still need to improve or change to become better, both at work and in our personal life.
The most challenging part of any routine is staying consistent.
This is especially true when you’re feeling uninspired, demotivated, or when you’re overwhelmed by the number of things you have to accomplish. It is even more prevalent when you start adding more things into your routine considering how hard it is to make new habits stick.
Though, at the same time, the more consistent you are with it, the easier it becomes to maintain. While building a steady routine requires hard work, there are ways to make it simpler. So here’s how to stay consistent with your daily routine even if you’re tired and busy.
How to Stay Consistent with Your Daily Routine ⤵
Have the right mindset
Self-talk plays a major role in the way you go about your daily routine.
When you’re overwhelmingly busy and incredibly tired, it’s very easy to get caught up in negative thoughts. The more you tell yourself “I can’t do this”, “I’m dreading doing this”, “I’m going to fail”, or “it’s too hard”, the more you’re setting yourself up for failure.
So, it won’t take very long until you’re feeling frustrated because you missed entire sections of your daily routine. Then it leads to you beating yourself up and ultimately giving up. However, if you want to stay consistent with your daily routine, you can’t allow these thoughts to destabilize you.
Having the right mindset is essential.
So remind yourself of why you’re doing what you’re doing because that’s the biggest motivator you can have.
Surround yourself with the positives, tell yourself you’ve got this, and you will experience a well-deserved sense of confidence and pride.
Be intentional and take ownership of your day.
Even under the best circumstances, a daily routine can and will derail. Though by how much is entirely up to you.
When you take into account the countless distractions life throws at you, you’re guaranteed to be led astray. That is, of course, if you’re not intentional in what you do.
This starts with identifying and eliminating all the distractions and obstacles you might face during the day. Take the time to recognize which areas you’re most likely to succumb to those hindrances then work on defeating them.
If procrastination is a big issue for you, try to build awareness around that to help you understand what stops you from getting things done.
Being intentional and taking ownership of your day will keep you accountable and help you stay consistent with your routine.
Multitasking won’t get you anywhere
There was a time when multitasking was the ultimate skill to have to improve productivity.
Now it’s become one of the top faulty practices that cause you to accomplish less. There are a few exceptions, like listening to a podcast while doing house chores for instance.
However, in most cases, being in the present moment and giving your all to the task at hand is key for consistency.
So, choose to be more mindful of what you’re doing, push aside anything that doesn’t add to it, and set a time limit to bring more balance.
Build margin into your schedule
A lot of people see ‘downtime’ as an obstacle to overcome or something to eliminate.
If you want to stay consistent and avoid procrastinating, you have to build margins into your daily schedule. Filling your agenda with commitments and tasks will only leave you feeling tired and frustrated. When you do this, you leave very little room for error and unexpected events.
On the other hand, when you allow yourself some downtime, you also give yourself room to breathe and a chance to be more spontaneous. It’s not an act of laziness. On the contrary, this prevents you from falling into the dreadful catch-up mode and allows you to be more present and process things at your own pace.
So, build margin into your schedule and enjoy the space it provides.
The Takeaway
Keep in mind that your daily routine is much more than an item you check off of a list.
The goal here is to improve your quality of life as well as the lives of those around you. If your focus is all scattered while you try to go through the motions and tackle everything all at once, then you can’t expect good results.
So be intentional, take accountability, and allow yourself room to breathe!
What daily routines are the most important to you, and why? I’d love to hear more about your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Hi! I’m Amanda Da Silva.
I’m a mother of two boys, a wife, daughter, teacher, entrepreneur, former CEO, and life-long learner. I’m all about personal growth, community 💕, and being of service. (Find out more about me here.) In addition to being passionate about personal development, I’m an educator and coach with 20-years experience teaching and leading in the BC school system. I have a B.Hkin, B.Ed, and M.Ed, specializing in leadership and administration. Creating community and leading thriving teams are two of my favourite things to do. I also love helping people live empowered and growth-oriented lives.
I hope you’ll join me as we build our success together! 🙌
