You Should Craft a Routine Specific to Your Needs

We each have different priorities and goals, our habits and routines should reflect that

Triggered!

That word pops into my head every time I see a self professed guru on some social media or writing platform telling me what I need to do to be successful like them.

Sometimes they’re elaborate, “17 steps to success”, type lists. Sometimes they’re overly vague.

Almost every time I see them, they’re promising me that my life will change.

I hate that.

I hate it with a white-hot, burning passion.

We’re all unique, we’re all handling our own thing. Some of us literally have brains that work differently than others. You can’t really make that kind of promise and expect it to stick.

I say all that, and then boldly say that I recently, I wrote my own post on Medium about Rethinking the Morning Routine.

The issue isn’t with routines themselves, it’s with what we expect from them. Lets explore that.

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The problem with the routine

I just said that routines aren’t the problem, then create a section that says the contrary? That’s confusing, but hear me out.

A routine is intended to give you a formula to reproduce specific results. Routines are simply recipes to produce an outcome.

The problem arises when you’re unable to adjust your recipe, er… routine.

If you’re at high elevation, you learn to adjust cook times and ingredients.

When you’re preparing a meal for someone who is lactose intolerant, or with a gluten sensitivity, you adjust the ingredients.

The point is, people are unique. Desired outcomes are unique. Therefore, the path to get there needs to be adjusted.

The problem with routines shared by others is that they’re typically designed as one size fits all. This is the case for most ‘self-improvement’ advice, it’s hard to write a book that is different for each person.

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Adjust the recipe for your desired results

There are a handful of components that make up a good routine, recognizing that your routine should be designed for the result you’re trying to accomplish.

For a routine to start your day, it’s helpful to set your brain up for success. This is what we would usually call the “Morning Routine” but some people don’t wake up til noon. Let’s call it Guiding Routine, since it’s helping you locate your north start before you start doing something.

Craft your routine with the following framework, these are categories and there are tasks you can do within them:

• Intention — Keep it simple, re-establish why you’re doing this routine.

• Reflection — Consider your past and how it’s affecting your present and future.

• Planning — Prioritize your day, your life, your intention or your next step.

• Self-Care — Do something to support your mental and physical health.

You want to always have those 4 categories in place, as they all serve a purpose for your brain and for your success.

Let’s look at an example routine to clarify the exercise:

• Intention

  • Read your ‘Mission Statement.’

  • Write an affirmation for the day, or read/say an affirmation out loud 3 times with what you’ll accomplish.

• Reflection

  • Write 3–5 sentences recapping yesterday’s progress and activity.

  • Write 3 things you’re grateful for, make sure you’re deliberate and thoughtful as you write them.

  • Take a moment to thank ‘past you’ for setting ‘present and future you’ up for success.

• Planning

  • Write down 3 things you plan to get done today.

    • Define how long each one might take to complete and a simple follow-up step you could take afterwards if applicable.

  • Write down 3 life priorities, confirm that your ‘3 Things’ align with at least one of your life priorities.

• Self-Care

  • Do a Sun Salutation, or similar sequence of yoga poses.

  • Spend 10–15 minutes meditating.

  • Exercise (get sweaty) for 30+ minutes.

If you’re like me, you might benefit by having a rotating list of things under each category you might do on any given day. Maybe today feels more like a “Long Walk” day for Self-care, or Planning might include your quarterly goals.

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Routines, they aren’t just for breakfast anymore

I’ve had many great morning routines that really set me on fire with activity when I did them, lasting all the way until… lunch.

For whatever reason, my brain resets when I go to another context. Generally I encounter my family at lunchtime, or I start doing some non-productive habit that derails me. It is more common that not, that I come back from lunch and struggle for a couple of hours before finding my footing… if I’m lucky enough to do so.

Often my non-productive afternoons turn into non-productive evenings that turn into frustrated ‘reflection’ time the next day.

A routine, as I said, isn’t just something to start the day, it can be used for anything.

An afternoon routine, or a ‘reset’ routine, is akin to the morning routine but lighter.

An example afternoon routine might look like:

• Reflection

  • Recap the morning.

  • Identify next steps.

  • How’s your energy and attention?

• Intention

  • What are you prepared to work on next?

  • How can you steer clear of distraction?

  • How can you regain energy?

• Planning

  • What can you start with that is still on your path?

  • What can you pivot on from that morning?

• Self-Care

  • Nap time!

  • Nature Time!

  • Take a walk without music or podcasts.

Again, having options to throw in and keep it from being stale may be what you need.

It’s probably a good idea to plan your secondary routine when doing the planning in your primary routine.

Additionally, it’s probably worth having a “Studying Routine” or “Administrative Routine” or at least having tasks that clearly support different aspects of your day.

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I love the idea of routines. I love hearing how other people focus or stay rolling. A recent comment thread with

Haider Ali

emphasized how important momentum is in his routine, maybe the lesson there is to craft a routine that starts with a single small task with the preparation laid so that you can easily go from one small task to the next.

I’m curious to hear other routines, or suggestions for different categories or tasks types that I’m missing in my framework. I’m working on a comprehensive list of tasks based on categories that can be drawn from when crafting routines, so alternative tasks would be interesting to see as well.

Tell me your ideas! Tell me your routine! Or, use this framework and let me know how it works. (c: