Developing a Daily Routine
Having a daily routine to follow can help in achieving goals, relieving stress, and a tremendous increase in one’s self-value. All of which leads in temporary and long-term success in everyday living.
Here are some recommendations on building a healthy daily routine:
Waking up at the same time everyday
While it may be difficult to do so because of your work schedule or perhaps you have a sleeping problem that can make it impossible, it may be very beneficial in having that alarm go off at the same time everyday. Your body can adapt to the time and it will make a habit of it. One way that I’ve found that helps with waking up at the same time everyday is that it helps me create a daily routine that I now follow. The daily routine helps you write down your hourly schedules and tasks to tackle. When you don’t have a gap in your schedule, you’re forced to be doing tasks all day which essentially drains your energy and forces you to go to bed at the same time thus waking up at the same time.
Meditate
You’ve all heard of the benefits and the results of mediation and the countless successful people that swear by it. It’s no secret, meditation can change your life! It can help you stay calm in stressful situations, help you break habits and make new better ones, it will guide you in finding your true calling or purpose, and ultimately help you find your true-self by examining what you have been taught all along and questioning everything. Start to incorporate it in your daily routine and it won’t take long for you see results. If you’re a beginner with no previous experience, start by meditating 5-10 minutes daily and slowly increase but for me right now even 5 minutes twice daily does wonders!
Affirmations/Visualizations
Affirmations are messages that you repeat to yourself and you practice daily. You say these messages as though you already have what you desire or you already are what you want to be. You say positive messages in the form of now, instead of wishing for them. For example, if you want to have more energy, instead of saying something like “I wish I had more energy everyday”, you say “I have an abundance of energy now and everyday”. Affirmations are a great way to start out your day on positive notes that lift your spirit and change your attitude towards the day.
Visualization is thinking (or visualizing) the changes that you want to bring into your life. These are tools in helping you shape your reality simply by imagining that you ARE that person that you want to be in the future, or you HAVE that life that you want. Our minds cannot tell the difference between our thoughts and our past experiences. It does not have the ability to know if a certain chunk of memory was real or it was just a thought. That is why visualizations and affirmations change people’s way of thinking, thus changing their lives.
Write a to-do list
Take a few minutes in your morning routine to write down a to-do list for the day (this is different than your weekly and monthly checklists). This can be a very powerful tool in getting things done that you otherwise procrastinate. Have a list of each of the following: personal, professional, and business.
Your personal to-do list may include: Clean and organize office/bedroom, call a friend, do laundry, spa day.
Professional and business list include: Replying to emails, finish project X, spend 1 hour on online content, get to know more people in your industry.
Always tackle the tasks that are more difficult for you that have a chance of being postponed first because throughout the day we lose energy and motivation to work on certain projects.
Working out or light Exercising
As we age, it becomes more difficult for us to stay healthy and be in shape. Try incorporating a light exercise (If you’re like me and don’t much like working out) in your daily routine. I personally love walking in nature and I find that it brings me peace and calmness after my walking sessions. Any physical activity, even for 15 minutes, will do. Simple activities like swimming, biking in the neighborhood, playing a sport, mowing the lawn. Or if you like going to the gym or lifting weights. All of these help with mood and raising blood circulation in the body.
