The COVID-19 pandemic has knocked us all for a loop. Besides the physical, financial and social ramifications, at a personal level it’s blocked our access to a lot of our normal day-to-day activities, and the routines that go with them.

They say a change is as good as a rest, but a good routine has several benefits.

What’s good about a routine?

Can be reassuring

According to the Big 5 personality traits, people are inclined to be more or less open to change. And according to MBTI personality theory, people with a T/Thinking tendency prefer a stable outside world, to give them more mental freedom. Many neurodivergent people (for example, autistic, with ADHD) also find a stable routine with few surprises easier to deal with. So if you fall into any of these categories, you may feel generally more comfortable with a routine.

Automates your decision making

We all have routines already which take some of the thinking out of our day. Clean your teeth in the morning? That’s a routine. Check your car mirror after you put on your seatbelt? Stop for coffee at the same place on the way to work? More routines. At their simplest level, routines can be automatic habits that we do without having to make a decision. Why is that good? Because of decision fatigue.

Helps set the tone

Imagine your alarm goes off in the morning. As you switch it off on your phone, you go straight into your emails. Someone’s sent you a rush job, or a question you’ve already answered in your last email, or some critical feedback. What’s your response? Before you even get out of bed, you’re already in a bad mood.

Compare this to a morning routine you’ve curated more carefully. Maybe you switch off your alarm, drink a glass of water, put your feet on the ground and say “Today is going to be a great day”. The same emails are still waiting for you, but perhaps now you’re in a better state to cope with them.

Working (or not working) from home

Going to and from work at a set time every weekday is one of the most obvious routines we have. At times when you’re unemployed, or working from home, the lack of starting and finishing deadlines can make it hard to get moving in the morning, and to switch off at night. Add to that Parkinson’s Law (“work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”), and you can see why a routine with clearly defined boundaries can make you more productive.

Encourages incremental progress (compound interest)

Maybe you’ve seen a table like this before:

Long-term benefits

It’s easy to fall into the trap of dealing with things that are urgent but not important, such as a last-minute request from a coworker or a family member. 

A daily routine is a great way to slot in activities that are not urgent, but important to you.

Say you want to write a novel. That’s never going to become urgent (because you could spend your whole life without writing a novel), so you have to prioritise it and carve out time for it yourself.

If you wait for the right time, with no commitments, to come along, you’ll wait forever.

On the other hand, if you start your day by writing for 15 minutes, sooner or later you’ll have your first draft.

A daily routine is also fantastic for activities that won’t have an instant result.

Take something like yoga or stretching. If you spend an entire day doing yoga, and then don’t do it again for six months, you’ll probably experience some discomfort in the short term and a decrease in flexibility at the end of that period.

In comparison, if you do yoga for 10 minutes, every weekday for six months, you’ll get past the discomfort stage and become more flexible. Some activities just can’t be done all in one go, and a routine can help you push through to the results you want.

When should I do my daily routine?

Although morning routines are perhaps the most well-known, there are really three options, all with their own pros and cons.

I’ve categorised routine activities into the three groups below. You may feel that an activity falls into a different category for you – no problem! There’s no need to pick a certain number from each category, just mix and match them however works for you.

What kind of things can I include in my routine?

How do I set up a routine?

Just work through these questions:

Why isn’t my routine working?

If your routine isn’t working out, there are three factors that may be causing you problems.

Timing

If you’re not a morning person, or if you already have a lot to do first thing in the morning, then a morning routine will be difficult for you. Similarly, if you crash out on the sofa by 8.30pm, an evening routine may be tricky.  Similarly, if you want to spend 30 minutes writing and 30 minutes learning Spanish, but you only have a 30-minute lunch break, you’re going to need to rethink your plan.

Priority

Is something on your list because you feel like you “should” do it? If you find meditation incredibly difficult and boring, but added it to your routine because your best friend keeps telling you it will change your life, you’re going to struggle with it. What do you actually enjoy that could give you the same result?

Ease

You need a plan and a kit before you get started, or you’ll fall at the first hurdle. Say you want to go running in the mornings, but your old trainers rub your feet and give you blisters. You’ll put off running more often than you do it.

Or maybe you want to learn a language, but don’t know where to start. You’ll waste time scrolling through different websites and apps, trying to decide how to study before you learn a single word.

Whatever you want to include in your routine, break it down so that it feels easy for you, and you can start doing it without any decisions or obstacles.

Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash