Life can feel a little bit unpredictable at times. Routines are a great way to establish some kind of personal order in our lives. They allow us to set schedules and stick to them, which is one of the few things we can personally control.
Routines don’t have to be mundane or boring: They provide us with the opportunity to set short and long-term goals, taking clear steps to take control of our lives.
Let’s take a look at why routines may be good for your mental health, and why you should start embracing them:
- You Can Plan and Create Schedules: While it’s healthy to sometimes be wild and spontaneous, a lack of routine can bring with it a lack of structure.
- Making a schedule allows you to look at how you are using your time management skills: Schedules and routines allow you to feel more in control as you hit your goals and fulfill your commitments.
- Your commitments could be something as small as making sure you go to the gym at a specific time. Other commitments could include spending an afternoon with a friend or fulfilling family commitments.
These routines are healthy because they allow us to evenly divide our time into chunks: These plans are good for your mental health because they allow you to tick off the goals you’ve been working towards, little-by-little, in a manageable manner. They also help you make sure you don’t miss out on the important parts of your life.
Routines Give You Structure: Routines can also be of incredible value for creating structure and order in our lives.
Even if you have a simple routine, you are training your brain to relax and trust the process. If your brain knows what to expect, you will likely find yourself calmer. This is a HUGE help with anxiety!
By having a routine, you can keep your life relatively stress-free, as you won’t be surprised by unexpected outcomes. When unexpected things DO arise, you’ll be able to roll with them in a calmer, more logical manner.
Routines can create an element of safety, which can benefit your mental health significantly: You know what to expect, but also know that certain routines will fulfill you.
If doing something regularly and creating a routine out of it fulfills you, then it only makes sense to keep the routine up. However, something to be mindful of: varying the order of your routine (still hitting all the points), can keep you safe. For example, taking a different way home every day helps to thwart stalkers. Do not be too predictable.
Routines All To Help You Hit Your Goals: Perhaps there’s certain criteria you want to hit in your exercise routine, or you’re desperate to finish off your favorite television show.
It doesn’t matter what the goal is – having a routine can help you to stick to that time or that window of opportunity. Mentally, you will feel stronger as you will have something to aspire to and expect regularly.
Routines are Essentially Habits: If you’re struggling with your fitness regime or you are finding it difficult to cook for yourself, build it into a routine. Good habits, according to a new study in the European Journal of Social Psychology, take an average of 66 days to become ingrained into a person’s lifestyle. Keep striving forward on those routines!
Once you have started a routine, you will find your mental health much richer and your mind will be clearer.
Routines encourage progress, stability, fulfillment, and safety. They can give our lives purpose and make us feel in control. Try out some new routines and start reaping the benefits of a more stable, controlled lifestyle.
You can download a FREE printable/editable worksheet on setting routines here or by clicking on the picture of the worksheet below.
