With school starting up this week, our household routine is undergoing a major overhaul. Time to start getting the kids up early, lunches made, eating breakfast fast, and heading out in a timely manner. We got accustomed to a lazy, ease-into-the-day kind of morning over the summer and this week feels like we got slapped in the face. I think this is a good thing though and a great way to look at your personal routine.
It is so easy to get into a more relaxed routine that doesn’t challenge us. We take our time in the morning drinking coffee, watching tv, and catching up on social media. We do this because there is nothing pressing for the day. I personally don’t care for the “lazy morning” routine approach. Don’t get me wrong, I took part in them pretty regularly and far more frequently over this past summer. I have come to realize how much time is wasted with the “ease into the day” sort of approach.
Mornings, where I get up and go for a walk or get a workout in first thing, set me up for extremely productive days. It’s just a hard fact I have come to accept. It takes me much longer to get into work mode when I take my time easing into the day vs getting up and accomplishing something.
Routine is the perfect counterpart to motivation. Motivation comes in waves and easily comes and goes. Routine is what we fall back on in times of stress, lack of motivation, and when we are simply worn out. Building a routine is what will get you the results you’re looking for whether that be in work, fitness, or your personal life. Here is my challenge to you. Write down your morning routine and really examine it. Then write down a goal (personal, professional, fitness, etc) you want to accomplish over the next month. Work little bits of that goal into your routine. For example, you want to read a book this month. In your morning routine, build in 15 minutes of reading time (or however much time you want) and follow that every single day. See how far you can take this and let us know when you reach your goal!
-Danny