I used to think that being in a routine was boring and mundane — the furthest thing from what I wanted in my early 20’s, or even late 20’s. Having a routine was kryptonite for someone who has travelled a reasonable amount and enjoys the nomadic, free lifestyle of someone who is single and unattached as a young adult.
Now I know what you’re thinking, all of the greatest minds, entrepreneurs and leaders all swear by a routine of some description (in case you’ve been living under a rock, see the list below) but I think therein lies the key “some description”.
Maybe as I get older and wiser* I have the need for a more structured lifestyle in certain aspects.
Maybe it’s to help manage the larger than normal workload I’ve had for the last year.
Maybe it’s a combination of all of these things.
If you, like myself, have read articles and books and watched YouTube videos that shame you into creating a strict routine for your entire day, you may want to rethink it as I’ve done.
My advice? Start small.
Think about what element of your life or day you want to optimise and start adding one thing into your routine at a time. Trial it for a week or two, see how you feel. If it’s sticking and you still want to optimise further, add in a little extra.
No-one is expecting you to meditate for an hour each morning before work.
Morning routine:
- https://medium.com/better-humans/the-simple-10-step-morning-routine-that-changed-my-life-9a75df25492e
- https://medium.com/mind-cafe/this-morning-routine-will-save-you-20-hours-per-week-a05c68b8e73c
- https://medium.com/the-mission/how-creating-a-meaningful-morning-routine-will-make-you-more-successful-1b7372655938
- https://medium.com/s/the-slow-up/i-tried-7-different-morning-routines-heres-what-made-me-happiest-cf5ead2c447
- https://dannyforest.medium.com/a-morning-routine-really-does-set-you-up-for-success-heres-a-6-step-process-to-create-one-44681c361674
Evening routine:
- https://medium.com/thrive-global/this-10-minute-night-routine-guarantees-success-your-next-morning-af47fa7a00d5
- https://medium.com/swlh/nightly-routines-and-how-to-sleep-hack-your-way-to-a-productive-morning-d341d58f3c3c
https://medium.com/better-advice/5-practices-to-include-in-your-evening-routine-8c9e240c526c
- https://medium.com/slackjaw/jeff-bezoss-very-chill-saturday-night-routine-c451e64c0078
- https://medium.com/the-ascent/a-profoundly-powerful-practice-to-include-in-your-nighttime-routine-f40867d7a3fd
Tim Ferris
https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-ferriss-morning-routine-2017-1?r=US&IR=T
Tony Robbins
https://www.businessinsider.com/tony-robbins-morning-routine-meditation-and-workout-2017-10?r=US&IR=T
Bill Gates
https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-daily-routine-2017-8?r=US&IR=T
Lebron James
https://www.balancethegrind.com.au/daily-routines/lebron-james-daily-routine/
Obviously, depending on the person, you’d want to pick a routine that suits you — I wouldn’t recommend many of us to try Lebron or Dwayne Johnson's routines.