How to Create a Daily Routine You Will Actually Stick To + Layout Inspo!

We all have a daily routine whether we know it or not. Our daily routine is a combination of all of our habits, good and bad, that form the structure of what we do consistently every day. Your daily routine has a powerful effect on how successful, healthy and happy you are, which is why it’s imperative that you have a good one.  But developing a healthy routine isn’t easy. How can you create a daily routine you actually WANT to stick to?

First, let’s establish why you need a good daily routine and why so many fail to have one. 

The Power of Your Daily Routine

As stated before, your daily routine is a combination of all your deepest entrenched habits – set on repeat. Getting ready for work in the morning may seem like the least significant experience of your day, but it can have a big impact on your life. The right routine will energize you and lift you up, while the wrong routine can drain you and bring you down. With a daily routine, you will be taking small steps consistently towards your goals every day. 

Even better, when your positive routine becomes a habit, you no longer overthink things and persuade yourself not to do them. Instead, no matter how you feel, you will just do it.

So what’s so hard about establishing a positive routine? Well, let’s look at some things that the experts suggest are part of a healthy routine. Exercise, Meditation, Going to bed early, etc. Exercise involves physical effort, sweat, even a little pain. Sure there’s that legendary endorphin rush but how many of you remember a sweet swell of endorphins on your first run? Or your second? Seriously, it’s hard! And going to bed early…when there’s Netflix right on my phone?! Come on, people!

Not to state the obvious, but doing hard things is…hard. And yet we all still want to have that beach body while we run our six-figure side hustles. But how do you get there? How do you overcome the hard and develop a routine you can really stick to?

 How to Create a Daily Routine You’ll Actually Stick To

When people first set out to make a schedule, they tend to be strict with themselves. Time to buckle down, Self! You crack the whip . . . and then you procrastinate. And then you crack the whip harder! And then you procrastinate more. How do we break this cycle?

You can break the cycle by asking yourself ” What’s the right ratio of work to reward? ” Ask your self that, like you are someone you have to negotiate with.  Role play like you are both the boss and the employee of your life (which you are). In a typical employee/employer relationship, you negotiate a salary. The employer agrees to PAY for the effort and time of the employee. Everyone deserves compensation for their efforts.

Think about this. What can you do to compensate yourself for your hard work and effort? Maybe this means you do the work, but you agree to take a break and play a video game or read a novel or go for a walk. There has to be a balance between work and reward or you will always give up on your goals and avoid the work. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

This is so important I can’t emphasize it enough!  What can you do to compensate yourself? Negotiate with YOU! Don’t treat yourself like a slave! Treat yourself like a friend, someone whose time and effort you value.  Treat yourself like you are someone you want to share a good life with – after all,  you really are in this together. Working against yourself, like we so often do, is a recipe for failure.

That’s how you make your ideal routine! Plan a day you’d LIKE to have! Don’t boss yourself around!  Negotiate the best day you can have while still taking care of what you need to.

Negotiate with YOU! Don’t treat yourself like a slave! Treat yourself like a friend, someone whose time and effort you value.

My Own Routine

Here’s an example from my own journal.  I knew I needed a better daily routine. I have a lot I wanted to accomplish but I was feeling overwhelmed and weighed down. In order to find my perfect schedule, I first laid out everything that happens on a typical day that I CAN’T control. The things I have to take care of no matter what.

Then I compared those tasks and events with how I feel during the day. I took account of my energy levels to try and isolate hurt points. You know, those moments in the day when everything feels impossible and you want to give up and have a glass of wine. Tracking my natural energy rhythms during the day is one way that I can be nice to myself. For instance – don’t schedule a workout when you feel the most tired. It’s just not going to happen! And then you’ll never achieve your fitness goals! Its the little things like that that make a big difference in life.

After I analyzed the info this spread gave me – I have the most energy in the afternoon, the hours between 5:30 and 8:30 are completely chaotic, etc – I was ready to create a better daily routine. A routine where I both get things accomplished AND stay happy.  Where I can fit everything in without tearing my hair out.

Here I’ve scheduled in several breaks for me to feel happy during the day as well as get things done. Now I know I won’t necessarily follow this every day. Emergencies will happen, things will go wrong, etc. But if I do this even half of the time, I’ve improved 50% of my days. That means I’ve improved half of my life! Think of the impact that can have on your productivity and your overall satisfaction in life!

If I stick to my schedule even half of the time, I’ve improved 50% of my days!

I hope you’ll give this idea a try! Looking for more ideas on creating a better day and a better you? Check out these posts below!

How to Organize Your Entire Life

Time Blocking: Get More Done with Less Stress

What’s Your Planner Personality?

Now, I’ve put together some other layout ideas for some inspiration on your daily routine spreads:

@thelemonbug

@shilen.qc

@mashaplans

@fourdotspaper

@raesdailypage