Last Updated on September 11, 2023 by Lori
92% of highly productive people say they follow a daily routine. A good routine can make you feel calm and in control. But what happens when your familiar routine stops working for you?
Daily routines can prove invaluable for creating structure and improving our lives. They improve productivity, give our days some consistency, and help build confidence that we can manage all our daily tasks and responsibilities.
That’s good, right?
But as humans, our daily lives are constantly changing and our routines need to keep up with these changes. The things that are important to you now may look completely different from how they did a year ago.
When you retire from a career, your children move out of the home, you downsize into a smaller place, surgery or illness – there are a myriad of reasons your life changes, and so must your routine.
No matter how well your current routine worked for you in the past, it may be time to re-evaluate its value in your current life.
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What does it mean to change your routine?
To change up your routine means that you do something different than you normally do.
This doesn’t necessarily mean giving up on having a routine, or throwing the whole schedule out and starting over. Small changes can be appropriate, too.
There are times when your life has changed to the extent that your routine needs to change to reflect your current needs.
What are the benefits of changing your routine?
Just a few of the benefits of changing your routine include:
- incorporate the tasks or activities of your current, not past, lifestyle
- break from monotony
- increased enjoyment of new activities
- improves brain function by switching activities or sequences
- prevents burnout and losing interest in activities
- experience more excitement and novelty
Is it time to shake up your routine? Here are four signs that will help you decide if your current routine needs an update.
4 Signs It’s Time To Update Your Daily Routine
1. You Feel Like Sticking to Your Current Routine Has Become a Struggle
All routines require effort in the beginning.
When you are building new habits, the mind needs time to adjust and re-learn the desired patterns of behavior.
Over time, the right routine will become easy to follow. It is said that it takes around 21 days to build up consistent habits.
If you are still struggling to follow your routine after 21 days, it could be a sign that it needs to be adjusted.
If a routine that has been easy for a long time becomes difficult to follow, that’s an indication that it is no longer working for you. It’s time to change it.
2. You don’t see the value in your routine anymore
When you first start following a routine, it adds a lot of value to your life.
It can boost energy levels, reduce stress, and make you feel happier overall. You can easily identify the value in the things you are doing.
A good routine benefits your life.
If you are now struggling to see the value in your routine, changing it up can help.
It may be that you need to adjust or eliminate some activities. You may be on a different schedule now, or activities have been resequenced or you have new actions or responsibilities that aren’t accounted for in your existing routine, so completing them is difficult.
It is important to change your routine as you and your circumstances change.
3. There is no room for spontaneity in your current routine
Daily routines create structure, but it’s also essential to leave some room for flexibility.
Life is unpredictable and this needs to be factored into your routine. If you make it too rigid and unyielding, you’ll find it’s much harder to follow.
Morning routines that prepare you for your day may be consistent, but then leave some space for casual and unplanned events, as well.
A routine is a framework, not a mandate.
Don’t aim to create such a strict timeline of how your day should go that there is no room for spontaneous choices.
4. You feel trapped in your routine Yet Reluctant to change
One of the great things about a daily routine is that it gives you structure.
However, it should also leave room for change too. If you are leaning so heavily into your daily routine that you’ve begun to avoid – or even fear – change, it’s time to revise that routine.
A routine is meant to ease stress, not create it.
If any deviation, even a minor one, from “the schedule” leaves you stressed out and overwhelmed, your routine is too rigid. It’s time to loosen the reigns a bit.
Read More:
- How (and Why) Your Daily Routines Determine Your Future
- 10 Journal Prompts For Setting – and Achieving – Your Goals
- Want to be More Organized? Use a Checklist
Final Thoughts on 4 Signs It’s Time to Change Your Daily Routine
These are some of the top signs you may need to update your current routine:
- You feel like sticking to your current routine has become a struggle
- You don’t see the value in your routine anymore
- There is no room for spontaneity in your current routine
- You feel trapped in your routine yet reluctant to change
Remember, the daily patterns of your life evolve and change with time. Routines need to be altered to accommodate these changes.
Don’t stick with an outdated routine. Take a look at your present daily needs, and design a new routine that meets who you are today.