There was a moment when I first started adopting daily routines where I got really frustrated.
It was towards the end of my morning routine. I found myself feeling frantic and rushed. I hadn’t done everything I felt was important to the routine and now had to get ready for work and head out the door. In the swirl of that frustration, it hit me. What was meant to be a respite, a moment of pause, grounding and fulfillment was becoming. burdensome. It had no rhythm, no flow. This couldn’t be how it was meant to be.
Thus began my ongoing journey with daily routines. It hasn’t always been easy or simple. It’s definitely had its challenges, and that’s what I want to unpack today.
Daily routines are amazing and important but also have their challenges. I don’t want to dive into this practice without acknowledging that it can be difficult. We are pulled and tugged on into various directions. We are pouring out daily and it can be a lot.
What I’ve learned and I am learning is that things in life can and likely will impact your daily routine, but it doesn’t have to derail it.
So, some challenges I’ve faced in this daily routine journey:
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Starting/Narrowing down my daily routine: because a daily routine for me is about doing what brings joy, grounds me, and fills me up, I felt had to do ALL THINGS that hit that mark within a certain timeframe. I’d believed that a daily routine was a schedule and everything had to happen at an exact time and all of that. Only when I released that and remembered that it wasn’t about doing everything but what mattered, was I able to lean into the beauty daily routines offer.
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How to combat not starting or overloading your routine: start small and build from there. Remember that’s not about doing everything but doing what matters to and for you in a given season. Release the expectation that your routine needs to be elaborate. If there’s only one thing that grounds you daily, that one thing is enough.
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Starting again after life transitions/changes: Starting again after going through transitions and changes is a challenge I’ve recently had to face. Life happens—some of it we can control, most of it we don’t. We move. Change jobs or careers. Get in and out of a relationship and so on. The list is ongoing of all the ways life can shift. All of transitions and changes we experience in life can and likely will impact your daily routine but it doesn’t have to derail it.
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How to not let life transitions/changes derail your daily routine: Have at least one core tenet—-one ritual or practice in your daily routine that can ebb and flow with you as you navigate transition and change. It should be a ritual or practice isn’t a huge lift but grounds you. Also, extend grace and compassion to yourself. Lots of things are up in the air when you shift life seasons or go through different seasons/transitions. In the words of a friend of mine—-it’s okay if the daily routine gets a little messy.
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Giving myself permission for it to look different as life unfolds: This challenge could also count as a way to combat challenge #2. This is something I feel I’m constantly facing: giving myself permission. As I wrote above, we go through many seasons/chapters in life. Even on a day-to-day level, things come up unexpectedly or your needs/plans shift as the day unravels. Learning to give ourselves permission for something to look and be different is hard, but also necessary.
- How to start giving yourself permission for your daily routine to look different: Hold your daily routine loosely. Meaning, don’t get married to the routine or steps but be deeply connected to the why and intention of your daily routine. When you are connected to your why and intention, how it looks can ebb and flow so long as what it encompasses aligns. Also, check-in with yourself often to know what you are needing. Checking in can help inform what you’re needing/wanting from your daily routine, especially if you find yourself in a new chapter or season of life.