Habit Do’s and Don’ts to Improve Your Daily Routine
Do you feel your day-to-day routine is uninspired and lacking?
If so, it might be time to examine your habits that make up your daily routine.
Your daily routine is comprised of your habits, and the quality of your daily routine determines the quality of your life-how happy you are, how fulfilled you feel, how successful you become.
If you’re not happy with your daily routine, it’s time to change your habits.
What do your habits say about the quality of your life?
Are you living intentionally and joyfully, or are you operating in reaction mode, doing whatever you feel in the moment?
Let’s talk about habit do’s and don’ts to improve your daily routine.
Habit Do’s and Don’ts to Improve Your Daily Routine
Do: Get Exercise Every Single Day
Don’t: Skip Your Workout
It’s tempting to abandon your workout when you’re overwhelmed or just not motivated.
Even if you legitimately don’t have time for a full-blown workout, you should always make time to move your body and get some kind of exercise.
It could be as simple as a 15-minute walk.
You may question, “what’s the point in that?”
Well, not only is exercise great for your body and keeping you in shape, it keeps your mind sharp, too. It also improves your mood instantly.
Even a 15-minute walk will do the trick.
If you’re having an overwhelming and stressful day, there isn’t much better than exercise to give you the mood boost you need.
As a writer, my brain depends on exercise, let alone my body.
That’s why I set aside time to walk or jog 10,000 steps a day-something I started doing back in May 2020, and I’m still going strong.
I once heard it takes a few weeks to form a habit, but just three days to break one. Once you’ve made exercise a habit, don’t go more than a few days without it. I’d recommend not missing any days, but if you must, just keep this in mind.
Resources:
- How I Made Walking 10,000 Steps A Day A Habit
- How I Made Fitness and Nutrition A Lifestyle
- How to Make Exercise A Habit in 6 Steps
Do: Wake Up at the Same Time Every Day
Don’t: Repeatedly Hit “Snooze”
You should always have a reason to be excited about getting up at a decent time-if not, you should find one.
My reason for rising early is my morning routine and my cup of coffee.
I review my goals and my schedule for the day, journal, and read from a devotional.
This is my way of getting a head-start on the day ahead.
I used to hate getting up early before I created a morning routine and began to understand how impactful it was to the rest of my day. Once I found a reason to look forward to it, getting up with my alarm became much easier.
There’s something so peaceful and calming about the early hours of the day that I believe is good for the soul. Even if you have small children, you can still get up early and have some quiet time to yourself before the rest of the house wakes up.
When you align your body clock to the same wake up time (and bed time), it will make your life that much easier, and your brain will appreciate you for it, since it won’t constantly be battling you when you go to bed and wake up at various times.
People who go to bed and wake up at random times have a hard time getting up early when they absolutely have to, and then they’re miserable. Their brain fights them on it and struggles to “wake up.” Don’t do that to yourself.
Set a consistent time to go to bed and wake up, even on weekends.
Resources:
- 3 Morning Routines You Need to Stop Doing
- How to Wake Up Early
- 5 Things Successful People Do Before 8 AM
Do: Read Every Day For At Least 30 Minutes
Don’t: Watch TV For More Than an Hour a Day
We live in a culture of “Netflix and chill,” but being mindful of the media you consume is important.
Entertainment is a great escape from the stress of life, but consuming hours on end of low-quality television programming isn’t good for you.
Instead, challenge yourself to read 30 minutes a day. If you need some book recommendations to get started, I have a great list here.
Find topics you’re interested in learning about or books that can help you improve yourself.
Since I started reading personal development and business books a few years ago, my mind has been open to a whole new world, and I’ve learned so much.
I’ve talked about it before, but my husband used be not much of a reader. After we started dating, he’d see me reading every day, and he got curious.
He started reading books of interest to him, and now he’s usually juggling a few books at a time. One topic of interest for him was investing and day trading, which he is now practicing and preparing to do full-time, so he can leave corporate America.
That, my friends, is the power of reading. Even just 30 minutes a day.
Use entertainment and media to learn, not just for pleasure.
Having a growth mindset is key to personal growth and fulfillment.
Audio books are great for when you’re on the go, but when possible, I think the physical act of reading is better for retaining information. Not to mention, you can highlight or jot down notes as you go.
Resources:
Do: Stick to Your Budget
Don’t: Spend Money You Don’t Have
It seems like a no-brainer: don’t spend money you don’t have.
But we live in a culture of “buy now,” credit cards, and the acceptance that debt is “normal,” when it shouldn’t be.
Whether you have debt or not, learning the self-discipline of telling yourself “no” takes practice, but isn’t impossible.
When I was single, I used to spend a lot on going out to eat and clothes. I didn’t have debt and stayed within my means, but I wasn’t saving as much as I could have, either.
Once I married my husband and found out I was getting laid off shortly after, I immediately cut back on frivolous purchases. Now I look back and wish I’d developed this skill sooner.
After a few months after cutting back on spending, I didn’t even feel deprived. I learned to appreciate cooking at home (instead of eating out) and getting that “high” of buying clothes from pursuing my hobbies and enjoying simple daily pleasures that were absolutely free.
It’s good to treat yourself to a meal out or new clothes sometimes, absolutely.
But don’t blind yourself with the belief material things are the only things that make you happy.
Being mindful of spending is a great lesson in personal growth, and your bank account will thank you, as well.
One way you can reduce your spending is to start packing your meals for work instead of eating out. Just cutting back on Starbucks runs and lunch hour dates can help you save a good chunk of money.
There are little ways in your every-day life you can avoid over-spending and stick to your budget.
Resources:
Do: Continue to Pursue Your Goals Daily, Despite Current Circumstances
Don’t: Give Up on Your Goals Just Because Life Got Hard
It’s easy to want to give up on your goals when life gets hard.
You’ll likely feel discouraged and think it’s just not worth pursuing them anymore.
I’ve been there more times than I can count.
In fact, as I’m writing this article now, there have been several serious hardships between both my families these last few weeks.
It’s been a struggle to stay focused on the big picture and not get overwhelmed.
So, I get it…if you’re going through something hard, it’s tough to pursue your dreams and goals.
But in actuality, in tough times, it’s never been more important to keep pursing them.
Stay committed and dedicated to the goals you set for yourself.
This is the ultimate “self-care”-not breaking this promise to yourself.
If you took a break from pursing your goals, it’s ok. You can get back on track, regardless of the time you took off.
It’s never too late to pick up where you left off.
Just get back up and try again.
You owe it to yourself to never give up on your dreams.
Resources:
- How to Stop Avoiding Hard Things
- Didn’t See That Coming: Putting Life Back Together When Your World Falls Apart
- Grow You Coaching
- How to Change Self-Defeating Thought Patterns
Do: Set Priorities and Live Within Them
Don’t: Unintentionally and Aimlessly Live Out Your Days
Figuring out what your priorities are and then creating a schedule around them is key to living an intentional life.
Evaluate what you’re doing and if it’s serving you and your goals.
I’ve learned to say “no” and often over the last few years after I realized my schedule was full of things that weren’t really priorities or serving my goals.
Also, when you create your schedule, schedule results, not just mindless to-do’s.
Review your goals and schedule results that take you one step closer to achieving them.
Learning how to plan your life is a valuable skill that is crucial to goal achievement and intentional living.
Resources:
- How to Live An Intentional Life
- 11 Tips for Intentional Living
- How to Create Your Perfect Daily Routine
Do: Find Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress
Don’t: Numb Out to Cope with Stress
Find healthy ways to cope with stress.
I’ve already mentioned some good ones: exercise and reading.
Listening to motivational podcasts, talking with a friend, and making sure you are getting adequate sleep are other good ways to cope with stress.
Unfortunately, most people just want to numb out when they’ve had a bad day or are going through a tough time.
Numbing out could mean drinking alcohol, binging on unhealthy food, smoking, over-spending, watching hours of mindless television, etc.
My way to numb out is to drink wine in the evenings. I’ve gone months where I only drink on weekends or during set times I planned in advance, and then something will happen that stresses me out, and I’m back to my nightly vino routine, and I have to break the habit all over again.
I get it, it’s tough to turn down your vice-but it’s not really helping you the way it feels like it does in the moment.
It’s okay to indulge a little here and there. But don’t rely on numbing out to get you through a hard time.
Numbing out only “helps” in the moment, anyways. At some point you’ll go to sleep, wake up the next morning, and be faced with your problems all over again.
Resources:
- How to Break the Cycle of Bad Habits
- The Best Personal Development Podcasts
- Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One
Before You Go
Follow these habit do’s and don’ts to improve your daily routine and subsequently, the quality of your life.
When you create a daily routine that makes you feel joy and fulfillment and sets you up for success, the quality of your life will skyrocket.
You deserve to live an intentional life that is fulfilling and meaningful, and not aimlessly wander through your days, wondering where the day went, feeling burned out and dissatisfied with life.
What are your favorite habits that make up your daily routine?
Let me know in the comments below.
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Good advice. Thanks Lisa so much
Thao,
You’re very welcome! Thanks for reading! 🙂
-Lisa
So good! Part of my daily routine lately has been practicing my guitar for 10-15 minutes each day and spending at least 20 minutes going through and online course and then applying what I learned to my business! 🙂
Hi Kristin,
That’s awesome! Thanks for reading!
-Lisa
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