Guidelines: maintain a routine

1. Set your main goal:

Do you want to get healthier? Mentally? Physically? Do you aim for self growth? Calm? Inner peace? What do you want to achieve?

2. Decide on the routine itself:

Don't pick too many things. Simplify and shorten what you can as much as you can, without the activity being non beneficial.

3.Decide on a timeframe:

Do you want to keep that routine for 2 months? Half a year?

4. Make adjustments:

Maybe you'll want the routine to be shorter or longer than you intended. Maybe you'll want to give up one component of it or add a new one. Make the needed adjustments so you can do just what you want, how you want it.

5. Keep track and reward yourself:

Tick the days you persevered, and every week, do something you really love to reward yourself for succeeding at persevering. For example, go take a hot bath with bath salts, buy yourself the book you wanted for a while, or go take that course online you've been wanting for ages.

6. Remember that you have that routine because you wanted to, not because you must:

It isn't a chore, but a fun challenge. It isn't an "I must", it's an "I want". If you feel tired and want to give up, remind yourself that you want to invest in yourself and that's why you do it. Also, the simplification and shortening of the actions you do in your routine, plus the fact that you've chosen fewer habits to acquire, would make the habits easier to apply and would help you stick to them in a way that does not burn you out, and which is also fun. Somedays you'll want to deepen the habits, though. Listen to that thought that says "longer!" When it comes. Be flexible.

7. Routine=deepening:

This routine is about deepening experiences. For example, if you chose to do yoga, your routine should be built in deepening and enhancing that skill. Reading more=deepening your knowledge, sharpening your brain and honing your writing skills, if that's your goal for reading. Or you can just read for the sake of it.

8. Routine= reconnecting with yourself

Everything you choose to do in a routine reconnects you with yourself and your desires. By doing sports, with your desire for health and for doing something active that you love. By reading, you reconnect with your inner world through someone else's inner world. By drawing, you reconnect with your innermost self. By journaling, you reconnect with your voice. Routines are about empowerment, not about boredom.

9. How not to give up midway/ near the end:

Remember that even though you face discomfort head-on and it's quite scary - at the end, that discomfort passes, evanescences. Just be with the discomfort, stay with it and it will be okay. In fact, it'd be more than ok - you'll feel the joy and satisfaction that goes along with an accomplishment. And maintaining a routine, a system of habits, for a long time, is an accomplishment in each and every way.

10. Celebrate your achievement:

After you've completed the routine - rejoice! Soak yourself in bliss! Have a little fun like going to a restaurant with friends or family. Or buy yourself some flowers, or show yourself appreciation with a project you dedicate to yourself/ with kind, excited words like "I did it! What a fun moment!" That you'd say to yourself. And maybe you'll want to do something else to do to celebrate. It's up to you, do whatever you'd like, however you'd like to do it. Remember, it's all about appreciating the accomplishment you've achieved. Show yourself some love! 🙂