Small Routines, Big Benefits: Creating Stability in an Uncertain World

            Most of us begin our days in much the same way.  We wake up, get dressed, have breakfast or coffee, check our phones, perhaps exercise, and begin our day.  However, doing the same things daily can make us feel stuck in a rut and wish for more spontaneity.

            Too much routine can indeed make life feel stale, and there is value in experiencing novelty and trying new things.  However, having a dependable rhythm in our days has many benefits.  It can reduce the number of decisions we have to make, make it easier to maintain healthy habits, and provide stability in parts of our lives.

            Routines can provide us with a sense of consistency and control in a world that can feel unpredictable.  Knowing what comes next can be surprisingly comforting.

            Sometimes the ordinary things we do daily can do more for our mental health than we might realize.

Our Brains Appreciate Predictability

            Think about how many decisions you make daily.  What should I eat?  When should I exercise?  When will I get that work done?  Should I take a walk now or later?  What time should I go to bed?

            Individually, these decisions may seem insignificant.  However, taken together, constantly deciding what to do next requires mental energy.

            Routines can take some of those decisions off our plates.

            If you take a walk every morning after breakfast, for example, you do not have to wake up each day and decide whether or when you are going for your walk.  If you read before bed each night, you do not have to keep finding time to read.  It has simply become part of your day.

            Routines do not just organize our time.  They can save mental energy for the decisions that really require it.

Creating Islands of Stability

            Routines may become particularly valuable during periods of stress and uncertainty.

            We cannot control everything that happens around us.  An unexpected problem at work, an illness in the family, troubling events in the news, or any number of life’s surprises can quickly disrupt our sense of normalcy.

            But even when the larger world feels unpredictable, some parts of our lives can remain familiar.

            Perhaps you exercise every morning.  Maybe you take the dog for a walk after dinner, or call a family member every Sunday.  These small routines can become anchors in our lives.

            We cannot always control what happens during our day, but routines can help us control some of what we do within it.

            That sense of predictability can be comforting.

Making Healthy Choices Easier

            Routines can also help us turn good intentions into regular behaviors.

            Most of us already know many of the things that are good for our physical and emotional well-being: getting enough sleep, exercising, eating nutritious foods, spending time with people we care about, getting outdoors, and finding ways to relax.

            Knowing what is good for us, however, does not always mean we will do it.

            That is where routines can help.

            Instead of repeatedly deciding to find time for exercise, relaxation, or social connection, we can build these activities into our lives.  Over time, behaviors that once required considerable effort and thought can begin to feel more automatic.

            Moreover, we do not have to make dramatic changes.

            If you would like to exercise more, you might begin with a ten-minute walk after lunch.  If you would like to practice mindfulness, perhaps start with two minutes in the morning.  If you would like to make more connections in your life, consider scheduling a regular phone call or getting together with someone important to you.

            Small behaviors practiced consistently can become meaningful routines.

Structure, Not Rigidity

            Of course there can be too much of a good thing.

            A healthy routine should not mean every minute of every day has to be scheduled or that we become distressed whenever our plans change.  Life does not work that way.

            Spontaneity, novelty, vacations, sleeping late occasionally, trying a new restaurant, taking a different route, or simply deciding to do something because it sounds like fun all have tremendous value.

            The goal is structure, not rigidity.

            Our routines should serve us, not control us.  When circumstances change, our routines may need to change with them.

Creating Routines That Last

            One reason New Year’s resolutions so often disappear by February is that we sometimes try to change too much too quickly.

            Rather than completely redesigning your life, start small.  Choose something that matters to you and connect it to something you are already doing.

            Want to practice gratitude?  Think of something you are grateful for while drinking your morning coffee.

            Want to walk more?  Take a short walk after dinner.

            Want to read more?  Put a book next to your bed and read a few pages before going to sleep.

            And do not expect perfection.

            You will miss days.  Vacations, illnesses, busy schedules, and unexpected events will get in the way.  Missing your routine for a day, or even several days, does not mean you have failed.

            It simply means you begin again.

Maybe A Rut Isn’t Always a Rut

            Doing the same things day after day does not necessarily mean we are stuck in a rut.

            Those familiar patterns may be quietly helping us navigate our levels with a little less stress and more stability.  The goal is not to make every day look the same.  It is to create enough consistency that the behaviors that support our well-being become easier to maintain.

            In a life that will always contain some uncertainty, there can be real comfort in knowing that certain things remain familiar.

            Sometimes a little predictability can give us a stronger foundation for handling the unpredictable.