This post is the ultimate lazy girl’s guide to stay consistent with a daily routine checklist.
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Have you ever tried following a daily routine? If yes, then you know how difficult it is to stay consistent with one!
A lot of people start feeling like a failure and think that routines don’t work for them because they are not able to stay consistent with it.
If that sounds like you, this lazy girl’s guide has some genius hacks to help you stay consistent with your daily routine checklist! Along with the importance of daily routine for adults – especially, when you have a busy schedule.
Honestly, I’ve found that the problem is never in the routines but in the mindset. You think that you’re a failure if you skip a day or two. (I’ve explained this mindset on point 7 below)
As someone who thrives on routines, I can assure you that I’ve had those moments in life when I had no sense of routine for days (well, honestly weeks).
We all have those moments when we don’t know what day it is, could care less about it, and life just passes by.
And that’s okay.
So, if you’re ready to make your daily routine work FOR you and have a sense of control in your life, here’s exactly how to stay consistent with your daily routine checklist.
importance of daily routine for adults
If you always have a million and one things going on in your days, you need to start a daily routine to save your sanity!
Here are 5 main points to help highlight the importance of daily routine for adults.
1. sense of control
A lot of us pass through life and then complaint why nothing is happening how we want it to happen. Well, the first step to gaining that control back in your life is by creating a daily routine.
Even if your day looks like ‘reading books and sleep’. A daily routine helps you reduce the chaos and gives you a feeling that ‘you know what you’re doing’.
2. time management
When you start creating a daily routine, it helps you be more intentional about how you’re spending your time.
You can use it to make sure you’re not just doing the busy work, but actually working on things that will get you closer to your goals.
It also helps have a balanced life, where you can schedule time for rest without feeling guilty about it.
3. freedom of time
There’s this preconceived notion about routines that, it eradicates the spontaneity and freedom from your days. Well, this statement can’t be far from the truth.
Having a daily routine actually helps you embrace more freedom in your days. You can schedule more time for the things that you love without having to feel guilty about it.
And if something unexpected comes up, you’ll know exactly what you need to reschedule rather than feeling overwhelmed and clueless.
4. makes your goals attainable
Your daily routine helps you to divide your big fat goals into small attainable tasks. You can easily schedule them into your days and get closer to your goals one day at a time.
5. reduced stress
Having a well planned daily routine can reduce stress and overwhelm. It reduces decision fatigue and gives you a sense of control on your days.
You know exactly what to expect when and don’t need to spend time worrying about your to-dos.
Tips Stay Consistent With A Daily Routine Checklist
1. start small
I know that in the spur of motivation you’d want to create an elaborate daily routine checklist where you workout for an hour, are 10x productive, have an evening routine and clean your house daily.
And this might work for a week or two, but it’s bound to fail sooner or later (I’m not being a buzzkill lol, I’m just mentioning what happens to most people).
Don’t try to make a 360 degree change. Start small and just streamline your current daily activities. And once you’ve build the momentum, you can start adding new habits on top of it.
2. set realistic expectations
Humans are just inherently bad with estimating time. So, make sure you’re setting realistic time expectations in your routine.
Assuming that you’d fit a 2 hr morning routine when you only have 30 minutes in the morning, or try to finish your emails in 15 minutes when you know it takes 30, will do you no good.
Give yourself enough time for each task in the beginning and then slowly force yourself to be more efficient and finish tasks in less time. Because, on the contrary, having more time often causes you to take longer to complete even the simplest tasks.
3. Simplify things as much as possible
I’m a big believer in making things as simple as possible, life is hard as it is!
So, start setting systems in your life that make it easy for you to follow your daily habits.
For eg, if you want to eat healthy, start meal prepping. Put your workout clothes out the night before, so they serve as your visual reminders in the morning.
If you want to be more productive, set up a distraction free zone, find out what time of the day you feel most productive and schedule deep work during those hours.
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4. keep it flexible
This is literally the most important tip to stay consistent with your daily routine checklist. Having a daily routine doesn’t mean that you have to follow a rigid schedule.
The thing is, life happens! Something unexpected might come up or things can take longer than expected. So, keep your daily routines flexible enough so that you’re able to accommodate surprises without having to throw everything down the gutter.
Prioritize important tasks, schedule 1-2 extra hours on Friday for unfinished tasks, find new ways to keep your routine flexible. I usually schedule a ‘putting out fire’ POF hour on Friday to handle unexpected stuff.
5. work with your strengths
Creating a daily routine for the 1st time and expecting it to work for you is not fair. You need to keep on refining that routine and change it as per your life.
And the only way to do this is by doing a weekly check in. Trust me, you’ll start getting 3x faster results if you schedule time for check-ins at least every week.
Here are a few prompts to start with :
- What time of the day are you the most productive?
- What part of the daily routine you love the most & why?
- How can you make time for more things that you actually enjoy?
- What new habits do you want to add to your daily routine checklist?
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6. schedule rest
Intentionally scheduling time for rest and fun during your days will help you stay consistent with your daily routine checklist.
Otherwise you’d spend your ‘rest days’ feeling guilty about taking rests and not working instead. Instead, tell yourself that it’s part of the plan and you need to have rest days in order to relax and recharge and come back more productive.
The main problem occurs when people spend their rest time doing things that don’t even bring them joy.
If you spend your entire Sunday scrolling through Instagram and feeling shitty about yourself, there’s no way you’ll come back as your energetic self on Monday. (Unless, this actually helps you relax but I highly doubt that, haha.)
Instead, schedule time for you hobbies, hangout with your friends or try a new workout!
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7. The 2-day Rule
The 2-day rule states that you should never miss two days at once. We often see things as black and white. You’re either 100% consistent or not bothered at all.
But that’s not how it works. Life happens – and if for some unforeseen reason you have to change your daily routine one day, don’t beat yourself up for that.
Most people think that they’ve “failed” if they skip a day, but that’s not true. Be compassionate with yourself and try your best to get back to your routine the next day.
The secret to consistency is not that you never miss a day. It’s that every time you miss a day, you come back at it as soon as possible.
8. ‘Routines are restrictive’ Mindset
Lots of people have this mindset that routines restrict them and erase spontaneity from the days. It may sound right in theory but, in reality, what are you doing all day when you don’t have a routine?
Probably just scrolling through your phone & worrying about everything that needs to get done!
That’s why having a daily routine works! Because it sets you free from the mental chaos. You have a sense of control on your days and can spend your rest time without having to worry about your to-dos.
Even in the worst case scenario, if something unexpected comes up and you can’t follow your daily routine, you still have a clear idea of what you’re missing and can tackle it the next day.
9. Test things out
You may not want to hear this but finding a daily routine checklist that’s PERFECT for you may take some time.
It’s okay to take some random influencer’s daily routine and implement that but until you test different things and see what’s working for you, you won’t actually find a routine that’s right for you.
Also, be willing to switch things up. You’re not married to the same routine. You might love the routine you currently have, but 6 months down the line, you’re going to get bored or enter a different phase of life.
Revamp your routines as you see fit. Starting new routines can also bring new excitement and motivation to your lives.
Related Post : How To Create A Daily Routine That Works For You
10. Prioritize
The #1 thing that’ll actually make your daily routine work is prioritization.
Start with prioritizing your goals. You daily routine checklist will vary significantly depending on your goals right now.
Whether you want to get more productive, or focus on health right now.
I would love to say that you can fit in everything in your days. But the truth is, time is a scarce resource and you need to use it wisely. You need to clear out the noise and focus on what you want your days to look like.
Next, have your top 3 priorities for the day – 3 things you HAVE to get done even if nothing else gets done today.
And that will help you see significant results with your daily routine checklist and motivate you to stay consistent.
11. Have a theme for the days
If you’re a beginner or don’t want a restrictive daily schedule, this may work for you! I usually follow this strategy when I’m not feeling motivated or productive.
Basically, just divide your days into 3 blocks – morning, afternoon and evening.
And instead of time blocking each task on your calendar. Simply, have a list of tasks you want to do in each block of time. This way you get a general idea of what needs to be done today without being too restrictive.
12. Accountability
Having an accountability partner can help you stick to new habits or routines.
Ask your partner to join in with you or your friend to get daily updates from you. The internet is also filled with communities of people to hold you accountable.
Another great way to keep accountability is to use a habit tracker. It will serve as your visual reminder. And once you see that you’ve maintained a streak, you wouldn’t want to break it.
13. notice your accomplishments
This is another mindset trick that’ll help you stay consistent with your daily routine checklist.
If you’re someone like me and always feel like you’re not getting enough done, try this – every day at the end of the day, write down everything you got done today. We often give ourselves way less credit than what we deserve.
Also, list down your achievements at the end of the week during weekly check-ins. And Tick things off your to-do list as you finish them.
All these ideas just help you intentionally focus on the positive and motivate you to keep going.
I hope this guide gave you some ideas on how to stay consistent with a daily routine checklist.
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