Human beings function best with routines and habits. They allow us to go on autopilot and become more effective and efficient in all that we do.
Loosing a routine that had made you proud of yourself can be discouraging and blur your vision for success, especially if the new routine you had acquired was challenging to master.
Two years ago, I made a two week trip to a country with 11 hours time difference. I was sleepy during the day and awake at night. As soon as I had settled into the new routine I found myself back home struggling to get back into my early morning routine that helped boost productivity and to start my day off right.
One day turned into a week, a week turned into a month and before I knew it, I had completely regressed into my old ways. You may have just come from a long holiday and have already gotten used to sleeping late, snacking all the time or you have taken a long break from working out.
I have a solution for you to make sure that when you fall down, you get up. Take these easy steps:
- Go back to your “Why?”. When you visit your purpose you will find the energy and the “how”. Someone said “when your heart decides the destination, your mind will design a map to reach it”. This is true for everyone. Our mind is the most powerful asset a human being possess.
- Pick up your tools: This is anything that will help you keep track of your routine and maintain a self-accountability.
- I recommend you start with a calendar; make sure to plan the vital activities a week in advance, fill a few non vitals and leave space for breaks and unplanned activities in other words “put in the big rocks first”.
- Second, use a habit tracker to keep in check everything that is important to you. I like Loop Habit Tracker because I can set daily, weekly or monthly goals and it allows me to see my progress in either a graph or percentages. Check off activities on the go. That way, you remain aware of what is pending and have ample time to do the the activities.
- Other trackers include; time trackers e.g Rescue Time (found in the Google Play Store) and performance trackers. A performance tracker is common among sales people because it is vital for boosting performance.
As Peter Drucker said “What gets measured gets done”
3. Maintain energy through out the day. You can only achieve this if you structure your calendar with time blocks. Keep your time blocks short, a maximum of 90 minutes is recommended because soon after your energies will begin to wane. Get ample breaks in between blocks and use them for walking or running up and down a flight of stairs. Take whole meal snacks to sustain energy longer. Hydrate every hour. A glass of water every hour for 12 hours except around meals will allow you to meet your goal of 10 glasses a day.
4. Find accountability partners. Those who are pursuing to establish the same routines as you are, coaches, friends and mentors are a valuable resource to help you stay on track.