How to build a routine for more productivity

Have you ever wondered how some people can just crush it every day? They get up early and get shit done, while you are still sleeping. Well, there is a way you can to start taking charge of your life and change the habits that are holding you back. How your day is going to be relies on how you start it. Have you ever felt like you started the day on the wrong foot? Nothing seemed to be going right? Okay then maybe you are not having a good morning routine. But no worries, I have some go-to strategies for you today, on how you can start to build a routine that will help you achieve your goals and get more productive. Sounds good? Okay let’s get right to it. Let’s build a routine that helps you slay!

Why you need a morning routine:

Not for nothing a lot of successful people get up early and start crushing it from the moment they get out of bed. The reason for that is, that there are quite some benefits of having a healthy routine in the morning that are helping you improve your life and get shit done every day. Here are some, but by far not all of them:

Be more productive and get shit done

If you start the day right away with things that bring you joy and also help you achieve your goals you will feel way more productive from the very start. In addition, doing something you enjoy in the first hour of your day will motivate you to get shit done later.

Be more balanced

Remember when I was talking about that feeling of getting up on the wrong foot? With the right routine, this will get a lot less likely of happening. The reason for that, the beauty of a routine, is that it will become a habit the more often you perform it. This makes it even more crucial though, that your routine consists of good stuff rather than things that are holding you back or make you feel bad. So, by choosing to build a routine you can have a more well-balanced feeling throughout the day.

Achieve your goals

Every successful person has his or her routine. Why? Because it helps you get started right. Sorting out what you want to achieve during the day is magical. In this first and most productive hour of your day, when you just woke up, your brain is fresh and you are motivated to get shit done. By already implementing things into your morning routine, that will benefit your goals you are on the best way to achieving them.

Build good habits

Lastly with the help of a routine it is way easier to establish good habits. Just think of what you want to implement or change and then add it to your routine. Do it every morning and you’ll see after a few weeks it will be a habit. Great, huh?

But at this point I also need to tell you, that routines are not always good and to make the most out of your routines you have to be aware of this. Sometimes having too many routines or having outdated routines that don’t serve your goals anymore they can actually be a hindrance to your flow in life. Same goes for habits. Good habits are not always good habits. If they don’t serve your goals they can be as good as they want they still are a hindrance to your achieving. And for both routines and habits, if we have too many of them, even if they serve our goals they can take away the air to breathe. You need space to achieve your goals and to enjoy life so make sure that you don’t cover all your life in routines and habits, but only keep those that are really making you productive and ensure your life flows perfectly.

Therefore of course, you need to constantly evaluate and reflect on your routines and habits and ask yourself whether they are still up-to-date and making you happy. If not, maybe it’s time for a change. Okay now that we have covered some benefits and positive impacts of having a morning routine, next on we want to have a look how to build a routine that lasts.

How to build a routine:

When you start to build a routine you need to follow 7 little but important steps. Let’s have a closer look on what they are.

1. Figure out what you want to achieve/do/change

Before establishing a routine that works for you, you have to figure out what you want to achieve during the day and in your life and in general. Also, you need to consider what habits or behaviours you want to change and how you can exchange them.

2. Make a plan how you can do it

The next step is a form of goal setting. Once you know what you want you have to make a plan how to make it happen. Think of how long and what exactly you need to do to achieve said goals. For example, I want to read one book each month to expand my knowledge. So as most of my books are 300+ pages I figured I need to read at least 10 pages a day. I then included that into my routine. Do this with every habit you want to build and you are sorted.

3. Outline an example routine

Now it’s time to outline an example routine. That’s a quick one. Just think of in what order you perform your tasks you outlined before. Write down a routine example you want to test. For example, get up, have breakfast, get ready, take a walk, start the day. This is absolutely up to you here.

4. Try your routine and evaluate

Okay, time to give it a try. The next morning you’ll do your routine as outlined and see how you feel. Does it work for you? If yes, great keep going for a few days, if not make adjustments. Just change tasks that don’t fit or feel right and find other ways to accomplish your goals. Maybe choose a different task to perform that has the same outcome. Make sure though you give your routine a long enough try. Sometimes just one day is not enough. You have to test it for a few days to really say if it’ll work. Remember: all good things take time.

5. Make adjustments.

This goes for every time you feel like your routine doesn’t work for you anymore, not just in the beginning. Whenever you think you need to change something because your passions and goals have changed, make adjustments to your routine or build a routine from scratch. Your routine isn’t a fixed thing, it’ll change over time as you do. Your routine will grow with you so treat it like a constant project and make changes whenever needed. Just by adjusting you can make sure that you stay on track with achieving your goals.

6. Stick to it

As you build a routine, you make constant adjustments and little changes, it is important that once you found a routine that fits you, you stick to it. A morning routine can just work its magic, if you perform it on a regular basis. So, make sure you apply it every morning. If it seems hard for you in the beginning to stick to it, I can just tell you it will get easier over time because it will get a habit and you’ll do it without questioning. I promise, you will even look forward to your routine in the morning, excited to get your day started right and smashing it from the moment you jump out of bed.

7. Start over

That’s it now you have a killer routine that will help you be more productive and happy during your day. Now there is just one more thing to do. Make sure you’ll always stay up to date with your goals and habits and include them in your routine. Come back to this post and apply the steps as outlined every time you make changes to your goals, so it will not get out of fashion.

Now that you know how you build your perfect morning routine, it is time for me to share mine so you have an example to get inspired by.

How my morning routine looks like

Of course, routine building is very individual. Your routine might look a lot different from mine nevertheless you can still get inspired and use this inspiration you on your journey of developing a killer morning routine.

Okay so what is my routine like:

I get up early usually between 6 and 7 AM. I will lay in bed for another maybe 15 minutes and then write my diary to revisit my previous day, evaluate and memorize great moments. After that I will get up and have breakfast. I usually have a huge cup of delicious green tea with a healthy breakfast. I don’t like eating the same every day, so this changes from day to day. But all my breakfasts are healthy so I can make sure my body gets the right nutrition’s first thing in the morning and therefore perform in its best ability. So, for breakfast I’d have either a colourful porridge, crunchy granola, sweet pancakes or icy fruit bowls. Just depending on how I feel. After my breakfast, I usually have a quick talk with whoever is around, answer WhatsApp massages that I got over night and read my 10 pages to meet my goal of reading a book per month. Sometimes I’d have a second cup of green tea when I feel like it and then do about 30 minutes of Social Media time, answering messages, comments and having a look on what’s new. This way I stay socialized and up to date about the online world. Then I’d get ready, brush my teeth and hair, get dressed and in the mood of crushing it. Now I just quickly outline what I need to do today, write a short but effective Todo list and check my calendar on important meetings that day.

After doing all this, I am all sorted to get going and crush it! Of course, depending on my current situation, weather I am traveling or at home this might differ a bit. After all I have to adjust to the situation and environment. But in general, it looks like that and I try to stick to it as good as possible. Also, there are some days where I have early morning meetings or just not the time to do my morning routine in its full length. Then I’d just do a short version of it and maybe leave out the Social Media Time or reading and do that at a later point that day.

You see even building a routine is nothing fixed and needs changes and taken care of. However, once you found a way of maintaining a routine that fits you and your goals, magic is going to happen. You will feel great and energized. Motivated to do whatever it takes to achieve your goal and live an awesome life.