Terri K. Lankford, LPC, NCC, LCAS
- Dec 22, 2017
- 4 min read

Routine… Ruin Everything OR Rule The World?

There seems to be two major types of people in the world, or at least that come into my office, and they become easily identifiable when I begin to ask them about what their daily life looks like.

I ask them about their routine.

The first type will very blasé-like, maybe laugh even, and talk about how “go with the flow” they are. No need for routine here. But then they can’t seem to get their life together in some way or another or their mental health is suffering. The second type can break out their calendar on their phone, bust open their paper-form planner, and show me all of their to-do lists that they check each box off on every day. But they can’t relax at all and are high strung and anxious all of the time.

While there’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer on HOW to keep up with the things that get you going everyday, there are certain ways that work best for each individual. The thing is though: EVERYONE has a routine, even if you don’t want to admit it or simply don’t recognize it yet.

Think about it… When you wake up in the morning, do you set an alarm or arise naturally? (PS If you get to wake up naturally you’re totally #winning at life) In what order do you go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, or grab your first drink of water? What do you do next? In the evenings, again, in what order do you prepare to go to bed or do you just fall in with all of your clothes on? How does your weekday or workday look different from you weekends or you days off and/or vacations?

It’s easy to get caught up in the very black and white nature of looking at having a routine, but where’s the grey area? How do you transition from being super rigid to easily relaxed? Is this just a character trait or a skill we can adapt to and learn?

We are creatures of habit. We learn as kids and then hone in our skills whether you realize it or not. IF you had to think about EVERY SINGLE STEP in brushing your teeth every morning, putting your shoes on, or powering up your laptop, what room would be left over for the more important, higher level of thinking? Think about when you first learned to drive… you had to think about EVERY STEP. Fasten your seatbelt. Key in ignition. Turn the key. Adjust your mirrors. Put car in gear. Put your foot on the gas pedal. Not too much! You get the picture…These activities become a HABIT for your. They become ROUTINE.

So what happens when we are thrown off our routine or fail to have one that aligns with our goals? Even if its just a missing piece? I found that out a few months ago. Not realizing just how much my dog was integrated into my daily tasks - from walking upstairs to brushing my teeth to working out in my garage every morning - she was no longer there. And my anxiety sky rocketed. My motivation decreased.

We pair or associate certain people, places, or things along with our habits. This is a part of why its SO hard to break the habits we recognize aren’t that great for us. HOWEVER.. it can also be a key piece into creating new healthier habits as well!

Everything is figureoutable. Every new habit can be built or deconstructed.

The point is - what habits or anchors can you make a part of your routine that will set you up for success?

What is success for you? What goals are you trying to reach? In Health? In Relationships? In Business? In Life?

No matter which side of the fence you sit on with routines ruining things or routines helping you be badass try this out:

REALLY pay attention today or this week. Are you engaging in activities that are CONSISTENTLY helping you get to where you want to be? If you have one piece of the puzzle missing - maybe its not being in your own bed if you’re traveling or the fan isn’t on at night when you try to sleep, your favorite mug is still in the dishwasher dirty from the night before or you’ve misplaced your ______ (fill in the blank here) or for me, my dog is gone and who knew I associated her with EVERYTHING I do?!

If you make the healthy, positive habits a part of your routine… How much can you get accomplished? How great can you feel? How much more time can you gain in the day to do what you WANT instead of what you HAVE to do?

Below is a compiled list of top health habits that anchor you down in a good routine.