How I Improved My Daily Routine and Why

For two months now, I have been following a daily schedule. On weekdays I get up at 6 AM, exercise, shower, have breakfast, and start working.

In this post, I want to discuss the benefits of a daily routine, and why you should try to have a routine too.

Benefits

Initially, I wanted to improve my productivity and sleep. Here’s what I managed to achieve.

Improved Planning

Following a routing taught me how to plan my day better so that I don’t stay up late into the night.

Found Some Extra Time

I found time for sports. I used to try working out in the evenings or during the day before. The problem was that I often didn’t have the energy to exercise in the evening because of a busy day. So my workouts were irregular and hence used to stop.

Now I have no problem with that. Half an hour in the morning before work is enough for me.

Started Completing More Tasks

I used to take time for some tasks in the evening or at night. But at that time my head works worse than in the morning. Now I try to tackle the most difficult tasks in the morning—it helps unload the schedule for the rest of the day.

As a result, I spend the most productive time to the most important and difficult tasks and procrastinate much less than before.

Constraints

The daily routine has some constraints and requires some initial push. For example, I…

Have to Go to Bed Early

At first it seems better to sit down an extra hour in the evening and tackle a task now than to leave it for the morning. But the benefit of this is often imaginary. So I have to force myself to go to bed to have 6-8 hours of sleep before the next day.

The most difficult part is, of course, convince myself that in the morning I’ll solve the task faster and better.

Sometimes I miss the time to go to bed anyway and fall asleep later, so…

Have to Keep the Routine

So even if I go to bed at 2, I still get up at 6 the next day. Yup, I’ll be sleepy, but I’ll be motivated to plan my day differently next time, so I don’t have to go to bed late again.

Have to Give Myself Rest on Weekends

On Saturday and Sunday I get up at 8. Sleeping longer on weekends gives variety and rest. Without that the routine would become boring and I would abandon it.

Bottom Line

Overall for me, the benefits outweighed the constraints. Try it out, maybe you’ll like it too 🙃