Welcome friends to Episode #97 of the Own Your Best Life Podcast. When you feel like you’ve been stuck in a rut, with the feeling of every day starting to look like the day before – you need a new routine. Creating routines, however, can be challenging. Life is moving so quickly, when is it a good time to ever stop all of it and start something new? Today. Yesterday. In this week’s podcast, we’re going to cover the Power of Routines.

What is a Routine?

Routines are the structure to create the life we desire. They are repeated habits or an order of doing something – as defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary. I often, however, think about how closely related the words are to routines and routes. What is the route you will take to get healthy, instill healthy habits into your family, create a new next stage of your life? That can be found in a routine. Yet, we often overlook routines because they seem…routine. Routines can feel boring. Like we are just doing something for the sake of doing it. Some people might even struggle with routines, feeling like they are too structured and limiting.

When I work with my clients to create routines, it isn’t from a place of a rote script. It’s from this place of foundational habits that are the building blocks of health, wealth, and impact. There are proven habits that help you feel better mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. 

They aren’t random. 

What is random is usually the way we live our lives. We have so much change, chaos and volatility in our day to day external environment – and what many people do is they change everything based on that external environment. Certain routines are never locked into place and this is why you feel overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. Overwhelmed by the constant motion and underwhelmed by a feeling of fulfillment from doing a lot but not feeling like it really led you to where you want to go.

It’s simple to put together a routine. It’s hard to decide which routine works best for where you are and where you want to go. It can also be challenging to stick to the routine.

This is what we work on in coaching. No matter what is going on, we find routines that create a sense of certainty and stability in your life. As much as we might hate structure, it is also lifegiving.

I remember telling someone that I meditate on problems every day. They asked me, “But isn’t that stressful?” I said, “No.” The reason is because I  know that I have time every day to reflect, solve and make decisions on that which is weighing me down. Everything needs a place to go. Our problems, our thoughts, our relationships and our careers. Without routines that help you drive the most important aspects of your life in the most effective ways, you will feel like you are attempting random things, changing things constantly and never really knowing what works.

Routines simplify

One of the biggest reasons routines work is that they simplify decision making. You go to bed after brushing your teeth. Or you wake up in the morning and brush your teeth. You don’t think, “tonight, I’m not sure if I’ll brush my teeth or not.” It’s assumed. In a highly complex world, routines simplify the thousands of decisions we make every day. This is also why it’s highly beneficial for children to have routines. It provides them a sense of stability and certainty which gives them greater ability to be flexible.

Routines allow us to have greater flexibility to handle the variations because there is a solid foundation of healthy habits, family routines, career and wealth routines in place. I remember when the kids were younger and they had nap schedules and bedtime routines. It made it easier to vary the routine from time to time if we were traveling, for example, if most of the time – they followed a routine. 

Similarly, we adults crave stability in our lives and routines give us a sense of certainty so that we can use our energy to create new ideas or manage other, more complex situations. Routines are an energy management tool. It’s not just about morning routines, however. It’s about identifying transition points in your life and taking stock of what has to change in order for this to work the way you were hoping.

It may seem tedious to create routines and schedules but their simplicity works. I’ve seen time and time again how effective they are in building wealth, health and relationships. We build routines together and identify what routines they need to implement to have the results they desire. 

If you want to experience this in your own life, schedule a free coaching consultation today at www.mayempson.com/contact.

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If you’re ready to Own Your Best Life, I want to invite you to watch the free training on how to Stand Out and Lead, using spiritual, high-performance strategies. You can access the training at https://may-empson.mykajabi.com/stand-out-and-lead.

You can then apply to join my Spiritual Achiever® program, where you’re going to create your next chapter with spiritual and high-performance strategies to achieve time and financial freedom using my proven method. It’s risk-free. You either start seeing results within your first month or I give you your money back. Schedule your call HERE. We’ll see you inside.

No matter what success means to you, coaching will help you get there faster and more sustainably. We work towards results in every area of your life. Time management – spending more time on what’s most important. Creating a mix of work and personal life that is sustainable. Career and Business – deciding what you want next and how to achieve it – whether it is more flexibility, purpose or deciding to start your own business. Energy management – improving your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health so you build confidence in designing your own life. If you’ve got some changes you want support in thinking through, book your free consultation at www.mayempson.com/contact today.