How Daily Routines Can Take the Stress Out of Change
When changes occur in your life, following
healthy daily routines
you have in place can help you combat the stress you may be experiencing. Your routines and habits offer a sense of security –a belief that you have control over the changes that are occurring. These routines allow you to create your own authority over a day that, otherwise, may be fraught with demands and obligations causing you stress. Review how you
handle change.
When major life changes occur, assess the aspects of your life over which you still have control, and make certain that these areas remain intact, not being compromised without your consent. Any changes in daily routines and habits should be carefully constructed. Here are two examples of how routines can provide positive contributions to your sometimes hectic lifestyle.
How do you show up to greet each day?
Woody Allen tells us that “eighty percent of success is showing up.” Following a morning routine is a great way to start your day energized and focused. Set your alarm for an hour earlier than you usually do to give yourself an hour of self-time. During that hour, do 20 minutes of exercise, take care of your bathing and hygiene, eat a nutritious breakfast and allow yourself a chunk of quiet contemplative time to connect with your own thoughts. With this routine, you will begin your day positive, relaxed and ready to concentrate on the tasks before you. Such a habit allows you to be prepared for whatever might occur throughout your workday, and you will be less stressed over curve-balls that may come your way.
How do you retire at the end of your day?
After a hectic day, how do you unwind and prepare for a restful night’s sleep? Getting a good night’s rest is important for us to restore our energy, relax our minds and allow our bodies to recharge for the next day. Following a daily routine for retiring to bed is a habit that allows you to close out the day in a calming fashion. Taking time to prepare for bed, like you have your children prepare for bedtime, with a little reading maybe, some soothing music, aromatic candles and soft inviting clean sheets, is a great way to soothe away the stress.
Getting into healthier daily routines can take time to develop. These routines become habits, and habits require discipline and commitment to create and maintain. Habits tell a lot about people. They indicate the patterns people follow as they negotiate through the daily events we call life. Habits are a core part of life’s status quo, and when the status quo changes, habits are an integral part of the change. Make certain the habits you alter are for positive and healthy changes.
Taking the Stress Out of Changing an Old Habit
There are times when changes in your life force you to change habits that you have been following. If you find that you need to change your daily routines—for health reasons, career changes, or family obligations—be thoughtful about how you are going to alter things. Follow these 3 steps. 1. Write down your ideas in a journal about how you will incorporate the life change into a new daily routine. 2. Develop an action plan for how you will create your new routine. 3. Give it a 30 day trial period to see that it works. By that time you are well on your way to creating a new habit. Changing daily routines can create its own level of stress if you are not careful. When you formulate a new direction and way of doing things, you can also find it refreshing with a new start. Make certain the daily routines you follow are habits that provide a sense of stability and contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Then, the transitions which occur throughout your personal and professional life can be handled in a more positive and proactive manner.
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken. ~Oscar Wilde
