Over the years, I’ve been working on carefully refining my daily routines. Spontaneity definitely has its time and place, but I’ve found that I am pretty routine-oriented through and through. I need some sort of structure in my day-to-day life or else I find that inevitably various aspects of my health will be neglected. I’m finally at a point now where I feel like I’ve been able to manage my time well enough to incorporate everything that is beneficial for me into my days. It takes a lot of trial and error to find what works best for you, and obviously flexibility is important, too, and giving yourself grace when things come up and you don’t complete everything you want to in a given day or even week. That’s okay. In this post, I want to give you some ideas of things you can try fitting into your lifestyle that I think would benefit you, as they’ve definitely helped me feel more inspired, stay more positive, and be all around healthier.
#1: Develop a functional morning routine
It’s hard for me to believe that there were days where I would get up in the mornings, get myself dressed for school, and eat breakfast/get as much done in the bathroom however much time was permitting. Of course, with me not being a morning person and the reality of getting up early for school over the past several years, this was more challenging to do then than it is now, but it’s something I recommend nevertheless. Even if your morning routine is very simple, picking out things that make you feel good and confident will boost your productivity and mood later in the day. I try to always eat some sort of breakfast or else I feel sick, and in the bathroom I try to always brush my hair, clean my face, brush my teeth, put Vaseline on my lips, and put on deodorant, at least. On a good day with more time or whenever I find the time, I also like to completely wash my face and go through my skincare routine as well as touch up on anything I need to. Even if I’m gone all day and don’t get to do all of this, whenever I do come home, I try to finish what I didn’t get to, and that makes such a difference in how I carry myself and how I feel the rest of the day.
#2: Get in the Word
Whether you do part of a Bible study or read through some of the Word without any other guide, this is so important. I try to make this the first thing I do after I’m up and ready for the day. I’m planning a post (finally!) on the ways I’ve studied the Bible over the years because I know this is something that can be really intimidating for people to do simply because they don’t know how to or where to start. I think we overthink it, though. Yes, God’s Word is holy and should be treated as such, and we want to prepare our hearts to receive and actively apply it, but sometimes I think that makes us afraid to just get into it because we fear we’re not “doing it right.” But really, just like praying, the only way to mess it up is to ignore His Word. Simply coming to Him with a humble heart and opening His Word is effective enough. I’ve learned that it’s more about spending time with Him, not JUST learning about Him—though of course that’s important, too. Plus, it’s fun to track your growth over the years. When I was 12, I decided to read through the whole Bible on my own. Pretty sure 95% of it went right over my head. I know that because when I read Song of Solomon, I “didn’t think it was that bad” in terms of its, um, imagery for marriage. However, as I’ve learned new ways to understand God’s Word over the years, it’s been amazing to watch how it has helped me grow, so just start somewhere and stay tuned for my post with more specifics on this!
#3: Plan what work you want to get done
Obviously most of us have a job and/or school, which takes up the greater portion of our day more than likely. Even if you don’t have a job or are in school, you likely still have tons of things that need to be maintained, like housework. In order to find a good balance of work and play, I like to use a planner to track all the things I need to do for school so that I visually see when things are due and how soon I should be working on them. I also try to set “off hours,” especially since I’ve been at home. Once I get my mom and brother from work and school, I don’t like to do any more schoolwork for the day. Sometimes that’s not always the case, such as when Friday rolls around and I’ve slept all day during the week so I HAVE to do my work that night to meet the weekend deadline, but for the most part, I try to consistently work on it across the week so that I can take time away from it. Try to be realistic with this step, too. If you already work a full job, then it’s probably not in your best interest to schedule a bunch of tasks around the house for when you get home. Try to pick those for days where you don’t work or have easier days, or maybe come up with a schedule where you do a tiny bit of some sort of task each day when you get home so that it doesn’t all pile up. I know in this hustle-obsessed society, this can be the hardest thing to work around, but it is so important that you try to manage your work-life balance as much as possible for your mental (and physical) health.
#4: Make time for a hobby
Hobbies are so important and offer numerous benefits. There’s also so many hobbies that are free and easy to take up, like writing! Having something you really enjoy apart from work, school, and other mundane tasks enriches your life, your creativity, your mental clarity, and so much more. However, as a little note to self, it’s also important to let your hobby be a hobby. If you start treating it like work, it’s going to become that, and then it won’t be enjoyable or beneficial. I’ve constantly referred to my writing with books, blogging, and all that as my “work,” even though none of it is my career right now. I called it that innocently at first because I someday wanted it to be my work, but over the years I truly began treating it as such and have faced numerous mental setbacks as a result. Recently, I’ve began “free writing” to start off with absolutely no pressures as to word counts, content, or even coherent sentences. I just write. I also try to set small, doable goals for the things I would like to make progress in, such as revising one chapter a day in my latest novel. I’ve also began “batching” my tasks for writing blog posts here, which I think has helped me. I don’t post or write as consistently as I’d like to, but I’ve had to learn to accept this and just let it be a hobby I enjoy right now or else then it doesn’t become part of my life and I miss it all the more.
I’d also recommend having more than one hobby just because doing the same thing every day inevitably can begin to feel dull or tiresome regardless of how passionate you may feel about it. For example, I also love to read, and when I find a book I’m really engrossed in, I don’t let myself feel guilty for taking some days off of writing to read instead. Also, if you don’t have a hobby, try spending some time thinking about what it is you would like to do. It doesn’t have to be something as elaborate as wanting to be a novelist. Anything can be a hobby as long as you enjoy it.
#5: Complete some form of physical activity
I love to do at least one workout each night with the exception of a few rest days or days when I’m out and just can’t fit it in. I was up to doing two workouts or about 30 minutes of activity before my jaw surgery, but then I had to go months without doing anything strenuous like that, so I’m back to only doing anywhere from 10-20 minutes per night depending on the workout until I get stronger again. However, and I talked about this in one of my high school blog posts where I mentioned it’s important to just show up rather than focus on results, what really matters is just moving your body. Someone else coined that phrase, but it’s true. Just going for a little walk outside can do wonders for you.
#6: Develop a functional evening/night routine
Similar to the morning routine idea, I think it’s also important to help yourself unwind for the night and prepare for the next day by revisiting some of the essentials of self-care. After I work out, I like to take a shower, and then I’ll go through my skincare routine again and take care of my teeth for the night. Also, you can experiment with what works best for you time-wise. There’s no set rules on what you have to do in the morning or at night. For example, I used to do EVERYTHING almost at night when I was in school because I simply had no time in the mornings, so I would do my Bible study, workouts, shower, and everything elaborate with skincare and touch-ups at night. Now I have a more flexible schedule, so I do most of that in the morning and am then able to not have as much to do in the bathroom at night, although it remains a preference of mine to work out and shower in the evening. It’s all about finding what works best for you and being flexible with the time you do have.
#7: Call someone you love
Obviously social relationships are such a meaningful and important part of daily living. Right now I live with my family, so thankfully I usually get to talk to them and my mom throughout the day, but I also like to call my grandma a lot. Sometimes in the midst of daily life, even my family—and myself included—can get wrapped up in our own things, and sometimes just making a call to my grandma allows me to talk through the events or my thoughts of the day, which is definitely something I need periodically. Plus, my grandma adores when I call her, so I always try to make it a priority. When I’m away at college (soon…), I’ll probably call my mom every hour. 😉 She’s definitely my go-to with everything.
#8: Unwind with a devotion
I’ve gone in seasons where I do devotions for awhile and then don’t, but as long as I have one, I try to do one each night. I also just wrote a whole post on four of my favorites, so I also like to reread some of those. While these don’t take the place of God’s Word as I used to think years ago, they’re still a great way to practically apply it to your life, and they don’t take much time to read at all. If you are new to faith, while they don’t take the place of the Bible like I said, they can also be a great tool to help familiarize yourself with Scripture and begin to see what it’s like to apply it. I find that the encouragement and review of topics I otherwise tend to lose sight of is beneficial for me, so I like to do these as I’m getting ready for bed.
#9: Journal or otherwise unwind by clearing your head
This would be the perfect point to mention praying. That goes without saying for me because I’m always trying to pray throughout the day, but my preferred time of day to pray through all my requests is as I’m falling asleep. Sometimes that doesn’t work out because I fall asleep, but I like to end the day like that by going over everything with God and preparing for the days to come by going through all my requests or concerns and praises. Anyway, journaling is the last thing I like to do before bed, and while it’s not something you have to adopt, I highly recommend it! For someone who lives so much in the mind like I do, it has been something God has used as saving grace for me. I do not like going without it. There’s also so many ways you can go about journaling; you can make it as elaborate or basic as you want. Bullet journaling is a popular way to “dump” your thoughts, and it’s exactly like it sounds; you just make lists of various things. You could also do that on a note on your phone if that works better for you. It can be such a great way to ease your mind about any worries you may have, upcoming things to do, and just organize your thoughts or else remember things you want to. I greatly appreciate being able to look back at stuff like that over the years.
#10: Just relax and be still
Wow, I’m ending this on 10 and didn’t even try! Anyway, this one is probably my personal favorite. If you haven’t been taking some time to truly do nothing or just do something mindless, I recommend you do. Whether it’s just sitting there and listening to music, just sitting there and thinking or talking to God, or playing a relaxing game on your phone or watching a movie, you have to allow yourself some time to let your brain relax. This works for me best right before I go to bed, but you could schedule it in any time during the day, even if it’s just 10 or 20 minutes. I’ve found that even my hobbies, as much as I may enjoy them, can still be taxing at times. Obviously my writing is, but even reading can wear my eyes out if I go at it nonstop. I am somebody who needs to recharge through ways of relaxing like this where my brain doesn’t have to be stimulated so much and can just regroup itself. Also, God commands us to be still (Psalm 46:10)!
I hope this is somewhat restoring your faith that I can write short(ish) posts, but more than anything I hope this can allow you some time to reflect on how you are spending your time. This is definitely a more basic post, but it’s one I’ve wanted to write for awhile simply because what we do every day matters, even if it doesn’t feel like it. I’ve grown to incorporate all of these things into my lifestyle, and I definitely think I’m better off as a result. I hope this can give you some ideas of where you might add things or otherwise let go of some things to make room for what is more beneficial. I’d love to hear how you spend your days and what helps you make the most of them, and if you need help incorporating any of these things into your daily life, reach out to me and I’d be happy to give you some advice! Each day truly is a gift, and while each day may not always feel like that, I’ve found that doing most of these things daily helps me keep persevering in the long run.
