Importance of a Routine

A couple of months ago I wrote a post about how I start and end my day perfect. The premise of that post was a routine or a set of things that I want to make sure I accomplish in the morning and at night. I thrive on a routine. I really do. While I love the summers, I hate not being able to know I’m doing this from 11am-3pm or 5-6pm. While my schedule is mostly set because of class, this semester is different from others in the sense that I actually have time between ALL of my classes.

I’m trying to move from my summer schedule to my school schedule in regards to my morning and nightly tasks, still. I have to tweak things and experiment where I when I want to write my posts, do my Freelance work, exercise and a lot more.

Some people just truly hate having a routine and love having their days open to whatever might come at them (yes, Kayla, I’m talking to you). However, I really do think there are many important things to having a routine.

I love a routine, as I’ve said. But it’s only partly because I love writing and marking things off in my planner. I love to know exactly when I have time to run to the gym real quick. On Mondays and Wednesdays I get out of class at 2pm so I know I have plenty of time to get some homework done, get a workout in, do some work and still have time to catch dinner and maybe a free movie on campus with Kayla later that night. But, if I didn’t have a routine during the day and my “structured time”, as I like to call it, I might be struggling to get studying done at midnight with no time for friends or a date night.

Even though I’m extremely organized, I seriously have a hard time remembering to do certain things. When I’m using my system, I just keep my journal opened to the page with the checklist, and I actually remember to wash my face in the morning and at night. Or I remember to jot down a few lines in my journal or catch up on the news. During the summer, it became second nature to wake up, wash my face, brush my teeth and get on with the day. And at night I didn’t even have to check my list to know I had to wash my face, take my medicine and read a chapter of whatever book I’m reading.

For me, there are some things that I really, really want to get done, but I wouldn’t do otherwise if I didn’t have a routine. I know routines, checklists and my system aren’t right for everyone. But I had to make my case on the importance of routines anyway!

Do you have a routine you stick to daily?