How to build a routine. 

As we get busier in life, we come to realize that establishing a common sense daily routine is basically a necessity if we wish to achieve success. 

When you establish a daily routine, not only do you get more done – but you also move through your day in a more efficient manner.

Plus, this also helps you to make more progress on your long-term goals. 

When we break our long-term goals down into short-term goals (i.e. weekly and daily tasks), we retain the ability to break all of that effort down and spread it out over time—and this just gives us a lot more room within which to accomplish our long term goals. 

With that being said, it isn’t always completely clear how to put together a daily routine. 

So in this blog post, that’s exactly what I’m going to help you do.

This is how to build a routine from the ground up.

What Is The Best Routine Everyday? Learn How To Build A Routine With These 11 Steps

1. Decide What Your Routine Should Include

https://youtu.be/LHAyE0UC5I4

When you stop and think about all of the different types of things you have (and want) to do on a day-to-day basis, you’ll probably quickly start coming up with a list of things that sound pretty familiar.

You’ll probably have to go to work. You probably have some housecleaning that you need to do. 

You may have laundry, chores, kids to feed, and yard work to do. 

You may need to do maintenance on the car, etc. 

You may want to engage in some physical fitness, meditation, socializing, family time, etc.

Some of these tasks may fall more into weekly categories—and some of them may be things that you want/need to do nearly every day. 

This is really where the process of creating a daily routine begins. 

Just start by making a list of all the things your daily routine needs to include in order for each day to be successful.

2. Decide How You’re Going To Structure Your Routine

Answering the question of how to structure your routine can actually be a complicated part of the equation for some people.

You may find yourself struggling to figure out how to write this stuff down so that it actually makes sense and gets done. 

There are 5 basic strategies for writing down a daily routine.

And when you learn the method that works best for you, you’ll really help yourself cut back on the confusion and make the process more streamlined. 

So read through these different types of routine structures, and see which one sounds like it would make the most sense for you.

How Do You Structure A Daily Routine?

1. A Time-Block Schedule

With this type of schedule, you arrange your day into blocks of time and then assign different tasks to those blocks.

2. A Simple Priority List

In this type of routine structure, rather than assigning specific times to specific tasks, you make a priority list. You start with the highest priority thing, and then move down the list as you check items off.

3. Pomadoros

Pomodoros are basically dedicated blocks of focused work time followed up by short rest breaks. To get tasks done, you assign pomodoros to them. 

A pomodoro is usually 25 minutes with a 5-minute rest period. 

So for tasks that you would normally expect to take an hour, you would assign them 2 pomodoros. 

4. A Basic Task List

This is the simplest structure of them all. You just make a list of the things you want to accomplish, tackle them as you see fit, and then check them off the list when they’re done. 

There’s really no priority order, and there are no assigned time blocks.

5. Hybrid Structure

You could also blend 2 or more of these different types of structures together to create a ‘hybrid’ daily routine. For example—you could create a basic task list, but give one specific thing a ‘top priority,’ and assign it 2 pomodoros to accomplish it. 

It’s really all about what works best for you. 

3. Write Down A ‘First Draft’ And Test It

Once you’ve determined the list of things that your daily routine should include, and you’ve decided on a daily routine structure, it’s time to write down the first draft. 

Here’s the thing about learning how to build a routine. 

You may need to try several different versions in order to get a system down that works well for you.

So don’t worry about getting it perfect right now. 

Just worry about writing something down and giving it a try—and to be honest, writing it down is really the key part.

One of my goal-setting clients observes a very simple morning routine on a day-to-day basis:

• Wake up
• Make the bed
• Don’t check emails or messages until after flow-state work
• Listen to a motivational podcast while making breakfast
• Eat breakfast
• Do 3 hours of focused flow-state work
• Go for a run
• Check emails 

When you write down your daily routine, you’re much more likely to accomplish it. 

This is actually a scientific fact. And it really works!

4. Try To Plan It Out So That Your Day Flows Seamlessly

A daily routine should help you, not hinder you.

It should function as a helpful program for getting the work of the day accomplished. 

If you constantly feel like you’re fighting against the current or swimming upstream when trying to make your routine work, it’s possible that you need to revise it so that your day can flow more seamlessly. 

This can take practice, but it’s really worth it.

5. Don’t Be Afraid To Adjust Things And Experiment

I’ll illustrate this point with an example. 

You may start out trying to time-block your day. 

However, you may quickly realize that scheduling specific blocks of time just doesn’t really work for you. 

In that case, you may want to switch to a regular, simple task list to see if that works better. 

Provided with this extra flexibility, you may find that you get a lot more accomplished.

• Don’t be afraid to try different things. 
• Don’t be afraid to experiment a little bit.

It might take you a couple of weeks to really figure out a daily routine style that works for you. 

But making sure that you’re writing it down and testing different ideas is important.

In other words, don’t just toss the project to the side out of frustration. It’s worth it to see it through to success.

6. Track Your Routine With A Goal Planner

I highly recommend that you write down your routine every single day. 

You can do this using a notebook, regular blank sheets of paper, printable daily routine sheets, or even a full-fledged goal planner. 

I’m a dedicated believer in the process of dreaming big, turning your dreams into goals, and then writing those goals down to create a roadmap to success. 

And my favorite way to do this is with a goal planner. 

However, I always say that where you write your goals is nowhere near as important as just making sure that you write them.

Need some help with this step? Download my weekly goal-setting sheet, print out a few, and give it a try.

You can also sign up for my email list to get a free copy of my Goal Setting Essentials Start Kit. 

7. Keep Long-Term Goals In Mind

Whenever you’re writing out your daily to-do list and routine, make sure that you keep your long-term goals at the forefront of your mind. 

If you want to accomplish those long-term goals, you’ll want to be investing small bits of effort every single day into tasks that’ll eventually lead to the completion of those goals. 

For example, if you have a goal to lose 10 pounds by the time summer starts, you’ll want to make sure that you’re doing a little bit of working out every single day leading up to the beginning of summer.  

Reflecting this in your daily routine is an absolutely fantastic way to start knocking out those long-term goals and moving your life forward in the direction that you desire.

8. Revise Your Routine (As Needed) On A Weekly Basis

A lot of people will adjust the structure of their daily routine week by week—as they learn what works better for them. 

Some people find a structure that works really well, and they stick to it—while other people actually constantly change the structure of their daily routine week by week. 

It’s really important to understand that this is all about what works best for you.

I have one goal-setting client who actually makes it a point slightly revise their daily routine structure every single week, just to keep things fresh and to keep the process from feeling old and stale. 

Hey, it’s fun to try new things. 

You might as well let yourself do some experimenting while learning how to build a routine. 

But once again, this is all about what works best for you.

The important thing is to write down that routine and make sure that you accomplish those important to-do list items.

9. Make Your Routine Fun

Are there items on your daily routine that you’re not fond of? 

For example, mopping the floor may be your least favorite task—or maybe you’re not too keen on the idea of yard work! 

In such cases, it can be a great idea to find a way to make these activities more enjoyable. 

For example, while doing yard work, you can plug some earbuds into your ears and listen to your favorite music or an audiobook. 

Whatever you can do to make your routine more fun is going to work to your advantage, because then you’ll end up looking forward to those tasks instead of dreading them and putting them off.

10. Reward Yourself For Sticking With It

As you move through the days of the week and succeed at your to-do list items, make sure to reward yourself. 

The rewards don’t have to be elaborate. 

But the fact of the matter is that accomplishing daily routines on a consistent basis isn’t easy. 

And you deserve to reward yourself when you do a good job. 

Plus, this will reinforce your consistent work with a reward each time you do it—and thus, further motivate you to stick with it in the future. 

11. Keep Working On It And Don’t Give Up

At the end of the day, a lot of people end up losing motivation to stick with their routine. 

And they end up just forgetting about it and casting it to the side. 

When this happens, efficiency decreases and you stop making as much progress on your goals. 

So resist the urge to give up on your routine. 

Don’t lose focus or just ‘forget’ about it. 

Stick with it every day. Every single day, spend 5 to 10 minutes sitting down and writing out that to-do list. 

It really does matter, and it will help you to move your life forward in such a powerful, positive way.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this post has helped you to understand how to build a routine and set yourself up for success each and every day. 

Of course, at the end of the day, this is just another part of the larger, overarching process of turning your dreams into goals, and writing those goals down to create a roadmap for success in your life.

This is how you begin your journey to success and crush it.

You’ve got this. I believe in you.

Now it’s time to get to work.

Best wishes…

Jay O’Donnell