The Best Routine Is the One You’ll actually Do
Let’s stop chasing the perfect routine and start building one that makes ordinary life feel a little better.
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Somewhere along the way, routines became… a lot.
Wake up at 5:00.
Meditate.
Journal.
Work out.
Drink a gallon of water.
Read ten pages.
Eat the perfect breakfast.
Take your supplements.
Answer emails.
And somehow accomplish all of this before most people have finished their first cup of coffee.
If that kind of morning genuinely makes someone happy, I’m all for it. But I wonder how many of us have started believing our own routines aren’t good enough simply because they don’t look like that.
Maybe we don’t need a better routine. Maybe we just need one that fits our actual lives.
Build Around What You Already Enjoy
One of the smallest changes I’ve made has also been one of the most helpful. I stopped trying to optimize every part of my morning.
I love my decaf coffee with cream. Could I replace it with lemon water? Probably. Would it make me happier? Not even a little.
So I stopped treating my favorite part of the morning like it was a problem to solve. That little cup of coffee doesn’t get in the way of my routine. It’s one of the reasons I look forward to getting out of bed.
Instead of asking, “How can I make this more productive?” I’ve started asking, “What makes me happy enough that I’ll actually want to begin the day?”
The healthiest routine isn’t always the one that looks the most impressive. Sometimes it’s simply the one you’ll happily repeat tomorrow.
Make the First Step Ridiculously Easy
The same thing happened with exercise.
I kept thinking movement only “counted” if it was long enough, hard enough, or left me completely exhausted.
These days, I usually pull up a short Blogilates workout. Some mornings it’s ten minutes. Sometimes it’s twenty. Sometimes I just spend five minutes stretching because that’s honestly all I have in me.
And that’s okay. I’ve stopped worrying about whether my workout looks impressive. I’m much more interested in whether I’ll still be doing it six months from now.
A short walk.
A quick stretch.
Ten quiet minutes of movement.
Those things count because they happened. I’d honestly rather move my body for ten minutes fifty times than have to work out for an hour twice.
Stop Copying Someone Else’s Schedule
One of the nicest things about getting older is realizing that not every good idea has to become my good idea.
Some people love waking up before sunrise.
Some thrive on long workouts.
Some meal prep every Sunday afternoon.
Some journal every morning.
Good for them.
But our lives aren’t interchangeable.
Some of us work from home.
Some have young kids.
Some take care of aging parents.
Some simply need more sleep than others.
Your routine should fit your life—not someone else’s highlight reel. There’s something freeing about letting go of the routine you think you should have and building one that actually works for the life you’re living.
Do the Things That Make Life Nicer
The habits that have lasted the longest aren’t always the productive ones. They’re the ones that make ordinary life feel a little nicer.
Lighting a candle while I make dinner.
Making a cup of tea in the afternoon.
Picking up a small bouquet at the grocery store and dividing it into tiny bud vases around the house so I notice them all week.
Putting on mascara and a simple pair of earrings, even when I’m working from home.
Listening to music—or an Audible book—while I fold laundry or unload the dishwasher.
None of those things help me cross more off my to-do list. But they do make me enjoy my day a little more.
We spend so much time trying to optimize our lives that we sometimes forget to enjoy them. Maybe those little moments deserve a place in our routines too.
Leave Room for Ordinary Life
The routine that lasts isn’t usually the prettiest one.
It’s the one that still works when work runs late.
When you’re tired.
When dinner doesn’t go according to plan.
When the cat throws up on the rug.
When the laundry sits in the dryer until tomorrow.
Life isn’t made up of perfect mornings and uninterrupted afternoons. It’s made up of ordinary Tuesdays.
A routine that can bend without breaking is far more valuable than one that’s perfect on paper. If your routine only works when everything goes according to plan, it probably isn’t built for real life.
Maybe That’s the Better Goal
These days, my routine is pretty simple.
I drink my coffee.
I work.
I try to move my body.
I make dinner.
I water my plants if they look thirsty.
I tidy something small before bed.
I try to get to sleep a little earlier than I used to.
Tomorrow doesn’t always go according to plan, and that’s okay. The routine isn’t built for perfect days anymore. It’s built for ordinary ones.
It’s not the routine I imagined for myself ten years ago. But it’s the one I actually live. And I’ve started to think that’s the better goal.
Maybe we don’t need a better routine after all. Maybe we just need one we’ll still be happy with six months from now.