Why you should implement structure into your daily life
Having the ability to hold ourselves accountable is an incredibly important skill when it comes to daily living, especially independent living. A great way to practice accountability is by designing a schedule and sticking to it. We tend to hear people recommending us to get into a "routine" and to stick to it in order to be successful.
Instead of referring to my daily schedule as a routine, I like to think of it more as adding structure to my days. Having the day ahead planned out is great, but having everyday follow the exact same schedule can get old a little too fast. It is important to add variety to your days, so that you're not simply going through the same exact motions day after day.
There are many important things to consider when designing your schedule or adding structure to your days. Before touching on the importance of variety, it is important to consider a few things that may be beneficial to keep entirely the same. Having consistent bed times and wake up times can benefit your sleep schedule and help you feel more awake during the day. Additionally, a particular bedtime routine can help your body know when it's time to fall asleep.
There are people that might not feel that a significant sleep schedule and routine influences them at all, however some may feel it makes the biggest difference in their day to day life. Regulating your sleep schedule has positive metabolic effects, as well as positive influences on mental health.
Some may fear getting into too consistent of a routine and that is definitely something to be cautious of. A good way to avoid that is by trying to come up with ways that you personally feel you can add variety into your day.
Aside from sleeping, there are other important factors to consider when designing a routine for yourself. One that is so commonly overlooked is creating time to make a good meal, and even a time to make sure you're eating. Many people think this can wait, but implementing this short amount of time into your day, whether the night before, early in the morning or mid day, makes a huge difference in our ability to carryout our daily tasks.
Consider an employee who took the time to prepare a substantial lunch or dinner that they eat during their lunch break versus one who is running to the vending machine to grab a bag of chips. It is safe to say that individual A might benefit more from the food they're consuming. By taking a small chunk of time to prepare something we enjoy and something that can fuel us in a positive way, we can have a very positive influence on our daily living.
This next factor to include in daily routines might be the one that is most commonly done without and that is free time, or time to relax. We are being told day after day that it is important to unplug and take time to ourselves, but that gets harder and harder. We get caught up in social media, or whatever else it may be and we soon find that our free time is the first to go when it comes to having to make sacrifices in our schedules. It's likely that everyone has heard this countless times, but there's truly no other way to fix the problem without simply scheduling time for yourself and for a mental reset.
Last but not least, creating time for your family and friends should be something that is of high importance. This, and your free time that you have for yourself are both great opportunities to add variety into your daily routine. A variety keeps you in tune and looking forward to what the following days may hold.
You often see the new high school or college grad that goes off on their own and doesn't attend class, or can't seem to keep a job. Evidently there are a million possible factors that can influence this downfall. On the flip side there are many ways that individuals in these situations can get back on track or even prevent instances like these. That being said, it doesn't have to be newly independent kids trying to find their way that might be struggling. Anyone can struggle finding their way, but by working to implement some type of structure into the day, this can be the first of many steps toward living a consistently healthy lifestyle.