Ever want to incorporate something new into your routine? Like exercise or a new supplement to take or meditation?
Probably millions of time management experts already know this, but I stumbled upon it so I’ll share it with you.
Efficiency Works
The best way to add a new routine is to tack into onto something else that you’re already doing. Like that pill the doctor suggested you take or a new supplement you researched. Take it with a meal if it’s food dependent or when you brush your teeth. You eat every day. You brush your teeth every day so it’s easy to put the pill bottle right there and take it then.
The same can be true with home exercise. To counteract muscle loss, I use light weight dumbbells every day. At first, they just sat there because I would forget to use them. Then when I would remember it would be like two in the afternoon and I was busy. Or not terribly motivated at that time of day.
Visual Reminders
That’s when the light bulb went off in my head. Use them when I watch TV at night. If I’m going to sit and watch almost every night, then boom, do it while I’m watching and I’m done! So I don’t forget I put the weights near the TV where I can see them. Since I’m very visual, I have to have them out where I can see them. If you are too, then having something out in front of you might be the reminder that you need. Like in the old days people tied a string on their finger or snapped a rubber band on their wrist.
That’s another thing about reminders. Some of us need visual ones like seeing the weights vs setting a digital phone reminder that’s easy to ignore and forget. Sure, I can also ignore the weights sitting right there in front of me, but honestly, I’ve tried. Some nights they seem to bore a hole in me saying, “You must lift weights now!” So up off the couch I get and do it. I know I need to.
The more I ignore them, the more they seem to bug me that I have to do it, so I just do it and get it over with. Because the more I play the ignore game, the louder it gets. So just get it over with and do it already! And I do. Then I feel better. The visual reminder was the key for me to getting it done in addition to stacking it onto another routine I already have in place – watching TV.
Adding to Your Exercise Routine
Meditation is a tricky one. We say we ‘need’ to do it. We say we ‘want’ to do it. But most of us don’t. It’s not that we don’t want to. It often comes down to making time for it. If you’re already busy carving ten or fifteen minutes out of your day seems impossible. Two in the afternoon? Forget it, busy. Seven at night? Forget it, want to relax. Seven am? Rushing to work.
To find the perfect time for you, stack it into your daily routine. If you’re a morning person or don’t have a daily morning rush, then do it before you get out of bed. I am not a morning person and once I am awake I pretty much hit the ground running. So, for me it’s better to add it to my evening routine. Before bed every night I do yoga stretches while clearing and calming my mind. That’s all meditation really is – clearing and calming. I found a time of day that works for me and it wasn’t in the middle of the day or early morning.
Meditation can also be done during your exercise routine. If you walk or go to the gym you can do it then. When I am in my yoga class, I let my mind go, which is part of the point of yoga, so it’s a ‘working’ or active meditation. My body is active, but my mind is slowing down. Meditating that way is great for people with busy minds because movement can help the mind let go. And bonus – you ‘kill two birds with one stone’ by exercising and meditating at the same time!
Structured Time Management
We don’t all respond well to structured time management or find it too confining. Many time management experts will recommend blocking off time on your calendar so every day at 8am or 2pm this is what you will do. Personally, I find that too restrictive. Plans change. Things come up. My life is fluid. I don’t like feeling boxed in that I have to do a certain thing at a certain time. If I was forced to, I know me, I would resist.
It’s one thing to have a scheduled zoom call at 10am but another thing to have a reminder going off to take out the trash at 10am or 4pm. If I’m in the middle of something, I won’t be able to do it. If I’m not busy but just don’t feel like it, I won’t do it. Taking out the trash for pick up the next day gets stacked onto coming home from yoga class. Then I know it will get done and I’m not interrupting my day.
I have a client who was trying to get home exercise back into her daily routine. She’s super organized and has a color-coded calendar for what activities occur when. While her time management system works for her, the issue was when she had it scheduled. Trying to do it in the middle of the day wasn’t working for her because she had other things to do. That’s when I suggested piggyback it onto something else you’re already doing like your morning or evening routine, which could include Netflix time.
If you’re already doing something, adding an extra task is the quickest way to get it into your routine, ensuring that you will do it. They say it takes two weeks to form a habit, but it could be much quicker if you stack it onto something that you’re already doing. That’s what’s worked for me and I hope you find it works for you too!
If you aren’t sure when to add in a new task for form a new habit, then USE YOUR SUPERPOWER! YOUR INTUITION! It will give you the answers and never steer you wrong!
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