Dream Believers

Tag: routine

  • My evening routine; how it started and how it’s going

    My evening routine; how it started and how it’s going

    For some reason my evening routine has been so much harder to implement and maintain than my morning routine. However, my morning routine still isn’t 100% every day either. I’m not sure if it’s because I have more time to do the tasks in the evening so end up distracting myself more or if it’s because my energy is so low later in the day or something else.

    My aim for my evening routine was initially just to be able to go to bed at the same time each night. 11pm was meant to be my cut off. There were then lots of other things I wanted to fit into my day as well, to feel more productive and achieve more of my goals, visualisations and manifestations. In the end I came up with a list of things I wanted to do every day after work.

    My intended list:

    • Exercise
    • Daily chores
    • Blog writing and planning future posts
    • Check blogging and social media strategies, check deadlines and complete any required tasks
    • Check calendar for following day
    • Cook and eat dinner
    • Prepare lunch if not home the next day
    • Watch some TV
    • Check front door is locked and chain is on
    • Cleanse, tone and moisturise my face
    • Clean my teeth
    • Check alarms are set for following day
    • 10+ minutes on Duolingo – I’ve been learning welsh for nearly a year now
    • Read
    • Activate sleep monitoring app
    • Try to stop my mind from spinning
    • Sleep for 7-8 hours

    How it started

    I started out by writing these tasks down on a piece of paper which lives on my desk. However, I am only at my desk a few days a week and rarely in the evenings when the routine would be starting. Good intention, not so good in practice.

    Another weakness of my evening routine was the fact I thought I would know it off by heart. As I had created the list of tasks and worked out most of the timings it should come naturally, right? Sadly not.

    Turns out when I get home from work (currently doing blended working, office 2 or 3 days a week, the rest wfh finishing at 5:30) after my 50 minute commute I don’t always have much energy. I have the intention of having a 5 minute sit down with a cuppa and a scroll through social media. The next thing I know, it’s 8pm and I’ve missed out on a lot of my evening – oops.

    How my evening routine is going

    After a couple of months of having more ‘incomplete’ evenings than fully successful ones, I have a new plan.

    Firstly, I have decided to be more patient and understanding with myself. After years of either no routines or very different routines, these adjustments will take time. Berating myself or getting frustrated will not help me to progress.

    Secondly, I am cutting down on some of the tasks, or alternating them between days so my days are not always so full-on while I’m adjusting. Gradually then building up to be able to accomplish all tasks, every day.

    Thirdly, for the main items I know I definitely want to do each and every day I have labelled alarms on my phone. That way if I get distracted by social media, accidently fall asleep or loose track of time another way, those key items won’t be missed.

    One of these said reminders is an alarm at 10pm to start winding down for bed. Recently I have been going to sleep later and later due to distractions or starting my routine later than I should. Now I have reminders to cook dinner, read my books, learn Welsh, get ready for bed and for exercising. I have been doing this system for a couple of weeks now and seems to be helping. Yaaay.

    Do you have after work routines? What measures have you put in place to help you stick to them?

    I hope you are getting closer to living your dream life, one step and one day at a time. We can do it!

  • Morning Routines

    Morning Routines

    Today I wanted to write a blog about morning routines. Almost every self development book I have read and podcast I have listened to talks about the importance of having a great routine for when you get up as it can set up your day in a very positive way when done well.

    Over the last 3 months I have started to implement more and more elements into my routines. Both my mornings and evenings. I will be honest, sometimes it doesn’t go according to my list. I’ve only had a few days where I have managed 100%. However, it takes a while to get into/out of habits and I am learning to be kinder to myself. It all requires patience.

    Lots of motivational speakers say habits take 21 days to form (or break if cutting out bad habits) but in a lot of cases it can take longer. I was listening to a podcast the other day which said on average it takes a person over 60 days to establish a habit fully. The plan is just to take it one step at a time, measure my progress and observe the differences.

    At the moment my morning routines (on a good day) consist of:

    • Waking up
    • Getting dressed for the day
    • Drinking some water (plus the ‘glow shot’ trio from Arbonne but I ran out recently and haven’t reodered yet)
    • Meditating for 10 minutes
    • Affirmations
    • Eating breakfast
    • Reading for 10-15 minutes – either The Happy News or a self development book
    • Writing in my gratitude journal
    • Preparing lunch and drinks for the day (on work days)
    • Get the bus to work and listen to podcasts on the journey

    What are your current morning routines?

    My original plan also involved exercise, showering and visualisations in the morning but I’ve not started getting up early enough for those additions yet. I am not a morning person so I’m easing myself in gradually to earlier and earlier mornings.

    Morning routines inspiration

    A huge influence on my want to have such a productive and positive start to my day was reading Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning, and hearing so many of the self development podcasts talk about it as well. The biggest element of the book is about his life ‘S.A.V.E.R.S’ – Silence, Affirmations, Visualisations, Exercise, Reading and Scribing/writing.

    Do you already have any of these things in your daily routines?

    Visualisations is still something I haven’t really got my head around. If you have any tips or examples, please let me know.

    If you have read my other posts you may have guessed by now that I love reading self development books and listening to podcasts. I would love your recommendations.

    Also let me know if you start implementing any of these morning routines, if they have made a difference to your days or your mental attitude and what other inspirations have helped you get closer to living your dream life.

  • Setting and achieving your goals

    Setting and achieving your goals

    Usually goal setting happens at the end of a week/year. The cliché is that everyone starts goals/changes on a Monday, or at new year. However, there is a huge difference between setting and achieving your goals.

    Gyms are regularly filled up in January and February and then as the year goes on it gets a bit quieter. Those with more motivation, determination and dedication stay the longest. Most people will set goals for January/the following Monday but then give up quickly because of small set backs or barriers to overcome. This is something I will admit to have done MANY times, I think most people have experience in this area.

    What goals have you previously set? Were you successful? Why/why not?

    I’m sure you have read in many different articles, or heard on podcasts, that it takes 21 days to set a new habit (or break a bad one), yet so often we give up within the first 14. The following tips may not be new to you but if you are goal setting and motivated to achieve them, these can really help.

    1 – Stretch goals

    Think of your goal. Why are you setting it? What would you gain from achieving your goal (or lose by not)?

    Think of the big picture. Is your ultimate goal so big it terrifies you? Great! We don’t get far when we stay within our comfort zones.

    If your goal is related to fitness/wellbeing, what is your ultimate aim? To reach a certain weight? Do a certain amount of pull ups? Run a marathon?

    What is your dream? To run your own business, travel the world, change careers?

    Think of the biggest target, THAT is the stretch goal. Now you can break it up into smaller more manageable (and less scary) yearly, monthly and daily goals.

    2 – Achieving your goals using SMART rules

    Once you have your stretch goal and broken it into bite sized chunks you also need to check that your goal is ‘smart’; specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based.

    Specific

    Make sure you goal is specific. Rather than I want to reduce single use plastic in my life, work out what specific steps you will take to make that happen.

    Measurable

    Your goals should always be measurable. It means you can see how well you are doing and celebrate your wins, but also if you’re falling behind it’s good to see how quickly you can pick it back up again or work out a better way of achieving your goal/s.

    Attainable

    Although I said make a stretch goal that is terrifyingly huge, it does need to be something achievable.

    Do not be disheartened though, if you want something enough you will be able to find a way to achieve it. There is always something to help, it could be attending training courses, networking events, getting a business loan, budgeting your finances better to pay for your dream holiday etc. Whatever it takes to get you closer to your goal. You will know if it is something achievable once you start breaking it down and starting your journey.

    Relevant

    Is you goal relevant to you? Does it align with your morals and values or are you just following a trend? The goals you set should be authentic to you, do not set goals you are not passionate about or that are for unhealthy reasons. Make your life the best it can be, don’t pressure yourself to look or act the same as everyone else to fit in. Be yourself and you will attract the people you were meant to connect with, no matter how long it takes.

    Time-based

    Give yourself a time limit. This will help with motivation and accountability. Set yourself a timed goal but also targets for each year, month, week and maybe even each day to help you toward achieving your goals.

    3 – Write it down

    Writing goals down, telling others about them and having reminds that you see regularly all help with accountability. This in turn makes you more likely to keep going and find success rather than giving up at the first hurdle.

    Accountability buddies

    If writing it down doesn’t hold you accountable, how about finding a friend or family member who can hold you accountable. Regular check ins, motivating you when you have a set back, maybe even sharing the same goal. Accountability buddies/partners/groups can be very useful when everyone is actively playing their part.

    4 – Achieving your goals with your routines

    Getting into routines always helps me with sticking to a goal for longer. I have routines for most things as I love a good list. Morning routines help to set you up for the day and following things like the Miracle Morning can really help to optimise your day. Evening/after work routines can help to segment your day to allow for work, rest, self care, socialising and working on your own projects by setting aside time in your day/week. Personally I also have cleaning routines during the week so that I have the weekends free from chores. However, you do what’s best for you, to help fit your goals/target schedule around your other commitments.

    Over to you

    What other tips have worked for you?

    How do you keep motivated when things get tough?

    What books/podcasts/media have helped you with goal setting?

    How do you decide which goals to focus on?

    No matter what your goal, I wish you all the best in getting closer to living your dream life.