I have said it plenty of times already but 2023 is going to be the year where I finally get some form of order in my life and work towards that life I really want for myself. There are plenty of things that I am going to do for this but one of the main things is creating a routine that I am going to stick to. I find my life so much better when I have a routine to stick to and things just fall into place off the back of it.
I have created myself what I am considering to be the perfect routine for the year but I have made a few changes so I have a daily routine, a specific Sunday routine and I have even started putting together an end of month routine so I can plan out the month ahead, the week ahead and the day ahead. If I stick to these routines I know that my life is going to significantly improve as the routine will help with my fitness journey, productivity and relaxing on a night. So here is a look at the routines I am setting myself...
The Daily Routine
The daily routine is a big one for me as if I get a daily routine in place I should be able to get into the habit of doing all these things and actually have some free time in an evening to work on other things rather than my mind going 100 mph all the time and reaching the burnout stage. So here is the daily routine I am putting into place...
Wake up at 5.30am
I have done this in the past and I really benefited from it so fingers crossed the same happens again. By waking up at this time I am extending my morning by a couple of hours but it helps me get a big chunk of things done to start my day the right way.
Weigh in
Now this one is a personal choice and isn't for everyone but I always ensure to weigh myself before doing anything else on a morning as I am on a fitness & weight loss journey and want to learn about my body and the effects the previous day has had on it. This is hopefully going to help me on my journey and learn what I need to do to make the progress I want to make.
Workout
As part of my routine I am going to be making sure I workout first thing in a morning. I used to do this all the time and my days would be fantastic however, as soon as I started moving them to the evening I noticed that my days weren't as productive and I would skip workouts due to lack of energy or motivation. By getting them done in a morning though I should be making sure I am getting every session done and out of the way freeing up my evening.
Cold Shower
Straight after the workout it will be into shower to do a bit of cold water exposure. I feel like these just wake me up that bit more than a usual shower and the cold water has a whole host of benefits to it. Again these are something I always used to do and just really want to get back into doing as I used to feel great after them.
Get Ready (skincare, hair, dressed)
Once the shower is done it is time to actually get ready for the day ahead. This includes doing a morning skincare routine as I am sick of my skin breaking out and just being in poor condition. It is also time for me to sort my hair out, now it is getting longer it is taking more time to sort on a morning but this will ensure I actually take the time out to sort it. Then it is on to getting ready, there will be no hunting around for what to wear as the clothes will already be out ready which will definitely speed the process up.
Once the shower is done it is time to actually get ready for the day ahead. This includes doing a morning skincare routine as I am sick of my skin breaking out and just being in poor condition. It is also time for me to sort my hair out, now it is getting longer it is taking more time to sort on a morning but this will ensure I actually take the time out to sort it. Then it is on to getting ready, there will be no hunting around for what to wear as the clothes will already be out ready which will definitely speed the process up.
Make the bed
By the time I have done all the steps above Liam should be out of bed and on his way to work so it will be straight back to the bedroom to make the bed. There is no need not to do this step and it is out of pure laziness that it has rarely happened before however, there is just something about making the bed that makes it feel like the day is off to a great start.
Take Vitamins
I am getting back into the habit of taking all the necessary vitamins to help my immune system and overall health. I take a fair few vitamins daily and this is a step in the routine I am determined to never miss.
Pack my lunch
I am cutting out the meal deals and taking a healthy lunch to work with me daily that is within my daily calories, helps towards hitting my protein goal and just makes me feel energized which meal deals certainly don't. It will be a case of getting everything out from my meal plan for that day and making sure I aren't missing anything before heading off to work (if it is a work day).
Write 2 blog posts
Once the rest of the routine is out of the way like work if it is a work day I will be heading to my PC to sit and work on my own little projects. The aim on a typical day will be a minimum of 2 blog posts to be completed but if I can get through even more that would be fantastic as it should just keep me that little bit ahead of myself.
Stretch or Yoga
Depending on how I feel on that particular day I will be fitting in a stretching session or a yoga session as I have started to learn that my body will really benefit from these small sessions. With the amount of exercise I am doing these days it just allows me to help prevent injuries and keeps my body moving as it should be. I feel great after these sessions so making them a daily occurrence is going to be brilliant.
Read a chapter of book
I am determined that this year is the year where instead of sitting on my phone for hours before bed I change and read a chapter of my book each night which I am hoping settles me down a bit and helps me drift off to sleep a bit easier and helps me have a better quality of sleep. It should help me get through my backlog of books too.
Learn a new language
I am wanting to add something to my daily routine that teaches me something new and helps get my brain going so I am adding to the routine learning a new language. even if it is just 15 to 20 minutes a day I will be happy with this as it will keep my brain nice and active. I am determined to learn a lot of Spanish before the end of the year.
Sort my outfit for the next day
This is what is going to speed up getting ready in a morning, just a few minutes each evening making sure my outfit is ready to go for the following day. This is going to take the guess work out of the following morning and means I can crack straight on with my day. Doing this on an evening is just going to help me feel a lot more organised too.
Sort my workout outfit out for the next day
This is just for the same reason as the getting the outfit ready, it is going to save a lot of time in the morning and with me starting a workout at around 5.45am it will mean I aren't disturbing Liam either and is more likely to mean I get my workout in as those clothes are there waiting for me. Being more organised is definitely going to benefit me and do well for the routine.
Night time skincare routine
As I am trying to get my skin in better condition I am going to be adding a night time skincare routine to make sure I am keeping my skin as good as possible. This will also signal time to start settling down on an evening and get the rest of my routine rounded off.
Bed by 10pm
This obviously wont happen on those late night football games however, every other night even on weekends I am aiming for being in bed and asleep by 10pm. This is just going to make those early mornings a bit easier and mean I am still getting the right amount of sleep each evening to recover. I hate late evenings but 10pm will give me time to do everything and settle down nicely.
Those are the main things I will be adding to my daily routine but I will also be making sure I hit my fitness habits each day which are:
2 ltrs of water a day
7,000 steps a day
No alcohol
No takeaways
Fill in my fitness app for what completed
Then I have a few extra bits to keep on top of things around the house such as washing up, doing the washing and putting it away which are jobs I always seem to put off and really shouldn't be doing.
So that is my daily routine that I am hoping to get into the habit of completing as it is definitely going to help improve my quality of life and help me push towards completing my goals. I am going to be having a Sunday reset routine too just so I can get ready for the week ahead too, I am really hoping by implementing these I can have a bit more structure whilst working towards my goals which I am determined to achieve this year.
What does your routine look like or do you not bother with one?
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