Make it Automatic

One of the struggles I would see after people came back into the community following incarceration, especially long term incarceration, would be a sense of disconnect. Often they were wandering around in life, unfocused and unsure of how to act or react.

While some of this had to do with defining what they needed or wanted in life, a big part was due to the loss of routine and the need to establish new routines in their lives. Until they were able to create new and better routines, they would either remain unfocused or begin sliding back into negative routines they had used in the past.

Routine keeps you on track and focused.

Routine is the key to succeeding at anything. It matters even if you're just trying to get by. Without a routine you will not manage to get anything done or accomplished. This is especially true if you are trying to make positive or substantive changes in your life.

You may think that routine doesn’t matter. You would be wrong.

We as humans only function through routine. If you take a moment and look at your life, you’ll see that everything you do on a regular basis has a routine. Think about it. What is your routine in the morning? What steps do you take everyday as you get ready? How do you get to work or school? What do you do as soon as you get there? I guarantee you do much the same thing everyday, in the same pattern. None of that process is random, or different, every time. That is the power of routine in your life.

Routines are the unconscious habits that make you act and react.

Look at all these multiple patterns in your life. Most of the time they are helpful, getting us through without thinking. Moving us towards whatever it is we need to get done in the day. However, routines can be a bad thing as well. You have to be aware of and conscious of what you are doing with yourself.

Because most routines have become unconscious, you can quickly find yourself sabotaging goals and processes without realizing it is happening or understanding why it is happening. These unconscious patterns, habits, and processes will occur whenever we begin doing or thinking something that triggers them.

How many times have you been on your way to do something, but the direction you are going is towards work or a friends place, and the next thing you realize is that you have driven to that place instead of your original destination? You did this unconsciously through routine. This same thing happens in life.

You may have decided to stop drinking beer after work and workout instead. But your old routine was to walk in the door, put your things down, go the fridge for a beer, plop on the couch and play a video game for an hour.

If you are not conscious of this routine you likely will find yourself automatically following this pattern whenever you come home. If you don’t follow it you may fight with yourself, feeling uncomfortable. This can lead to rationalizing or giving yourself permission to not workout, allowing you to follow through on your old routine, because in your mind that is how things are supposed to be. This is your routine setting the direction of your actions.

Routine is the power up you need for successful change.

If routines work for children, they can and will work for you. It is easy to see those children who do not have a routine or are not following their set routine. They are often out of sorts, tired, unpredictable, and emotional. But when children are following their set routine they tend to be calmer, more manageable, and happier. The same applies to you.

When you decide on a goal, the next step in the process is to think about the routine you will follow to make it happen. Now, you don’t need to have every step perfectly defined, but you need at least the basics. Enough to get you going and moving. Decide what steps you will be taking to ensure you work on your new goal or process. Then you need to consistently follow that process every time.

Of course you may need to adjust and switch things up to work better as you go along. But, in general, you want to know the broad strokes of the routine and follow them every single time. If you do this when you start a new goal or change, you will find it much easier to follow through and be successful in pursuing it.

Use routine to create follow through.

Routine is a key ingredient in the getting things done formula. Without a solid routine you will not consistently stay on task. Take the time to create and implement routines whenever you begin to make changes in life or create new goals for yourself.

By giving yourself a solid automation tool you make success more achievable. Let routines improve your life by creating and being aware of them. The more you can automate things, the easier it will be to actually finish things.