A Daily Routine to be More Productive

Before my Sophomore year of college, routine was never important to me.  I woke up each day and it was a new journey with little direction. Going into the second semester of that year, I knew something needed to change. I needed more structure but in a balanced, not stressful way. Here are the five things that really helped me be more productive.

Make your bed every morning.

Making your bed every morning might not seem like it is that important. A lot of people think “Well I am just going to get back into it tonight, so what is the point?”. There are a ton of studies on why you should make your bed, but there is one main reason why I do it. If you make your bed first thing you are already starting the day with a win in your court. The rest of the day could go horribly, hopefully not,  but at least you know that you made your bed and did one thing productive. I also do it because making my bed puts my day into view. Maybe if this one thing is organized, everything else will feel organized. It’s a task that takes under 5 minutes, if even, and helps prepare you for the day.

Journal

Journaling helps you track your goals and express your needs from yourself. As small as this seems, it is huge in many ways. You may be telling yourself what you need in your head, but writing it down makes your mind more clear and those goals easier to achieve. You are able to plan the small steps to reach whats next.  There are a lot of prompts you can look up online through websites and pinterest, but once you start and get more comfortable with it, you will form your own routine for it. For me personally, I prefer to do a few things in my journal everyday. Here is my personal journal prompt that I believe helps me achieve what is needed.

Journal Prompt:

3 Goals for the day.

3 Things I am thankful for.

3 Things that made me smile the day before.

My short term goals (6 month limit).

My long term goals (5 year limit).

Something that inspires me.

Eat 3 good meals.

When they say that food fuels your mind they are not lying. Your gut is connected to your brain and effects your mental health significantly. I have always been a picky eater but have adjusted my diet to help me have a more productive state of mind and it was not as hard as I thought it would be. Through this I have enjoyed to cook and look forward to what new recipes I can try. If time is a huge concern, there are so many ways to move around this from food prepping and scheduling. There are a ton of good recipes on all different platforms. Some of the places I look are Pinterest, Tik Tok, and Instagram.

Move your body for 30 minutes.

This one can be seen as annoying to most because a lot of people don’t want to be forced out of their comfort zone to get active. While most people see this sentence as “Go run 4 miles in 30 minutes” or “Do the hardest workout of your life” that is not what it means at all. These 30 minutes can be used to do whatever you want. If you want to walk for thirty minutes or ride the bike slowly that is perfect, just as long as you are getting body movement. This is a great time to take a break and reflect. While you are doing this your body benefits because you are releasing endorphins. There are so many benefits to this such as your happiness increasing, boosting your energy levels, and so many more. Bonus points for you if these 30 minutes of exercise or body movement are outside!  

Go to bed early so you can wake up earlier.

After a full day of activity, there is no doubt that you are going to be tired. My main goal is to be in bed before 10:00pm this doesn't mean I am asleep by 10:00pm but that I am done with my work by then. The earlier you are in bed, the earlier you can get a start to your next day. I am usually ready for bed at this point and pretty tired so it comes as a relief. If you really want to insure you get a good night sleep I recommend turning your phone off or putting it on silence in those last 30 minutes before bed.

 While these steps are not guaranteed to change your life overnight, they slowly change your goals in a more progressive way. The more you start implementing them the easier life gets. With this course of action, I started to reach all of my goals, get more done, and have a better sense of self accomplishment.