Managing our Lives and Mental Health through Healthy Routines

Let’s be honest: “adulting” in today’s world is no easy job.

We work, cook, eat, and clean. We walk, drive, ride, commute, run errands, and travel.

We make sure to drink enough water, get enough sleep, dress for the weather, and pay bills on time – all while finding time to move our bodies, connect with others, have fun, and relax. We often have daily medications to take, appointments to make, and texts or calls to respond to – all while juggling essential daily living tasks like grocery shopping, watering the houseplants, and doing laundry.

On top of this, many of us take on countless additional roles – as providers, partners, pet parents, community members, co-workers, caregivers, coaches, students, teachers, and so on.

In the frenzy of it all, our “to-do lists” can seem like a continually revolving door; our schedule is like a runaway train taking on a life of its own. It can feel daunting to hold onto consistency or clarity when you’re always on the go. It can even get so overwhelming that it feels downright impossible to keep up.

At the end of the day, we're all human – navigating a world that asks a lot of us.

Often, we can’t control our circumstances. But we do have the power to choose the habits that build our daily routines – to create a better life rhythm, to find a more balanced state of being, and to be more in tune with ourselves, our lives, others, and our shared humanity.

The Health Benefits of Routines

Routines are not just about maximizing productivity or optimizing every component of our daily activities to fit a perfectly planned schedule or pre-molded expectation. Instead, they’re about creating a “flow” for our lives that we can healthily manage – instead of one that manages us.

Day-to-day practices, such as basic hygiene like simply brushing our teeth in the morning and at night, give us consistency and structure that promote stability and balance. Many times, these practices also serve an important purpose – like preventing cavities and keeping our gums clean.

After time, those habits become a subconscious part of our regular lives. This repetition can act as a source of comfort because it gives us a better awareness of what’s going on. Humans like the protection of predictability and having a plan, whereas constantly “winging it” tends to become confusing and chaotic.

Routines offer a way of being more in tune with reality and promote mindfulness by steering us in small but mighty ways, even if that means simply having a better grasp of what day of the week it is.

More than this, having little life patterns reduces stress and anxiety while improving our emotional health and wellness. Even loose routines better set us up for success by helping us feel more prepared, organizing our lives, and prioritizing the things we need or want to get done.

Healthy daily habits are the building blocks of routines. These habits, such as going outside for a few minutes every day, can help prevent burnout, keep us from avoiding things or procrastinating, and help us better assess our feelings. We can use routines to reflect on things we wish to incorporate in our lives and create achievable goals. 


Start small and reduce barriers for yourself

You might be wondering, “Where do I even start?”

Establishing healthy habits doesn’t have to be a big, sweeping overhaul of your life. This can be unrealistic and set us up for failure because we overwhelm ourselves.

It takes time and repeated practice to get good at anything – including the transitional period where we break existing patterns and put new ideas into action.

Stay patient with yourself and find ways to make small changes. Start with:

Creating reminders for yourself through a phone app or sticky notes at home.

Staying aware of your schedule with a planner, notebook, or calendar.

Setting aside a specific time or day for small tasks, like cleaning the litter boxes or tidying up.

Committing to practices that bring you joy and make them non-negotiable parts of your life. This can be taking daily walks, listening to your favorite podcasts or radio shows, shooting hoops, caring for your skin, or having a nightly cup of tea.

Staying committed to the routines we set can be challenging at times. Set yourself up for success by:

Setting healthy boundaries - Your time and energy are precious and you get to decide how you use them.

Limiting your screen time - It's easy to mindlessly scroll the news or social media for hours. While this can be a form of staying up-to-date or connecting with others, it might help to create designated pockets of time. Try catching up during your lunch break or turning your phone on Do Not Disturb before bedtime.

Remembering your “why” - Remind yourself often why your new routine is important to you and good for your well-being.


Stick with it and speak to someone if you are struggling.

There are loads of life hacks, tips, and tricks to building better habits and establishing routines. But ultimately, it takes intention and dedication to create change and rewire your brain toward a new pathway. If something doesn’t go as planned, don’t beat yourself up, and remember to give yourself grace.

We learn to walk by crawling (and falling a ton) first. We use training wheels to figure out how to ride a bike. We figure out how to spell and sound out words before we’re able to read a sentence – let alone a chapter or whole book.

If you find yourself feeling stuck in a rut, unmotivated, or moving so fast that it’s hard to slow down or make sense of it all – don't forget that you are not alone. Both help and hope exist.

Talking to a mental health professional can help you find a safe space to air out emotional steam and develop positive coping mechanisms for daily stress.

North Range’s Counseling Centers offer a non-judgmental and confidential space to be heard. To set up an initial appointment, call 970.347.2120.

Think of a routine as an outline or blueprint for your world.

Even the tiniest of changes and the smallest of steps can make a huge difference. They can help us manage stress and competing priorities, find the presence of mind, and make room for our dreams, desires, and larger life goals.

Celebrate the little victories in your life – even if it’s just that you remember to take out the trash, that you made sure to get to your appointment on time, that you found time to write your grandma a letter back, or that you’ve been consistently going to bed around a certain time.

Over time, these little things add up to a boost in your well-being. A healthy, ongoing routine allows you to live your life with more certainty, confidence, predictability, ease, and happiness.

Resources

The Importance of Trying New Things

A few months ago, we talked about the benefits of consistent, ongoing, healthy routines. Daily habits and small practices help us manage our lives and mental health by creating structure, … Read More