In 2024, Create Routines Not Resolutions

Or maybe have your resolution be to create routines? Let’s use the best brain strategies to get to your goals.

• Short version: If you want to start doing a task, add it to your a.m. routine. And you already have a routine, so take advantage and tweak it towards your goals as a way to make progress towards any resolution.

• Long version, buckle up, here we go

I wrote a lot in 2020-2022 about getting through the pandemic and protecting your health at PandemicNotesblog.com, but the most pressing need I see now is personal Post-Pandemic recovery.

A new year is a natural starting point for turning over a new leaf or goal setting. Let’s take advantage.

Your brain loves a routine.

Making routines can feel like effort and boring really, in general we wait for others to impose them at work or school. But routines are the secret. They make things effortless especially when we want to add something to our days. Need to stretch more? Need to stop arriving late? Need to drink more water or de-stress or lose weight? Your morning routine is the first key.

If you want to do something new, you need to assign a specific time for it.

If you want to break a bad habit, you need to replace it.

We have lots of routines already whether we think of them that way or not. Here we are just going to optimize them for what you need now.

Turning over a new leaf means taking stock of what isn’t working for you anymore.

Step 1- Today. How do you feel in the morning? My oldest daughter used to delightedly yell first thing, “I’m awake” when she was 3. I am not sure we are going to get there, but if the opposite is true and you aren’t full of energy then let’s work on your morning routine.

Nitty gritty. You already wake up to a routine. An alarm wakes you up, what is the next thing you automatically do?

Here’s an example;

1-Alarm goes off

2-Hit snooze

3-Pick up your phone (get stuck on your phone)

4-Head to the bathroom

5-Brush your teeth

6-Take a shower

7-Pick out your clothes and shoes

8-Go get some coffee

9-Grab a granola bar and your bag

10-Head to work

If you want to do something new you have to assign a specific time for it.

Here’s a few examples of how you could make a small change today and get on your way to your new goals.

1-Time your current routine and figure out how long it actually takes you. That will help you set your alarm more precisely, avoid snoozing and help you get out the door on time.

Why. Your brain is amazing at many things but judging how long things take is not one of them. We tend to over estimate how long it takes to do tasks we don’t enjoy. For example to empty the dishwasher usually takes sub 2 minutes if you time yourself, try it. (Fill in folding laundry here if that is more you) Also, we tend to underestimate how long routine things take to complete. Such as the time it takes to get out the door when we say we will leave in 10 minutes.

2. Keep a water bottle by your bed and your morning medication or vitamins in a pill planner.

The most common goals I hear patients make for their health is to drink more water. Especially in my headache clinic. The most common reasons medications don’t have the best effect is we take them when we remember.

Why– When things are unscheduled we have to use attention and memory to keep them on a task list as part of our day. Those resources are generally focused on the most pressing issue of the day not on the things we consider trivial. However, when we have a visual prompt such as a water bottle sitting there and the pill planner next to the bed, we don’t need to remember to do either, freeing up your attention span for the next task.

Bonus- I know for a fact when someone tells me they take their medications every day they are assuming it is true and the answer is biased. Unless they use a pill planner labeled Sunday to Saturday and verify it is empty when they go to refill it at the end of the week, I assume they miss doses about every 1-2 weeks at least. That can mean a big difference in blood pressure or your goal to take vitamin B12 daily.

3. Add stretching or weight checks to your routine.

Why– we only truly change what we track. If you have an emotional reaction to your body weight on a scale, don’t start your day this way. But consistency is key for tracking weight and you are at your most dehydrated and lowest weight of the day first thing. Empty your bladder then before you get in the shower or dressed is the ideal time to step on the scale. It is just a number- but how that number changes over time helps you decide what is or isn’t working for you. Avoidance of this task is common but not helpful…ask me how I know.

If you want a better low back or to avoid knee pain etc, add in a series of stretches right after your shower. Maybe pick 3 stretches you learned in PT or from a TikTok or reel that you saved for later and really want to be the kind of person who does this daily.

You can do it, but not if you wait to remember to do it. Memory is not the best brain tool for the job, routine is.