Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to remember that routines need a purpose.
Speaker 1: They are there to accomplish something in life, not to
Speaker 1: exist for their own sake. I'm taking this tip from
Speaker 1: a new book called The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi.
Speaker 1: She writes about various hacks for making life easier, such
Speaker 1: as making the same thing for dinner every Monday, or
Speaker 1: giving everything a place. She loves routines and lazy geniuses
Speaker 1: that take full advantage of these energy savers, but in
Speaker 1: the book she notes that routines are on ramps to
Speaker 1: somewhere else, not destinations themselves. The reason to have a
Speaker 1: bedtime routine is to pave the way for good sleep.
Speaker 1: The reason to have a morning routine is to start
Speaker 1: the day in a calm and productive place. Ironically, she writes,
Speaker 1: when you let routine be in charge, you ultimately miss
Speaker 1: out on what matters. Anyway. I love routines too, but
Speaker 1: I also love this distinction. We all know people for
Speaker 1: whom the routine becomes the end point itself. Kids must
Speaker 1: be in bed at precisely seven fifty five, and if
Speaker 1: there's a once in a lifetime meteor showers starting at
Speaker 1: eight pm, well too bad. Or a morning exercise routine
Speaker 1: becomes so set that there is zero space for compromise
Speaker 1: with family members. To take advantage of the benefits of
Speaker 1: routine without becoming pointlessly rigid, it helps to ask a
Speaker 1: few questions as we build habits. Most importantly, what is
Speaker 1: the purpose of this routine? Why am I doing this
Speaker 1: With a kid's bedtime routine? We're helping them feel safe
Speaker 1: and calm and loved as they go to sleep. It's
Speaker 1: at least partly about connection and in many cases about
Speaker 1: sharing bedtime stories that produce a sense of wonder. So
Speaker 1: in fact, watching that meteor shower with them could also
Speaker 1: help them feel loved and help them feel that connection
Speaker 1: and sense of wonder before bed. You're not staying up
Speaker 1: late just because you're still getting at the deeper purpose. Sometimes,
Speaker 1: as you pursue your purposes, it helps to remember that
Speaker 1: routines can actually be flexible. They don't need to be
Speaker 1: precisely time bound. For example, from December sixteen to December nineteen,
Speaker 1: I ran at least a mile every single day. Yep,
Speaker 1: that's about days in a row. And while my family
Speaker 1: members sometimes ruled their eyes at this habit, I also
Speaker 1: made sure that I didn't inconvenience them too much. I
Speaker 1: was willing to run it pretty much any time of
Speaker 1: the day, morning, noon, night. If I had insisted on
Speaker 1: running at exactly seven am every morning, that would have
Speaker 1: been pretty alienating and probably something would have happened to
Speaker 1: make me unable to continue. But by focusing on the
Speaker 1: purpose a small daily exercise habit, I was okay with
Speaker 1: being a bit more giving on the details, and that
Speaker 1: ultimately made the daily running streak possible. In any case,
Speaker 1: if you're trying to build a routine into your life,
Speaker 1: first focus on this why, as a Dachi writes, the
Speaker 1: routine itself isn't what matters. It's simply an on ramp
Speaker 1: to help prepare you for what does. So make sure
Speaker 1: that you begin with what matters to you, not with
Speaker 1: the steps to get there. Ultimately, these wisely chosen routines
Speaker 1: have more staying power than those that are more militant
Speaker 1: on the details. In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: At i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.