No matter how ‘unhealthy’ your current routines and habits, or the types of habits they might be, the truth is, we all have the capability to set and stick to productive routines - in fact, doing so is an act of self-respect and self-love. Sometimes, we just need that little extra push to put us in the right direction. 

So let’s put away the fears and step into that will power we don’t give ourselves enough credit for. With these following experts on our side giving us tried and tested tips, we can start living actively, not passively, by building conscious routines and good habits into every aspect of our lives. You’ll be making your bed each morning in no time.

Building Better Routines – Mike Vardy

On Uptime

‘Better’ lifestyle patterns are essential to improving our life, mindset, and even our careers. For those moments we feel like there are just not enough hours in the day, a routine can help us find order and structure. When we consciously choose more productive habits, we can completely restructure our lives for greater happiness and success. 

If you want to manage your routines, then you need to measure them.

Mike Vardy, a productivity guru and time-tracking expert, explores the concept of time-crafting in this course by teaching us how to synchronise our effort with the time slots we have available. This allows us to track our progress and manage the time we have doing more of what really matters to us. He suggests we do this by:

1. Identifying priority tasks: a to-do list that lists things in order of priority = a routine
2. Getting rid of the least important tasks and being strict with ourselves: if the task doesn’t really matter, it can go!
3. Not extending tasks beyond allotted times: how to do things in the set times we have, and not breaking that chain/routine of time allocation

How to Create an Awesome Morning Routine: 10 Ways to Start an Amazing Day – Derek Franklin

On Uptime

A solid building structure depends on strong foundations, and the same concept holds true for days (and how we spend them). We often hear expressions like ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’, or ‘waking up on the right side of bed’; this expression simply alludes to the fact that how we begin our day determines how the rest of it will pan out. Keep doing this day in, day out, and suddenly you’re looking at greater quality of life in general, too. 

Through this course, Derek Franklin helps us see the importance of planning our day the night before. He shows us how certain methods in a morning routine can help us be more productive and happy. The course is designed to help us replace:

1. Stress with clarity
2. Negative emotions with motivation and a sense of happiness
3. Wasted time with time spent on the more important things
4. Chaos with order

Franklin’s biggest lesson? If we want to be more intentional with the effort we put into our planning for tomorrow, we should start planning today.

Meal Planning Masterclass – Felix Harder

On Uptime

If you’re still struggling for the right motivation to kick yourself into gear, perhaps the guidance of a fitness coach is what you’re after.

In the world of food health and nutrition, there are many diets and fads we can follow to reach our fitness goals. The internet is full of self-proclaimed ‘health gurus’ pushing supplements and meal plans that are overpriced and, more often than not, don’t actually work. Most of these plans usually include lists of food we can and cannot eat, but that takes all the fun and ease out of meal planning. 

Fitness coach Felix Harder aims to put the power back into our hands. With this course, he imparts the skills we need to develop our own meal plans. It focuses on debunking common food myths and helps us understand the correlation between what our bodies need, versus following specific eating trends. Inside the program is:

1. Meal planning for health and training – Using Calorie tracking, Protein, Carbs and Fat the right way 
2. Eating trends (and how you can decide if they’re right for you) – Gluten free, Low carb, Paleo, Intermittent fasting, and vegetarian/veganism
3. Improving health and immunity – reading food labels, understand the right vitamins and minerals

Creating Habits that Stick: A Step-By-Step Guide – Catrinel Girbovan

On Uptime

At some point in our lives, we’ve all wondered why habits are so hard to incorporate into our daily routine. There’s got to be a reason why most of our New Year’s Resolutions are dropped by the end of every February. Process Improvement Consultant Catrinel Girbovan gives us the answer by sharing her professional expertise of neurobiology and self-development.

We often hear that there’s a science to everything; building habits isn’t any different. This course blends behavioral science and self development skills into a science that will help us understand the way our minds set lasting habits. Taking a hands-on approach that forces us to become more accountable for our habits and success, the course provides building a personal project that helps us understand:

1. The three R’s of habit formation – Reminder, Routine, and Reward
2. The importance of Intention
3. How to identify triggers and anticipate setbacks 
4. Maintaining consistency even if irregular periods arise

Eat, Move, Sleep – Tom Rath

On Uptime

The idea of getting rid of our unhealthier habits feels daunting at best, mentally exhausting at worst. But we’ve all got a few bad habits that could probably do with being kicked to the curb, or at least tackled - like our social media habits, for example - especially if these habits are affecting our eating, sleeping, and/or movement.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Roth provides simple, practical lessons for tackling our eating, exercise, and sleep patterns. Namely:

1. Every bite we take should be a better choice: reading food labels and avoiding sugar
2. Limiting inactivity instead of trying to “work out more”: look for ways to incorporate more movement into your existing routines, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator
3. Stop hitting the snooze button: try to get up as soon as the alarm rings, every single day

A routine is an investment in ‘us’; an act of self love. If you’re finding it hard to build the right habits, remember that progress doesn’t happen overnight; habits quite literally are a reflection of your behavior over time, so they’re meant to be a product of long-term effort and consistency.

The most important thing to realise is this: you’re capable of an enormous amount of willpower, probably more than you know. So let’s take it one step at a time, one small habit at a time even; and before we know it we're in a routine that will lead us to success.

For more tips and extra motivation on sticking to routines, visit Uptime.

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