We wake up, take a shower, have breakfast, go to work, eat, go back to work, go home, have a little chat with our loved ones, do various tasks, watch TV or do sports, have dinner, go to sleep… and start over. A large number of people will feel identified with this succession of actions, being in fact their daily or almost daily routine. Many of them will have sighed with a certain weariness.

The routine is monotonous, being for many something boring or limited and generating the desire to introduce some variation. But the question is… how to do it, How to get out of the routine? In this article we will try to give some guidelines or indications to try to introduce modifications that will allow us to live our life as something a little less monotonous.

What is routine?

For better or worse, most people know what routine is: it is defined as the presence of a series of habits and customs that are repeated continuously over time and whose achievement is often automatic.

The routine implies the existence of a functioning scheme from which the subject does not move, and on which as a rule there is no room for introducing modifications . And the constant repetition and the lack of novelties can generate that, in the end, we come to think that our life does not stop being a concatenation of the same actions, and a certain boredom may appear. That is why most people with a fixed routine usually want to change it from time to time.

But routine also has its good points: it provides security in how things will be and makes it difficult for us to deal with unexpected and unplanned situations. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why, although it can be monotonous, there is resistance to change. Novelty is a risk, a risk that can be scary and have different consequences.

Likewise, many people justify not varying their routine by the fact that they have no other alternative . And it is true that in a society like today’s we usually need to have a job, pay bills and maintain our home. However, this does not imply that there is also part of an excuse: although it is possible and even advisable in some cases, it is not necessary to make a radical change in life in order to introduce modifications that will make our lives more exciting.

Guidelines for getting out of the routine

Getting out of the routine means carrying out different actions from those we normally do, something that said may be easy but in reality has a certain complexity. That’s why in this article we’re going to look at different guidelines for introducing changes in our daily lives and leaving our routine .

1. Identify your routine

The first step in being able to get out of the routine is to recognize that it exists, and to be able to identify it. If you consider that you have a very routine life you should take into account what you do on a daily basis and that it is repeated continuously.

2. rates what makes it unpleasant

Once the routine we follow has been identified, it is necessary to assess which of the above displeases us, produces rejection or makes us feel stagnant. It can be useful to make a self-registration or a schedule of our day to day in which we also assess what each performance makes us feel.

3. Consider what changes you want

What do I want to achieve? How far away am I from it? What can I do to get closer? These three questions are fundamental. It’s about asking what you want and what aspects of the routine bring you closer and what brings you further away. We also have to assess what we are willing to do to change. Sometimes it may be necessary to break completely with the previous schemes (for example, to change a job that does not satisfy us or to stop a relationship that does not fill us).

4. Eat and sleep properly

Eating and sleeping are some of the elements that are least taken into account and yet they are among the most important when it comes to explaining our well-being. This also influences the perception of life as routine. It is important that eating and sleeping are acts in which we are focused on what we do and that we do it well: getting enough sleep and eating in a balanced way is essential to maintain our physical and mental health .

5. Separate spaces

One of the things that can make us see our day to day as routine is the fact that we do everything at any time and any place. It is not uncommon for spaces and actions to intermingle, making it difficult to separate the different moments and making it easy for a sense of continuity to appear that we find difficult to disconnect from. We must separate spaces and moments, having each thing its time and place and generating a break between the different tasks: do not work stretched out in bed or in the same place where you eat.

6. What do you like or desire?

One of the aspects that will allow us to change our routine is to start valuing elements that we do not practice in our routine and yet we would like to implement. Ask yourself what your hobbies are or what attracts your attention. Maybe we like to crochet, climb a climbing wall or go to the opera. Leisure is important , and we often don’t take advantage of the moments we have free. It is important to generate moments in which we can cultivate our tastes.

7. Set new goals

Perhaps one of the most important ways that can generate change is the idea of forming a goal or objective, something that we can focus on and that we find highly motivating .

Such goals can be practically anything, but the point is that they are something far removed from our daily activity. For example, learning to play an instrument, speaking a language, studying a career, losing weight, taking a trip or volunteering, or playing sports can be somewhat different goals than usual. It is even possible that the goal is to change jobs or find a partner. But they have to be realistic goals

8. Generate small intermediate steps to reach the new goal

Our original goals can be complex to achieve if the objective is too ambitious. However, this does not mean that we should not try. We should set small intermediate goals that will allow us to get closer to the final objective little by little, being these goals also something stimulating by themselves.

9. Commit and persevere with change

It is all very well to make plans, but they are of no use if there is no firm commitment to carry them out. We have to take into account that difficulties and obstacles may appear , but we must be able to be resolute and face that a change requires an effort.

One thing is clear: in most situations changes will not occur spontaneously but require involvement and effort on one’s part. As Einstein said: if you want new results, don’t always do the same thing. Sitting on the couch and complaining is understandable at some point, but in practice it is useless and it will be necessary for us to commit ourselves to change.

10. Change stimuli in your environment

In addition to the above changes, it may be useful to try to modify small aspects of your environment. Introduce new elements in your office, redecorate your home , change your clothes between work and your leisure time or put on music that activates or relaxes you (depending on your needs).

11. Meet people and keep an open mind

Meeting new people will push us to see new perspectives in life, to learn from others and to give ourselves. It is important to share and be open to trying to understand the way others understand the world .

12. Get in touch with nature

Most people who live in a city have little or no contact with nature. And the truth is that such contact has been shown to be beneficial for a host of conditions such as stress, depression, or anxiety. Going on occasional nature walks can help you cope better with your usual routine and can bring about change.

13. Do sport

Sport is always a positive thing in terms of reducing stress levels and increasing endorphins, as well as being one of the possible modifications in our daily lives (if we didn’t do it before) that can make a big difference. However, it is important that it does not represent a new routine, but a challenge that we really want to carry out (although at the beginning it will probably be necessary to force ourselves a little)

14. Allow yourself to improvise

One of the big problems with routine is precisely that it is tremendously predictable. Thus, we must leave room for improvisation in our lives : it’s good to leave a certain amount of time without planning, in which we can do what we want to do at the moment or when it comes up.

15. Get out of your comfort zone: explore new possibilities

One of the most important things if we want to break with routine is to leave our comfort zone. It is important to dare to experience new things, even if we do not know if we will like them or not. Perhaps it is enough to explore a new neighbourhood in your city, a type of activity that you had never thought of trying or visiting other cultures and countries . And very important: do something that you want to do even if you are afraid of it.

16. Meditate or mindfulness beam

Another way to proceed can be to do some kind of meditation or mindfulness, through which we begin to experience with full consciousness the moment we are in, putting aside thoughts and judgments and letting them flow without altering us.