A daily routine supports your mental wellbeing by giving you more control of your life, helping you cope with change and feel less stressed. Setting a routine is also a great way to start new healthy habits and to make sure you take time for self-care, every day.

Like all humans, your brain likes patterns. It’s hard wired to recognise and respond to them. By setting and following a daily routine, you’re giving your mind the structure it needs to help keep you happy, healthy and moving forwards towards your goals. Following a routine will give you feelings of familiarity and reassurance, which helps you respond better to change. When your mood or motivation is low, having a routine to fall back on will help you kick start your day.

While the benefits of a routine are clear, you might be unsure about where to start – especially if you’ve struggled to build a routine in the past.

Sleep schedule

Setting up a solid sleep routine is vital in order for you to be able to function at your best. It's recommended that adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night and to help make this a reality, it's important that you are prioritising your sleep. This includes sticking to your routine, setting the same bedtime and wake up time each day and disconnecting from your electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bed.

Exercise routine

It's a no brainer that exercise is beneficial, not only for your body but also for your brain. It releases feel-good chemicals called dopamine, that helps to improve mental health and wellbeing. Sticking to an exercise routine is challenging, but if you personalise it to suit your preferences, you'll be more inclined to follow through with it. Join exercise classes or do activities which excite you and you'll know you want to attend. Or fit exercise into your daily schedule so committing to it is easier, for example, walk the kids to school, get off your bus one stop earlier, walk to get your coffee of a morning, use the stairs at work. Setting blocks of time each week to dedicate to exercising is also helpful; if you put it into your calendar as a set activity you will be more likely to complete it.

Working from home routine

If you're working from home and are struggling to find time to take breaks, then you need to make sure that you're scheduling them in. If you don't, you'll end up burnt out and overwhelmed, so it's vital that you set up regular time periods to eat lunch or even go for a walk around the block to stretch your legs.

Self-care routine

If you're lacking in the self-care department, then it's time to truly take care of yourself. Pick a few activities which bring you joy and schedule in some time to complete them, either on a daily or weekly basis. It could be something as small as setting time aside to read for 30 minutes or heading out on a hike to get some fresh air.

Once you've established the routines you want to incorporate into your life, it's wise to write them down and stick them in a spot that's easy to see everyday. This way you'll be more inclined to follow through if it's always at the front of your mind.

If you have any questions or need extra support, we're here to help you anytime in any language. Simply start a chat with us via the home screen of the Sonder app.

Information sourced from: Queensland Government and The Sleep Foundation

Image credit: Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

All content is created and published for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. Always seek the guidance of a qualified health professional.