How to break out of routine: 16 tips

Several guidelines to break the monotony and be open to change.

We wake up, take a shower, have breakfast, go to work, have lunch, go back to work, go home, chat a bit with our loved ones, do some chores, watch TV or play sports, have dinner, sleep... and start all over again. A large number of people will identify with this succession of actions, being in fact their daily or almost daily routine. Many of them will have sighed with a certain weariness.

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

What is routine?

For better or for worse, most people know what routine is: routine is defined as the presence of a series of habits and customs that are repeated continuously over time and whose attainment is often carried out automatically.

Routine implies the existence of a scheme of operation from which the subject does not move, and on which as a general rule there is no room for the idea of introducing modifications. there is no room for the idea of introducing modifications. And the constant repetition and the lack of novelty can generate that, after all, we come to think that our life is nothing more than a concatenation of the same actions, and a certain boredom appears. That is why most people with a fixed routine tend to want to modify it from time to time.

But routine also has good things: it provides security in how things are going to be and makes it difficult for us to face unexpected situations that are not already planned. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why, despite the fact that routine can be monotonous, there is resistance to introducing changes. Novelty implies a risk, a risk that can be scary and have different consequences.

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

Guidelines to get out of the routine

Getting out of the routine involves carrying out actions different from what we normally do, something that said so may be easy but in reality has some complexity. That is why in this article we are going to see different guidelines for introduce changes in our daily life and get out of our routine..

1. Identify your routine

The first step to be 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 what is repeated continuously.

2. Evaluate what makes it unpleasant

Once we have identified the routine we follow, it is necessary to evaluate what it is that makes us dislike it, makes us reject it or makes us feel stagnant. It may be useful to make a self-record or a schedule of our daily life, in which we can also in which we also evaluate how each action makes us feel.

3. Ask yourself what changes you want

What do I want to achieve, how far am I from it, what can I do to get closer to it? These three questions are fundamental. It is about asking ourselves what we want and which aspects of the routine bring us closer and which take us away. It is also necessary to evaluate what we are willing to do to change. Sometimes it may be necessary to to break completely with the previous schemes (for example to change a job that does not satisfy us or to cease a relationship that does not fulfill us).

4. Eat and sleep properly

Food and sleep are some of the elements that are less often taken into account and yet are among the most important in 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. maintain our physical and mental health..

5. Separate spaces

One of the things that can make us see our daily lives as routine is the fact that we do everything at any time and place. It is not uncommon for spaces and actions to intermingle, making it difficult to separate the different moments and easily resulting in a feeling of continuity from which we find it difficult to disconnect. 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 begin to value elements that we do not practice in our routine and yet we would like to implement. Ask yourself what your hobbies are or what catches your attention. Maybe we like to crochet, climb a climbing wall or go to the opera. Leisure is importantand 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 and that can generate greater change is the idea of forming a goal or objective, something that we can focus on and that is highly motivating for us..

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

8. Generate small intermediate steps to reach the new goal.

Our original goals can be complex to carry out if the objective is very ambitious. However, this does not mean that we should not try. We should establish small intermediate goals that allow us to approach little by little to the final goal, 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 keep in mind that difficulties and obstacles may ariseBut we must be able to be resolute and face the fact that change requires effort.

One thing is clear: in most situations, change will not happen spontaneously, but rather it requires involvement and effort on our 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 to commit ourselves to change.

10. Change stimuli in your environment

In addition to the previous changes, it can be useful to try to modify small aspects of your environment. Introduce new elements in your office, redecorate your house, change your clothes in between the workday and the evening.Change your clothes between work and leisure time, or play 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 of ourselves. It is important to share and be open to to try 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 number of conditions such as stress, depression or anxiety. Occasionally going on getaways in natural places can help us to better endure the usual routine and can generate changes.

13. Do sport

Sport is always something positive in order to reduce the level of stress and increase endorphins, as well as being one of the possible modifications in our daily life (if we did not do it before). (if we did not do it before) that can generate a great change. However, it is important that it does not represent a new routine, but a challenge or 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 of routine is precisely that it is extremely predictable. Thus, we must leave room for improvisation, we must leave some room for improvisation in our lives.It is good that we leave some time without planning, in which we can do whatever we feel like doing at the moment or whatever comes up.

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

Something fundamental if we want to break with routine is the fact of leaving aside 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. Maybe it's enough to explore a new neighborhood 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 you want to do even if it scares you.

16. Meditate or do mindfulness

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