Why Small Daily Routines Matter When You Are Rebuilding Your Wellbeing

Any big project is easier to handle if it’s broken down into chunks that can be tackled individually, rather than being treated as one intimidating whole, and that philosophy certainly applies to reconfiguring your wellbeing. Doing so is typically an involved and long-lasting process, one that might be motivated by health imperatives or a desire to deal with other issues creating problems for your quality of life, whether that’s workplace stress or the end of a relationship.

In this context, taking small daily routines and making them your focus gives you a better chance of achieving the kind of progress you’re looking for, and more importantly, making it stick for good. Let’s talk through why exactly this works, in case you’re still on the fence.

Making Too Many Choices is Tiring

There’s such a thing as decision fatigue, and it basically means that when we’re having to make choice after choice throughout the day, our brains get bogged down and worn out, in much the same way as our muscles get tired through repeated use at the gym. Having routines in place is a great way to reduce the number of decisions we have to make, giving your brain a breather.

Forming Healthy Habits Helps

Repeated actions form habits in our brains, and that can be a problem if the habits are unhealthy, but at the same time, it’s also something that can turn in our favour if we’re intentional in the routines we pursue.

So, even something as simple as laying out your chosen outfit for the next day in the evening, or drinking a glass of water immediately after waking up, will quickly become a habit you don’t even have to think about, as opposed to a chore you dread.

Peppering the Day with Rewards

Completing routine tasks gives you the chance to reward yourself with a psychological pat on the back for a job well done, and moreover, to do this multiple times a day. Making lots of moments of positivity and self-confidence will work wonders on your mental state, and is a way of proving to yourself that you’re capable of being responsible.

This is especially important if you’ve gone through extensive treatment to get to where you are now, such as completing alcohol detox and now facing a life of sobriety, with all the associated obstacles and triggers to overcome. The dopamine hit that comes with feelings of accomplishment when each routine ends gives you the incentive and motivation to keep going.

Hedging Against Uncertainty

Rebuilding your wellness will necessarily involve a degree of uncertainty and disruption, because it’s often a process that takes long-established routines and habits and throws them out the window entirely. Having a new set of routines to replace them gives you back that degree of predictability which is so important to feeling comfortable.

All that’s to say that people who go through major wellness reconfigurations should be celebrated for their bravery and persistence. The positives of small daily routines will aid them in their journey.