Do Less and Achieve More with a Productive Routine
If you often feel like there's not enough time in your day for the things that have to get done, plus time for the things you love, then it's time you looked at your current routine.
Creating a structured daily routine is one of the best ways to shape your success, as it'll help you get clear on your priorities, organise your time, and boost your productivity.
To get the most out of your 24 hours and limit procrastination, planning your day will allow you to stay focused on your goals and direct your attention on the important things that are under your control.
This will give you the clarity to let go of things that are no longer serving you, and make space for you to grow and reach forward on your own terms.
It can be stressful trying to balance the obligations of work, social life, home life and your non-negotiables. If you're always living on the fly, this is when it can feel like your list of to-do's is never ending, and it becomes near impossible to find time for yourself and the things you love.
By planning ahead and sticking to a consistent routine, you'll be able to prioritise each of your tasks throughout the day, and find yourself with a lot more time on your hands.
Your stress levels won't be through the roof when you stop rushing around trying to squeeze everything in, and with less things to juggle in your mind, watch your focus and productivity skyrocket too.
A perfect daily routine looks different for everyone, but here's a list of things we like to consider that can help to create your most productive schedule.
Time block your day
Blocking out your day by prioritising the most important tasks will do wonders for your productivity and mental clarity.
Depending on how much structure you like, you could time block your day in detail by exact time slots if you have a lot on your plate. Or if you like a bit more flexibility, you can plan your day more loosely by breaking your schedule into morning, afternoon and evening activities.
We also recommend planning according to your peak and lower energy times of the day. Think about when you’re most productive and energetic, and schedule any important work and creative tasks for those times.
If you find that you have the most energy in the mornings, you should plan your most active tasks in the morning, and save the more relaxing, less important things for the evening.
If you struggle with sluggishness in the mornings, you should try starting your day with a workout to release some feel-good endorphins.
Set a non-negotiable sleep schedule
Setting a non-negotiable sleep schedule does wonders for your sleeping patterns, and planning around it will help you get the most out of your day.
When you plan your sleep times and wake up at roughly the same time each day, you're training your body by setting an internal sleep-wake clock.
Identify when you’d like to wake up and schedule your bed time accordingly so you can aim for at least 7-9 hours.
Leave spare time without any obligations for when you wake up and wind down at night. This is the best time to self-reflect, meditate, manifest, practice gratitude, and set your intentions.
Dedicate time to exercise
You wouldn't skip an important work meeting because you're feeling busy, so if exercise is truly a priority to you, you should treat it the same way.
Allocating dedicated time to exercise and creating a weekly training schedule will help to shape exercise as a positive habit that becomes a non-negotiable in your day.
You can use the Workout Planner in your MWU App to customise your workouts and re-arrange your training and rest days to suit you.
Plan your eating times
If you're sticking to a nutrition plan and want to stay on track, think about scheduling a time for your meals when you'd usually get hungry, and aim to keep this consistent where possible.
If meal prepping is something you do or want to start doing, dedicate certain days and times in your week for your grocery shop and cooking.
Having your meals and snacks prepared can help curb emotional eating and "emergency snacking" when there's nothing on hand.
Save time to fill up your cup
Planning “me time” is essential, not a luxury. It’s just as important as the rest of your agenda to factor in set times for your self-care and doing the things you love, whether that's 30 minutes daily to read a book, or a few hours every weekend to catch up on your favourite Netflix series.
Make sure you factor in some cushion time between tasks for any unexpected things that pop up. If you don’t happen to need it, here’s some more time for spontaneity and self-care!
What about weekends?
If you prefer to follow a more relaxed routine on your weekends and days off, do your thing. If you want to preserve some structure, you can treat your ‘weekday routines’ and ‘weekend routines’ like two separate ones, but keep some elements that you prioritise - whether that's getting a bit of exercise in, aiming for your usual bedtime, or having a similar structure to meal times. Either way, there are many benefits of staying in some sort of a routine on your days off, even if that's just spending some time on Sunday planning for a successful and productive week ahead.
It's so important to create a routine that you know is realistic and will work for you.
You also don’t need to allocate every breathing minute of your day to a specific task. If your schedule gets too full and rigid, life will only get more stressful as you find yourself struggling to meet every single demand you’ve placed on yourself.
The goal is to create a rough roadmap to follow through the day, while understanding that some detours along the way are very likely.
Sometime life happens, and you might find yourself skipping a workout session or having to grab some takeout food on the go from time to time. This is completely normal so don’t be hard on yourself. With proper planning and scheduling, you will find yourself reaching your goals most of the time, which is what matters most.
If you're looking for a new routine to support your health and fitness journey, our Programs are the perfect way to add structure to your training and nutrition.
Our Team of experts have developed a science-based App that removes the guesswork and provides you with an easy-to-follow journey to achieving your fitness goals - no matter what they may be.
Not only do we tell you how to train and what to eat, we understand your preferences and ensure that this transformative experience is one that you enjoy.
Make your move today.
