Putting your healthy routine on repeat boosts your motivation. But spontaneity is also key. Here’s the right mix for max results and zero boredom.
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Consistency is one of the most powerful tools you have. “Your brain actually craves it,” says Andrew Deutscher, managing director of the Energy Project, a US-based performance improvement consulting and research firm. Consistency not only powers you through the day-to-day so you can reach goals but also makes tough routines automatic, so you’ll stay motivated. However, consistency alone gets dull. Spur-of-the-moment experiences add newness and keep you engaged. They tap into your brain’s reward centre, studies show, providing hits of pleasure. As a result, you feel invigorated and inspired. The question, then, is how can you stay consistent while at the same time unconstrained? There is a way, and it’s key to your success. These three techniques will help you strike a balance between steady and ready for anything.
Building a little flexibility into your routine increases dedication to it, research shows.
You have to start with a solid base of consistency before you add spontaneity to the mix. To make those healthy behaviours stick, identify a higher purpose for them – something that will give you the psychological push you need to follow through. Say you’re trying to work out at 6 a.m. three days a week. Make a list of meaningful reasons for why you need to get going, suggests Laura Vanderkam, author of I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time.
To come up with them, consider this: How will your routine enhance your life? For instance, if spending more time with friends is important to you, a morning exercise routine can free up your evenings for get-togethers. Then, when your mind starts to think of excuses, you’ll have a ready retort that will help propel you forward.
Once you’ve gotten into a groove with your routine, allow yourself to deviate from it. Otherwise, without any flexibility, the smallest disruption can feel like failure. Giving yourself room to play increases your dedication overall, the Journal of Consumer Psychology reports. So plan ahead.“Expect that things will spontaneously happen to change your schedule,” says Chris Bailey, the author of The Productivity Project: Accomplishing More by Managing Your Time, Attention, and Energy.
“Devise a strategy to accommodate them.” Having a plan B for when last-minute dinner invites throw off your eating routine (such as deciding to treat the dinner out as a reward and eating a light, healthy breakfast the next morning) lets you embrace the interruptions and see them as happy surprises.
Consistency can make challenging routines almost mindless. That’s a good thing, but it can also commit you to a formula you’ve outgrown. Enjoy the comfort of a routine, but keep an eye on your results so you know when you need to make changes. Check in with yourself about once a month, Andrew says.
