Let’s imagine for a moment that you have recently retired – after years of working hard and looking forward to this stage of your life. You may have been sitting at a desk, in a car, or on a plane. You may have been a construction worker, a computer specialist, an executive, or a teacher. Whatever you did for a living, it is finally time to stop and switch gears. If you are smart, you have a financial plan for this period of your life. You may even have some idea of things you want to do—travel, catch up on your reading, play with your grandchildren, take up art, or go fishing. The choices are completely up to you.

But now that the initial glow of “feeling free” of the chains that bound you to your working life has faded, you may be feeling a bit adrift. Remember, for years you lived on a schedule You got up at certain time, got yourself ready for the day, and left for work or the gym. You arrived at work at a certain time, took a lunch break and a coffee break or two, and at the end of your workday, left for home. It was all pretty automatic as if your body knew what to do and when to do it.

But all of that has changed. Now, there is no established schedule. Your time is your own to spend as you like. You can sleep late if you want to; you can work out any time during the day; you can meet friends for long lunches; you can even take a nap if you’re tired. On one hand, that sounds delightful after all these years of (euphemistically) punching a timecard.

On the other hand, sometimes, your day seems to get away from you. By evening, you often wonder where the time has gone and what you accomplished. Often you have no idea.  As you drift through your days, if you sense that something is missing, you are right. What you miss,    without even realizing it, are the routines you had come to depend on that gave structure to your days.

This is worth considering. Establishing a daily routine doesn’t mean you have to be a slave to the clock. It means you have control over your daily life. Regular routines can also go beyond the streamlining of daily tasks and give you space to do things you enjoy.

Two years after the pandemic changed everyone’s lives, you now have an opportunity to consider the routines you want to keep and the meaningful things you need in your daily life to stay productive, happy, and healthy.

Having a routine will produce the following benefits.* It will:

1. Increase your efficiency
   A routine reminds you of what you need to do and where you need to be. When you are finished with one activity, you know what comes next. Activities become habits, reducing the need to make the same decisions every day.
2. Create structure in your life
   A daily routine provides structure and a logical sequence to your days. You will probably find this a more natural way to function than merely “winging it” every day.
3. Instill good habits
   The secret to building good habits is repetition. An effective personal routine helps you develop good habits by encouraging you to repeat the same tasks over and over again, which can also replace your bad habits with good ones.
4. Help you become more proficient
   When you have a routine, you start to become better at doing certain things because you do them regularly. That is one of the keys to mastering any skill.
5. Help you prioritize
   The beauty of designing a set routine is that it forces you to determine what is important to you and take action on each item in order of importance. Rather than make these decisions daily, you already know what you need to do and where to focus your attention.
6. Build your self-confidence
   When you adhere to a routine, you gain self-confidence and a sense of satisfaction. That provides the ‘fuel’ to stick to your routine and reap its benefits.
7. Free up your time
   Not every aspect of your life needs to be scheduled or incorporated into a daily routine. There is a time and place for leisure, relaxation, and “non-doing.” Adhering to a routine frees up that time for you.
8. Help you achieve your goals
   Successful people accomplish their goals by doing the same things repeatedly. Developing and sticking with a routine that is congruent with your goals is one of the surest ways to ensure success.

*Source: Skilled at Life—https://www.skilledatlife.com/18-reasons-why-a-daily-routine-is-so-important/

How to Establish a Routine:

• Choose a regular time to wake up and go to bed and try to stick to it most days of the week.
• Use a Day-Timer or smartphone app to organize your activities, and put the things you want to do in your schedule. Establish a schedule, and set a reminder or an alarm for each activity.
• Create an exercise plan, and put it on your calendar. If you belong to a gym, commit to going there at least three times a week. Fill in unscheduled time with walks or bike rides a few times a week. If possible, find an exercise buddy to work out with.
• Start a new hobby or re-visit one you enjoyed in the past. Decide when to work on it, and schedule the time.
• Keep an eye out for meaningful activities that may be going on in your community, like a book club at the library or a social walking group. If nothing shows up, check meetup.com for local activities you want to explore. Schedule meetings on your calendar.

Having a planned routine will bring focus and order to your life. Your days will not get away from you, causing you to wonder where the time has gone and what you have accomplished. You will create the structure you had in your work life, but in retirement, you will also have the flexibility to choose and prioritize your activities. You don’t have to do this all at once. Make one change at a time, test it out, and move on to the next. Pretty soon, your new routine will become second nature, and your retirement will be satisfying and enjoyable.