GUEST BLOG: Kayleigh Verrall on How important is having a daily routine? Or a routine that adapts to your daily changes

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

This is something we have almost all heard at least once in our life! At its simplest, it means that eating regular fruit or healthy foods helps to keep us healthy, but let’s break that down some more. It is all about regularity, routine, schedules or lifestyle change. Changes that we make such that they can be followed for our lifetime.  Routine is followed and our habits are formed, allowing us to reap an incredible number of benefits to our mind, body and soul. It is something that is unique to you and yes, it is important having a daily routine but a daily routine that adapts to your daily changes? That is gold. That is what I want for myself and I want it for all of you!

I know, I know… an article about routines? You want something fun or exciting to fill your days not something that sounds like a boring constraint. Creating a daily routine that is tailored to you can be fun and it is exciting to see how simple life changes can truly optimise your full potential. It can be hugely beneficial in so many areas of your life and I urge you to see how it can impact yours. After all, with 3.4 billion people having watched #dailyroutine and seven billion #morningroutine on TikTok… fair to say this trend might be worth something indeed.

You do You Baby… *but not the Joe Goldberg Way

Individual. You. I want to hear you say…What do I need? What will work for me? What do I want? Because this is all about you, it is not following the routine of a famous celebrity or of someone who works in the career role you want… it is all about creating a routine that will resonate with your mind, body and soul. What works for others may not be what works best for you. When developing YOUR routine focus on what will energise you, inspire you, relax and restore you. Anything that makes you feel drained is not something you need in your daily routine. Similarly, do not try too much too soon. My hand is in the air here, I sign up for too much and get overly eager, I put way too much pressure on myself to be everything and do everything and it is exhausting.

Ready…Set… Go!

Make a list… What is it you want to achieve today? Not just buy milk and go to work but dance it out to an old favourite song, add an entry to your journal, strike up a conversation with or compliment a stranger. Habit forming takes approximately 66 days meaning that you need to stick with it and not give up, this is your sign, your challenge to create your own routine and stick it out! You need to wait at least two months trying your daily routine for it to become subconscious activities. If you are starting from scratch and currently your routine is only brushing your teeth and Pj’s before bed or roll out of bed straight to work then lets’ start slow! Trying too much at once or trying to add to that every day will not work or energise you, as the saying goes… slow and steady wins the race. 

Journaling

This does not need to be written in a physical book, it can be voice notes to yourself on your phone. Not everyone enjoys handwritten journal entries, you can get some very aesthetic journals on your laptop or phone, make voice notes or even an Instagram account! You can create an Instagram journal - set to private or public- and post a photo a day or a photo dump and write your entry there! You can then visually scroll through your Insta-journal! I have my own foodie-Instagram and this really helped me to learn and develop a morning routine with a focus on my wake-up time, stretch, breakfast oats, morning water and vitamins and THEN on my phone! When we wake up, we need to behave proactively instead of reactively. If the first thing you open is your emails or the newest trending story your socials you are immediately reacting to these instead of reacting to your mind and body. If you are an artist there are so many creative ways to journal, from bullet journaling to the new embroidery journaling trend! If words are not your vibe, create a colour journal using colours to express feelings or concerns and create beautiful drawings such as blooming and blossoming flowers.

Let’s get physical!

You stretch before a workout…or at least I hope you do! So, let’s stretch before we start the workout that is our daily lives! You may be someone who already goes for a morning or evening run or is booked into daily gym classes, maybe a fan of a weekly wild swim or there is nothing you have found that works for you. You can start from anywhere and you can still be your best. I am not one for the gym, it makes me nervous and I am learning to find that confidence. I love the fresh air and beautiful views and find this is the best way to clear my head and anxieties, it also helps that I have a gorgeous rough collie who loves her adventures to various castles and forests in Aberdeenshire and afar! I start and end my days with fresh air and a walk with my dog and sometimes Scottish weather makes for a wet and windy walk! If you prefer indoors there are great videos on YouTube for yoga or Pilates or fun workouts in slippy socks for an added challenge! No matter if you want a HIT workout or a calming core Pilates session or swim in the water, moving our bodies is critical for keeping us healthy and looking after our muscles. You could even add daily stretches to your routine to help you finally achieve the splits! I will admit I am partial to some banging tunes and boogie around as I make breakfast, especially during the 20-minute timer for baked oats!

Consistency is Key

Consistency creates success and the biggest part of this is falling in love with the process and not the progress. When we constantly measure ourselves against where we want to be or our goals, we can form negative views or opinions and it is so important to trust and love your routine that will help you achieve all your goals. How often do we think of Arnold Schwarzenegger when we say “I’ll be back” and how often do successful people wear the same outfits… Mark Zuckerberg owns over 20 grey t-shirts as Steve Jobs is infamous for the black turtleneck. Try not to expect too much, like all things in life we have to work for it, learn and try and sometimes we fail but even in failure we succeed in learning something from it! You may get your routine perfect from the first time or have to tweak it a few times! But remember to be consistent and love the process!

Early Bird Catches the Worm

Worms aren’t just crawling in the morning and not all of us are awake or optimal at the crack of dawn! As long as you have your routine to ensure you are nailing those core and important activities then the time of day really does not impact anything negatively! In fact, you are working around YOU, you want to do it, you enjoy it! It is important to avoid putting too much pressure to have x, y and z done by 9am, the best routine is one that will adapt to you. Some days we just need to have a longer time on the sofa reading with our morning cuppa then getting in some movement but that does not mean you are not sticking to your routine because you can do whatever exercise you want later in the day! The biggest thing we can learn from routine is how we can optimise our time and become more efficient.

Life can get very busy so when you think about your routine remember to ‘Bend it like Beckham’ and be flexible, you might have to start work earlier or dance the night away and that is more than okay! Life is to be lived and routines can help us live our best lives! It can be quite intimidating and you may expect great results in a short time when starting a daily routine but ensure to try your routine for at least one month or 30 days, after that time assess it, keep what is working and optimise what does not. It may take some adjustment but I cannot wait to find out all of your amazing routines and ideas!

Get Creative

Here are a few fun ways you can add some rum to your routine…oops I mean fun* Have a boogie in the bedroom to some cheesy happy tunes to lift your mood and stretch it out! Do you have a day off work? Pretend to be a tourist in your town and think what would be the place you wanted to visit if you only had the day! Channel Annie Leibovitz and take some amazing photos to celebrate the beauty of where you live and the space you have created. Love yourself and take one #OOTD photos and see the beauty in yourself and your style. Monthly games night please but maybe avoid one with Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams. Let me hear all about your routines, your goals, what is that you can do in your daily routine to help you achieve more and reach your full potential?

Written by Kayleigh Verall

Meet our guest writer...

 Hello! I’m Kayleigh and I am the definition of a wee foodie! In 2019, I started my Instagram account which was born from my love of finding all the best eats to satisfy my cravings for fresh local flavours! @thescottishpantry focuses on the joy of sharing and promoting fine foods and will soon expand to include my newfound love of creating my own original recipes!

Check out Kayleigh's website and instagram:
https://thescottishpantry.co.uk/
@thescottishpantry