Daily Rituals, Lasting Change: The Power of Micro Routines
Daily Rituals, Lasting Change: The Power of Micro Routines
We are wired to be habitual and tend to do things in the same way unless we intervene. Most of the times, we are not even consciously aware of the routines we partake, but science has shown that ritualistic/routine-orientated habits make up 70% of our waking behavior. In other words, there is 70% room for change if you are able to understand how to manipulate your own routine. Routines and rituals are by far one of the best tools for habit formation, breaking habits, and creating a long-lasting change in your life that will directly affect your future self.
Why are routines important?
"Most people are not present to the long-term impact of their short-term situation." - this is one of the most impactful sentences I've heard in a long time. That means that the power of your micro routines, of the small habits you are able to keep and do without a lot of friction/effort, have a very meaningful impact on your future long-term. The fact that most people choose to be unware or not pay attention to how their short-term decisions impact their long-term future, is the reason why we don't give as much value to habit formation. In truth, finding and manipulating them is the key to changing your life.
Can we utilize micro routines as tools for change?
Absolutely! Micro routines are one of the best tools for habit formation. Say you want to start exercising. Next step is decide when it will happen, and what actions you usually take during that period of time. Then, you can decide where you will implement your exercise. What you are essentially doing is choosing where this task will be performed inside a routine. Before or after breakfast? Before or after work? What comes before and what comes right after the exercise? This is called "Task bracketing". Task bracketing is essentially adding a habit you'd like to add to your life, sandwiched between other tasks that you accomplish with ease. Once that is decided upon, it becomes a matter of time to add this new habit to your routine and to be able to accomplish it without much effort. Task bracketing helps make habits context-dependent and more likely to occur even if one’s feeling distracted or overwhelmed.
How do we implement them?
An awesome tool is visualization exercises. Visualization exercises consists of imagining, with focus/attention, a sequence of steps required to execute a micro routine from start to finish. Science has shown that this simple exercise can shift people towards a higher likelihood of performing that habit regularly. Visualization is the first step for implementation of a new routine. Next, you try it out! Yes, it's that simple. Take notes of what was easy and what was hard about it. Did you find any resistances or hiccups? If you need to go back to the drawing board and shuffle tasks around your micro routine, do it. Afterwards, again, back to visualization. Do this until you find a routine that works for you. It will be challenging no matter what, but you will find that some routines "fit" better than others.
What can we do to make micro routines sustainable and long lasting?
Different routines take different periods of time to adopt depending on the person and the habits they require; as a general rule of thumb, it takes 18-254 days to form a habit, depending on the individual. This means no routine, no matter how micro, will simply not be “set in stone” immediately. Discipline and consistency are keys to transforming a new routine into a unconscious, simple, minimum effort ritual in your life. Be patient, and keep it moving. Before you know it, you won't even be thinking about your habits, you'll just be doing them automatically. Rituals are stronger over time, the more you do them, the stronger they become.
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Whether you're trying to create a new habit, transform your future, or break a pattern: routines are the perfect solution for all of the above. They require minimum motivation; all they require is time and consistency. If you'd like more help on the nuances of creating a routine that works for you specifically, we can help. Our mindset coaching program has a whole section on habit formation, micro routines and the power of daily rituals. There, we are able to dive into a lot more details and considerations, such as the phases of the day and different energy levels (different routines will fit different times of the day better, for example), micro routines to support sleep, habit flexibility, using rewards to strengthen your micro routines, the role of dopamine in all of this, testing your routines, etc.
Our mindset coaching program can help with your identity-based routines, rewriting belief systems by changing your rituals, and how to create and maintain habits that will best support the person you'd like to become. We can't wait to help you get there.
Hey there, I’m Rachel!
NUTRITIONIST, PERSONAL TRAINER, WELLNESS COACH
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