As I sat in my bed, earphones in my ears, listing to the calming music, I did my morning meditation.

Five minutes later, I opened my eyes, grabbed my journal and my favorite pen, and started writing the thoughts and the ideas I received in that short meditative state.

Twenty minutes later, after following an invigorating, productive, and short morning routine, I was ready to face the day.

I also had enough material to write an article later in the day.

The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine — Mike Murdock

We need routines.

When I wake up in the morning, I brush my teeth and then sit in bed and meditate. That is my morning routine. It starts my day.

When I start working, I open my computer and check my emails and Slack messages. That’s my work routine. It helps me get into a work mindset.

We need routines to guide us.

Journaling is one of the several routines I have developed to get me straight into the writer’s mindset. Writing in a journal each morning helps me collect my thoughts so that I can become more intentional with my time.

Ending my day with a personal daily debrief in the daily diary is a routine that helps me evaluate what I accomplished in the day.

In all these routines, I learn how to be efficient with my time and how to match what I do with what I care about.

The opposite of routine is chaos.

Chaos is a deep rut leading nowhere.

It is also known as bad habits such as giving up to distractions and procrastination.

It is letting your monkey mind take over and lead you in the wrong direction to reach unimportant goals.

When we feel stressed, tired, or derailed, a routine helps us get back on course.

“The right routine gives us the equivalent of an energy rebate. Instead of spending our limited supply of discipline on making the same decision again and again, embedding our decisions into a routine allows us to channel that discipline toward some other essential activity.”

There’s a sense of well-being that comes when we complete tasks.

Routines help us form habits.

Think about driving a car. You check and adjust your mirrors, put your feet on the brake, start the car, and release the handbrake. You do all these steps without noticing because they have become habits.

Habits form when we follow a predetermined routine.

The best routines lead to the best results.

Routines set a tone for developing good habits that last your entire life.

A good habit means you’re driving in the fast lane. Buckle up and hold on for the ride! You’ll reach your destination quickly and efficiently.

A bad habit means you’re in the slow land or, worse, stuck on the side of the road. Constant distractions and derailments keep you from making progress.

The more details of our daily life we can hand over to the routines, the more capacity our mind will have to do the proper work.

A good routine is not only a source of great comfort and stability, but it’s also the platform from which stimulating and fulfilling work is possible. — Ryan Holiday

You can follow the routine at any time or place during the day. I write my journal even on holidays. And if for some reason, I can’t write it in the morning, I will write at the first opportunity I get during the day. Because journaling has become a habit.

This month I started publishing an article a day. I am still setting up the routine. Some days I get it done early in the morning. On other days, life interferes, and I have to stay up late at night writing. Slowly, a routine will form, and I will be able to perform this task like several others without thinking much about it.

Back in mid-June 2021, I wrote and published a book in one week. That was an act of extreme productivity. But it was not sustainable.

Small changes to build a routine that leads to forming habits are more sustainable.

Like John Maxwell said, “You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret to your success is found in your daily routine.”

Build routines and turn them into habits.