Routine Can Help You Push Through

Mid February in the Northern Hemisphere is a tough time for students of all ages. Dark weather, long dim days, holidays behind, goals and finals ahead, and very little respite from the drab and ongoing schedule. It has been shown that mental health declines in February among all age groups and I’ve personally witnessed it in students during 24 years of college leadership. Life is just hard and tasks seem insurmountable with no relief in the future.

Let me extol the virtues of establishing and following routine.

Field trips, excursions, and visiting events may break up the day happily in parts of the year, but the schedule and work of our lives must go on. Routine gets a bad reputation. Yet, personal goals, class exams, work projects, or side hustles - all things - are accomplished by a series of small steps. Even if we eek along and don’t really plan, if we take long breaks or Quiet Quit or do something to ruin our work schedule, we ultimately only get to the end of a project by taking small steps. So, developing a routine gives the much needed hormone boost when we intentionally see a plan, make a list, accomplish small things regularly, and see the reward approaching faster. We actually are brain ignited when we begin to see patterns of accomplishment and are encouraged to do more. Resist the more just like you resist the quit and just stay steady. Having a routine give us a balance of rest and revival on our way to goals.

Write it down, do the small stuff, take a walk, do small stuff, mark it off, get some water, do small stuff, celebrate the accomplishments.

Spring will spring soon enough.