Habits and Routines!
Hey everyone! 
I have been recently reading a book called ‘The Neuroscience of Self-Love’ by Alexis Fernandez-Preiksa (highly recommend) and I came across some interesting ideas which I thought that I’d share!
A recurring theme in the book is to find ways to prioritise yourself and doing activities that matter to you, and in doing so we can build habits and routines. Habits are important because they allow us to do things with minimal mental resources – becoming subconscious and effortless. If we combine many habits together, we create routines and as a result we build a sense of control, stability and can allow ourselves to save our brain power for other tasks like studying, learning something new, being creative, etc!
Apparently, every day we have a ‘decision-making quota’ – where we start the day fresh and over time, naturally become exhausted and experience ‘decision fatigue’. This means that we have a limit to how much conscious effort we can use our brains to make decisions, process information and perform tasks. This is why we form habits and routines – so that we can save our mental energy for the things that matter to us!
By saving this mental energy, we reduce our likelihoods of feeling stressed because we have our decisions already sorted for us, and through repetition we get better and better at subconsciously performing these tasks. It is recommended that we make our routines unique to ourselves, simple, repeatable and not too long (e.g. 15 mins in the morning and 15 mins at night).
What are some habits or routines that you guys like to do every day that make you feel better or more at peace?
With all the saved mental energy, what do you or would you want to put your conscious effort into?
Comments
I love the concept of creating habits and routines so we can dedicate more of our mental energy to the things that need it! I've also read and loved 'The Neuroscience of Self-Love' by Alexis Fernandez-Preiska and highly recommend the author's podcast 'DYFM' which is all about neuroscience and mindset hacks 🧠📖
A really important routine for me is my morning routine which sets me up for the day. It includes everyday sort of tasks like showering, breakfast, brushing teeth, doing makeup, and doing hair. However, I've done my morning routine in that order for so long and with the same steps that now I do it completely on auto-pilot! Another habit I've created over the past couple of years is going to the gym consistently at least three times a week. When I first started going to the gym I had to rely on motivation to get me there and sometimes really struggled. However, through repetition, it has now become a habit and it would feel weird for me to not go as it's become a key part of my day 🏋️
These habits and routines I've created allow me to focus more on my work and spend quality time with family and friends. It definitely pays off to work through the challenging first stages of creating a habit so that it sticks and it just becomes second nature 💯
Hey @Olive1
I definitely need to check out the podcast for sure, the more hacks the better.
Love the fact that you can do so much subconsciously, feels good to skip that mental hardship of having to find motivation to complete tasks when you develop these habits and put them in motion.
Amazing that you are hitting the gym consistently too, I notice that I work out more for the mental benefits than the physical these days - smashing personal goals, neurochemicals doing their thing, feeling of achievement after... so good.
Happy to hear that you have been developing good habits, which have allowed you to put your leftover mental energy into the things that matter, wish you all the best!
Hi, this is a great post and it can be a great start for people learning to periodise themselves. This was something I had to teach myself and in the past few weeks have been very important to me. Some of my habits for everyday is moving my body, whether it’s at the gym, simple stretches or even making sure I am moving at work. As well as reading everyday, it’s something I’ve always enjoyed and try to aim to at least 30 pages a day even when my life is very busy.
Something I would like to do more is stop and slow down for a moment, just taking a breath, take in my surroundings and then keep moving. I get so caught up in what I have to do next that often I will just be too focused on getting through rather than appreciate where I am in life
Hey @Rara - I appreciate it 🙂
I always found it a weird concept to actually prioritise our self, without feeling like we are being selfish. I really like that you're emphasising staying active both physically and mentally - having the simple goals in mind of just moving or reading 30 pages a day is great because you aren't putting too much pressure on yourself. Happy to hear that you also find joy in these habits!
I also struggle with enjoy the moment/keeping in the present, without worrying about the uncertainty of the future - practising gratitude and mindfulness like what you are saying is definitely the way to go!
One of my favourite things to do is go for a walk in nature, without music, and just listening to the environment around me. I find that it really calms me down and allows me to 'stop and smell the roses' so to speak.
With time and conscious effort (to build habits ironically) - we will all get there!
Hi, this is a great post and it can be a great start for people learning to periodise themselves. This was something I had to teach myself and in the past few weeks have been very important to me. Some of my habits for everyday is moving my body, whether it’s at the gym, simple stretches or even making sure I am moving at work. As well as reading everyday, it’s something I’ve always enjoyed and try to aim to at least 30 pages a day even when my life is very busy.
Something I would like to do more is stop and slow down for a moment, just taking a breath, take in my surroundings and then keep moving. I get so caught up in what I have to do next that often I will just be too focused on getting through rather than appreciate where I am in life.
I like this post! My habits/routines these days consist of a lot more self-care. I'm also trying to get into the habit of grounding more when I'm stressed because sometimes I forget how well it works.
I would definitely like to put more effort into my studies and social life, as well as volunteering.
Hey @Green_Ghost - thank you!
If you don't mind, what are some examples of the grounding techniques that you are doing?
Great to hear that you have goals in mind too, I definitely want to do more volunteering also!
I like doing the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - so 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste.
I also like sitting very still and imagining tracing the outline of my whole body - so I start at the feet and mentally trace myself up to the top of my head.
Both of these help me get back in touch with reality, as in what is going on for me right now. It's helpful when you're stressed or worrying about future events, to be transported back to the present.
I feel like this post came at the perfect time for me! I’ve been trying to build good morning/night routines recently, and this gave me insight into the importance of habits and routines. I love the idea that practicing habits/routines can prevent decision fatigue and allow us to use our mental energy on other things that matter to us – it makes me motivated to practice self-fulfilling habits each day!
Two of my favourite habits that I do daily that help me to stay grounded are stretching and journalling. I’ve also really loved guided meditation recently, it has really helped me to maintain a sense of peace and calm throughout my day 🧘♀️
I would like to put more conscious effort to feeding into my passion for mental health and psychology studies! Whether it be my uni work, volunteering, job-seeking, etc., I always feel fulfilled after I spend time on building my dream life in this way (no matter how stressful it can get).
Thanks for this lovely post, I’ll be adding ‘The Neuroscience of Self-Love’ to my list of books I want to read 😌
Thanks @ilovechai - happy to hear that you resonated with the post. Almost feels like a life hack, knowing that we are self-aware of our own body and its limitations in a way - and that we can find methods to actually maximise our potential.
Big fan of journalling and stretching also, do you use an app for the guided meditation?
Amazing to hear that you are so passionate about MH and psychology in general, you can't really go wrong with learning about people - the stress is definitely worth the reward of making meaningful connections and having a greater understanding of yourself and those around you!
Thank you @ironsharpensiron for sharing these ideas. All these ideas are really important for us to implement in our lives for better health outcomes. I am trying to develop a habit of doing some mindfulness exercises at night before sleeping and also set a routine of my sleep cycle (which is terrible at the moment😊) I hope my saced energy helps me accomplish this.
No worries at all @Figuring_out
I'm a bit of a night owl if I don't keep myself in check, so I feel the struggles so much. It is amazing that you are actively and consciously trying to establish these changes to help with your sleep. Think about how productive and less stressed you'll be with a good night's rest and an elite sleeping routine. It'll only compound with the mindfulness exercises too!
Thanks for sharing @ironsharpensiron !! I was actually looking at getting ‘The Neuroscience of Self-Love’ myself so good to hear what some of the tips are in it! Personally, I have a routine I do before I go to work which I find streamlines getting ready and makes it easy to time when I need to leave. This way, I can focus my decisions on my job which needs more attention than getting ready. Thanks for telling us this little nugget of gold!!
You definitely should @Scarlet_Bird - such a good read and it is very conversational, so it doesn't feel like you are just getting flooded with info.
Very nice, nothing better than starting your day off on autopilot haha (knowing that it is proven to set you up for the rest of the day for success).
Pleasure to share 🙂
Hey! @ironsharpensiron thanks for sharing! That's really interesting and definitely something I will take into my masters degree with me. I also like the podcast that that author has! It covers some super interesting topics!
My pleasure and all the best with your studies!! @appletree
After finishing the book, I think I may have to check out her podcast too!
