Trying to Balance Life and Find a Routine

It can be challenging to balance life and find a routine as a student. I feel like routines have been considered trendy recently, but they can be so beneficial to your everyday life. Piedmont Healthcare states that having a daily routine can reduce your stress and make situations seem “more controllable and predictable.” Daily habits can also be an indicator of increased achievement. Creating a morning routine can reduce your anxiety and help you take control of your day. 

Very Well Mind explains that “having a great morning routine can make all the difference in being productive, achieving goals, feeling organized and doing all of this with confidence.” 

Consistent habits in the morning allow you to start your day off right, while also helping you achieve small tasks and gain a sense of productivity. 

A regular night routine is also known to help you sleep better. Routines can make your days less stressful and help you allot time for activities you love. This can be so helpful if you have a busy schedule between work, school and extracurricular activities but still, need to find time for yourself and your hobbies. 

I was inspired to think about my daily routine after listening to a recent episode of a lifestyle podcast. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with listening to podcasts about self-improvement during my daily walks that have inspired me to find different habits or ideas to help me reach my goals. 

One podcast that I’ve been loving recently is the “Gen Z Girl” podcast by Abby Asselin, a graduate student at the University of Alabama studying tax accounting. She’s also a Youtuber, where she posts daily and weekly vlogs about college life, health and productivity. I love watching her videos, but her podcasts also bring me so much joy. I absolutely love how real and honest Abby is during her podcast episodes. I feel as if I’m listening to a best friend give me advice and just talk about life.

In one of Gen Z Girl’s most recent episodes “The Highs and Lows of Routines + How My Current Routine Changed My Mind and My Life,” Abby discusses the benefits of everyday routines and details the specifics of her morning and night routines. Abby talks about feeling in a rut because of her old routine, and how she worked to find one that works for her. She tries to focus on making things exciting to overcome boredom.

 Previously, she said she felt like she needed a power nap or a ton of caffeine to stay awake and finish her tasks for the day, but her new routine has allowed her to break away from this. Abby states, “Your routine has so much power over how you feel every day, mentally, physically and emotionally.” Because of this, it is extremely important to try and find a routine that works for you and improves your life. 

After listening to this podcast episode, I was inspired to think about how my ideal routine would look. I would love to create a specific morning routine that could inspire me to get enough sleep and wake up and be productive. I, like many college students, struggle with springing out of bed and getting work done in a timely manner. Because of this, I would like to wake up around a specific time each day, ranging from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. After waking up, I would like to immediately get up out of bed, use the bathroom, brush my teeth and take my morning medication. Instead of checking my social media, I would rather get up, go for a morning walk and listen to an inspiring podcast. Then, I could maybe make a smoothie or eat a small breakfast. 

After completing all of this, I would ideally feel awake, energized and ready to tackle my to-do list. 

All of this sounds amazing, but how am I going to accomplish it daily? I’m trying to focus on one step at a time, instead of trying to immediately make this ideal routine my morning habit. Lately, I’ve been trying to implement going on walks soon after I wake up. Also, if I’m not too tired, I’ve been trying to immediately get up out of bed after my alarm goes off. I know if I were to try to accomplish my entire morning routine starting tomorrow, I would feel discouraged if I couldn’t keep up with it. 

So, how do you create your morning or night routine? First, I would recommend not making your routine based on what others do or the trendy, aesthetic morning routine. Of course, you can look to content creators or the people around you for inspiration, but make your routine for you. Think about what you want to accomplish in the morning, what makes you happy and ready to begin your day and the habits that you think would benefit you. Make your routine about you, because the goal is to improve your life.

Overall, I believe implementing some sort of daily routine can be beneficial for everyone. Creating a morning, mid-day or night routine allows you to find peace and consistency in your everyday life. 

After listening to the “Gen Z Girl” podcast, I have found myself putting a focus on discovering what works for me, finding time in my schedule and creating a routine that benefits me. Through the slow implementation of my new routine, I have found my mental health and energy are improving. I highly recommend listening to this podcast episode and beginning to think about what your ideal morning or night looks like.

• balance
• lifestyle
• morning routine
• night routine
• routine