🙅 Routines ≠ Habits

Hey there! Welcome back to The Flow by Flocus. And to the 4,866 new subscribers this week, hello and welcome 👋 If you’re new, you can catch up on our previous editions right here.

This week: It’s all about your routines and your habits — the differences between them, how they’re connected, and small, simple ways to improve them. Let’s jump in!

🧠 All About Routines

A routine is a sequence of actions carried out the same way each time to achieve a desired result.

Example: Applying skincare products in a specific order because they keep your skin clear.

Routines require “big brain” energy. Your mind is actively engaged and focused on what you need to do to achieve your long-term goal.

Following a routine and getting what you want activates a reward response in your brain. Routines that are highly rewarding and practiced often are more likely to become habits.

🔁 All About Habits

A habit is a routine that’s repeated so often it becomes automatic.

Example: Scrolling social media after turning off your morning alarm because that’s what you always do.

Using your “big brain” for every task would be exhausting. To save energy, your brain forms habits out of the routines you repeat most often and find most rewarding.

Habits are done on impulse, but that doesn’t always mean they’re effortless. On the contrary, healthy habits are hard to maintain — let’s take a closer look at why.

🛑 Why People Get Stuck With Routines & Habits

With routines, you have to remember to do them. Deciding what to do and when to do it eats up a lot of brainpower.

With habits, you don’t need to think about it — you just do it. But you can’t get to that point without following your routine often and consistently.

To complicate things, your brain usually wants to take the easiest path to a reward. And your new routine is probably a lot more work than, say, scrolling social media.

That’s why it’s so hard to turn a new routine into a habit. Before you even start, you spend a lot of energy reminding (and convincing) yourself just to follow your routine.

Luckily, there are 2 ways you can make this process feel more effortless and automatic:

1. Start small to convince your brain your new routine is easy.

2. Find ways to make your routine feel like a normal, integral part of your day instead of a chore.

Sounds simple, but it’s not easy — so where do you start? We’re glad you asked! Scroll on for some simple, actionable tips.

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Now, let’s jump into tips for strengthening both your routines and habits.

👟 5 Steps to Stronger Routines & Habits

Try this exercise for a routine-to-habit gameplan that feels manageable and motivating!

1. Get specific about what you want

“I want to eat healthier” is a vague goal, which will make it harder to achieve.

“I want to eat more fruits and veggies each day” is more actionable and realistic, providing a better foundation for your routine.

2. Start small

When starting out, pick a simple action you can do consistently.

If you want to eat more fruits and veggies, you might start by eating an apple for breakfast each morning.

The smaller, easier, and more specific your action, the less energy your brain has to spend on it.

For complex or multi-step routines, try focusing on the first step instead — for example, “putting on my workout clothes” instead of “going to the gym every weekday”.

3. Make a gameplan

To further reduce the demand on your brain, decide ahead of time:

• What you’ll do (eat an apple)

• Where you’ll do it (at the kitchen table)

• When you’ll do it (every day at 9 AM)

With all the essentials ironed out, all that’s left to do is dive right in.

4. Enjoy yourself!

You’re less likely to stick with routines you don’t enjoy. For example, forcing yourself to eat kale even though you dislike the taste could sabotage your efforts to eat healthier.

To boost your chances of sticking with your new routine, find tiny, easy ways to make it more enjoyable.

Try new recipes and cooking methods with your favorite ingredients, listen to your favorite playlist while eating, invite a friend to cook with you — experiment to find what feels best to you.

5. Just do it (often and imperfectly)

Repetition is key, but life will get in the way sometimes. If you miss a day, or if things don’t go perfectly, give yourself some grace.

Get back on track as quickly as you can, and your new routine will cement into a habit before you know it!

🪅 Flocus Picks

A curated list of things worth sharing.

• Using Temptation Bundling to Make Habits More Fun (Article) — How to combine the fun stuff you’d rather be doing, like watching TV, with the boring stuff you have to do, like working out

• Change Your Life, One Tiny Step at a Time (YouTube) — Learn the science behind routines & habits, plus more tips and tricks, in 10 minutes

• Stardew Valley Soundtrack (Playlist) — This cozy playlist is sure to put a pep in your step as you power through your habits!

🖥️ Flocus: All-in-One Dashboard

Check out Flocus, our free, browser-based dashboard, for tools to help you level up your routines & habits! Featuring a custom Pomodoro timer, ambient sounds, aesthetic backgrounds, and more.

Open in Browser

Successfully upgrading a routine into a habit indicates mastery. If you’ve done it, give yourself a pat on the back!

But if you haven’t, that’s okay, too. Like we said, it takes a lot of time, effort, and patience. Keep this in mind as you forge ahead with your healthy habits — you got this! 💪

Until next Sunday,

Flocus Team