How to implement a daily ritual
5 crucial implementation steps you need to consider
I’m writing this as much to you, as to myself. There are certain things that I want to do in the morning, that I somehow don’t prioritize. I know they would be extremely good for me, for my mind, for my health and for my creative self, and yet, I don’t do them as regularly as I would want to. They are in the back of my head every morning though, so instead of just thinking of them, I should really start doing them.
So, why don’t I? Why don’t you?
I believe it’s because of two significant reasons. We haven’t really thought about WHY it would be good for us, which leads to that we don’t PRIORITIZE ourselves.
Therefore, before kicking off your daily ritual again, take a couple of minutes and think of WHY you want to have a daily ritual. Without knowing the purpose, why you want to do something, you won’t give it as much attention as it may deserve.
Just because your next-door neighbour has a morning ritual and looks extremely fit isn’t a good enough reason. Think about yourself.
Why do YOU need a morning ritual?
Write down the purpose of your morning ritual on a piece of paper and put it up somewhere where you can see it. That’s your daily reminder. Right there, in front of you, there is your reason for why you need your morning ritual.
Okay, got that one down. But that isn’t enough. There might be things that happen, which could impact you so that you will stop doing your ritual. You need to be aware of those showstoppers so you can eliminate them. When I wrote this, it felt as if I was back in Corporate Risk Management for a while. But to be fair, the approach is not that different. We need to identify the potential risks so that we can either prevent them from happening or act on them if they should occur.
Here comes therefore the 5 crucial steps you need to consider making sure you’ll be able to implement a daily ritual.
1. Continue even when your daily life changes
How to continue with your daily ritual when the life changes? It can be as simple as that all of a sudden, it’s weekend. You have done your daily ritual every morning, Monday through Friday. You’re in a flow and boom here comes Saturday and Sunday. Your daily ritual may be exchanged with sleeping in, longer breakfast, visiting the parents, the washing, the cleaning, the cooking, the grocery shopping…
You need to squeeze in your daily ritual even on the weekend, or when the children are home from school, or when you’re on a holiday. That’s the thing. It’s your daily ritual, and it makes you a better person. Prioritize that better person, even when life changes.
2. Finding the right time
In a busy, or even in a regular workweek, it can be extremely hard to find the time slot to do your daily ritual. I know.
There was a time during my corporate career that I got up at 05:00 every morning to manage all the day’s to do:s – and none of those to do:s included time for myself. Not even a walk, or any type of weekly exercise. I prioritized work and the family. Even though my husband and I have an equal relationship, there was always something with the kids or the house that had to be managed. I couldn’t get up any earlier and in the evenings I was exhausted. I didn’t have any spare energy. So, I put myself and my well-being way down the priority list.
You need to give yourself a push, right up to the top of that list. You are important. Really important. Take a look at that agenda of yours again and schedule your daily “me-time”. Decide on the time that you will do it tomorrow, and the day after. It will not be set in stone, you will have to adjust the timing anyways because of various reasons (see 1 above).
3. Seek support
Is there a way that you can be supported to keep the promise to yourself?
I have an unexpected supporter. Every morning after breakfast, my youngest son says, “Aren’t you going to do your yoga today?”. Sweet isn’t it? Well, he doesn’t ask me to be kind, he asks for himself. He doesn’t want to be upstairs alone, whereas his solution to the problem is that while he’s getting prepared to go to school, I do my 15 minutes yoga ritual. Which is great and a true win-win situation. Because, it reminds me to do my daily yoga and while doing it I feel even better, since I’m also there for my son.
You may not have someone that can support you in that way at home but all types of resources count. Maybe you have a friend who would also like to implement a daily morning ritual. Could you support and remind each other? What about your calendar – would that be sufficient? That you set a daily reminder to do it. Anything else you can come to think of? All resources that help you keep your promise to yourself are good ones.
But, think of my son – his WHY wasn’t to make mom have a great start of the day, he had a completely different motivation. The same goes for your supporters. If they don’t see the reason behind why they should remind you, they probably won’t do it forever.
4. Just Do It
Using the old Nike slogan – just do it. Just start, do it now. Don’t wait until tomorrow, or the weekend.
Even if it’s not in the morning just now, and you want to have this as your morning ritual, do it now anyways. It will make you feel proud and you can tick off today already as done. Tomorrow is already day two and you’re one day ahead of schedule.
5. Don’t beat yourself up
If you miss out on your ritual, one day, a couple of days, a week or a month, don’t beat yourself up. You can’t change that anyways. Sometimes life does come in between, and we prioritize other things, that is okay.
But if you truly need this morning ritual, you need to prioritize it. Remember your WHY? That means you need to prioritize yourself.
I have been talking about a daily morning ritual, because that’s what I want to have. That doesn’t necessarily mean that morning is the exact right timing for you. Have a look at the 5 implementation considerations above again. Think about what they mean to you, be kind to yourself and start with your daily ritual already today.
Let me know how it goes!
