Routines are what we set up that ideally become habits in our daily lives to make them run more smoothly without having to even think about them.
“To Do” lists usually consist of the urgent stuff with deadlines that needs to be taken care of. Don’t add lots of things to your list every day: only do a few things that you can realistically accomplish; spread out the rest for the rest of the week. Trust me when I say that it feels good to actually complete your “to do” list each day. You’ll be more focused and feel less guilty when you are more realistic about what you can accomplish … and, you will have some time left over to fit in the important things.
Baby steps are the logical progression of what needs to be done in order to achieve our important goals and projects.
Routines and "to do's" typically have a greater sense of urgency to get done which leaves little time in our busy lives to fit in the important things. I believe in balance which is why I recommend structuring “baby steps” in a way that we spend at least 15 minutes a day in each section of importance in our lives based on our values. Currently for my group these are broken down as:
Fun / Relational
Spiritual / Personal Growth
Health / Diet / Exercise
Financial / Career
Organize / Other
I urge everyone to spend some time reflecting on their values and then fit in 15 minutes a day in activities that make some forward movement toward achieving things in our lives that truly matter. Don’t obsess about how much time you think something will take … just focus on 15 minute chunks of time. Our subconscious mind does not know the difference between a little or a lot of time … it only recognizes progress, and when it realizes we are seriously pursuing our goals, it will stop blocking us and create more creative ways of achieving what we value in life. Have fun with this!