10 Ways to Add More Variety to Your Routine

Last Updated on June 7, 2022

I’m sure you can relate to feeling a little stale and bored with the current state of life, especially spending so much time from home over the past year. Somehow it’s made time feel like it’s passing by slowly yet incredibly quickly.

I’ve felt as if everything is happening within a box, from the walls of my apartment to the digital screens that my eyeballs have been glued to. Though I’ve always been a bit of a homebody, I realize now how much I took the opportunity to do things outside for granted.

It’s easy to lose a sense of joy and excitement when life gets repetitive. As much as I love routines, I know I need to switch things up to prevent boredom and lack of motivation. After all, variety in life is important for avoiding burnout.

In this post, I’m sharing 10 tips to help you get out of a funk and add variety to your routine. Keep reading if you’re looking to switch things up!

How to add variety to your routine

Sometimes you have to accept that life is moving more slowly than anticipated, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add some variety at the same time. Life is about tiny little daily joys. Whenever life starts to feel a little stale, here are some tips to help switch things up:

1. Create something without an agenda

 Do something for the sake of fun and creativity, rather than for the sake of productivity (e.g. paint, knit, doodle, start a bullet journal).

2. Create something WITH an agenda

Start that business, podcast, or blog that you’ve been thinking about forever. Create something with the intention of selling it. Think of one thing you keep “meaning to try” but haven’t because you’re afraid for whatever reason. Then challenge yourself to do it every day.

3. Listen to, watch, and read new types of content

If you tend to stick to the same genres of media, branch out and try some new things. Read books you wouldn’t usually read, listen to different types of music, and watch shows that explore unfamiliar topics.

4. Try new recipes or a new way of eating

Make cooking something to look forward to by finding new recipes that you haven’t tried making before. You could also try new ways of eating, like going vegan or vegetarian for a month.

 5. Create different routines for different days

If you usually do the same morning routine every day, try switching it up every other day. For example, I usually work out at home M-F, but I’ve started going for a long walk instead a few times a week. You could create one morning routine for Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and another for Tuesdays and Thursdays.

6. Re-imagine your space

If your living space doesn’t inspire you, add new sense experiences like candles, lights, flowers, or plants. Keep things fresh by moving around furniture, switching out cushion covers, or re-arranging your bookshelves.

7. Learn something new

There’s always more to learn about the world and ourselves. Try learning a new language, how to code, how to take good photos, how to take care of plants, or how to make your own clothes. The great thing is that there are so many free resources to learn this online (YouTube, Skillshare, blogs, etc).

8. Take a challenge

Over the years, I’ve tried different challenges to switch up my routine and test my ability to stick to something. It’s fun to document the process as well, whether that’s writing about it, filming a video, or sharing your progress with others. 

Here are some ideas:

• 30 days of yoga
• 30 days of writing morning pages
• 7 days of mindfulness
• 30 days without social media

9. Connect with others

Connection and community are important to your well-being. There’s so much to learn from other people, plus connecting with other people (even online) can make our lives more interesting. During lockdown, I’ve been having bi-weekly FaceTime calls with a friend which has made our friendship stronger and given me something to look forward to.

10. Work on your personal growth

It’s important to improve ourselves (in a compassionate way, of course) to avoid getting stuck in the same habits and patterns we’ve always had. A great way to find out what you might need to work on is through the Wellness Wheel (or Wheel of Life) exercise. Grab the worksheet here to see which areas of your life you can improve on.

What’s one thing you’re going to try? Leave a comment!

I hope this post has given you some ideas to add variety to your routine. Whether you’re stuck at home or not, come back to this post whenever you want to switch things up!