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!
22 Responses
I like the idea of switching up your routine on different days. I’ve been experimenting with writing my routine hour by hour to reduce any need for decision making. I’ll have to try switching things every other day! Also I absolutely love doing challenges. When I think about doing yoga everyday of my life I know I won’t be able to keep that up. But I can try to for 30 days!
Hi Catherine. This was such a useful post. I’ve been feeling really depressed lately because my routine has become so repetitive. Also, i love my parents who I live with, but being with them 24/7 can get exhausting. Your email with your post came to me at the perfect time. I will try out your tips today.
YES TO ROUTINES! But I absolutely agree, it is always great, and sometimes necessary, to switch them up. My routines are more about making sure I prioritize different aspects of my growth and development, but then within those routines I strive to make improvements. Thanks for the post!
Love that, Natalie!
Excellent read, and appreciate your information.
Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for the wonderful ideas outlined in this post for switching my routine up a bit. I’m planning to try to incorporate the fitness routine variety for the next 30 days! I’m excited to have some many new ideas to think about along the way and am grateful to you for providing the Wellness Wheel Worksheet. Thanks, again.
Yay I love that this helped, Vanessa!
Love this post so much! I’m always stuck in a rut, thanks for sharing :)
So glad this was helpful, Pavis!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of taking a new challenge to engage my mind and be a little creative. Morning pages is something I think could really benefit my anxious mind and get my thoughts down onto paper. I’ve somewhat dabbled into the idea of blogging here and there and think it could be something I would enjoy doing! The challenge of writing morning pages might be just the thing I need to get my creative juices flowing for new brainstorm ideas!
Yess I’m so glad to hear you like the idea, Tori! It’s a really great practice.
I was thinking about changing my daily routine and your blog really helpful ana excited , you made me like statring from now to change my routine ❤️❤️, thank you catherine
You’re welcome, Dana!
Love this post so much!
Sometimes hard to make your daily life a bit funnier & add some excitement especially right now :p.
So THANKS :D
Definitely a challenge! Glad you liked the post, Mathilde.
Thanks for sharing wonderful ideas..
Routines are needed in so many ways, and switching them up from time to time is great. I love how you have incorporated learning new skills into changing up your routine.
Thanks so much, Ryan!
Love this post . Thanks for sharing
Daily routines does need changes from time to time. Loved your article especially doing something without agenda because we never know in the name of fun we might create something beautiful.
I crave variety so much! there is so much in life that i want to enjoy, and I have so many interests and hobbies, I guess i want to do it all but I know that I cannot. I guess the key in life is to be well-rounded, get a little bit of everything and anything that you feel resonates with you( and there’s a lot!) and enjoy what you like. “You do you”, as they say. I also like the notion of “spicing things up” and not doing the same thing over and over again, no “double dipping” like going to the same restaurant or the same park again and again. At least this works for me. Thanks for the awesome article I just discovered it now.