Having structure and routine in your everyday life helps you to get things done, and to achieve your goals. Sometimes however, you may feel that the mundanity of your existence is grinding you down. Do you ever ask yourself, “Is this all there is?” or “Is this my life every day until I retire?”
It’s true that consistency gives meaning to your life. You know what you’re supposed to be doing and when. It can get to the stage however, when your schedule feels like it rules you, and you have ceased to find the magic in life. When you feel under pressure, it is time to stop and be kind to yourself. Take more self-care. How do you do this? It’s quite simple really. You break up your daily routine and you make every single day different in some way.
Notice your habits and do something different. Wear your watch on the wrong wrist, go to work a different way, eat something entirely new that you’ve never tried, go for a drink with someone different, watch a TV programme you would never normally watch, use a new shower gel, perfume or aftershave.
Give someone else responsibility for something. Whether this is giving part of your work to someone else, or asking a partner or child to shop and make the dinner, why not try it?
Try something entirely new. You may be put off doing something new because you are frightened of making a mistake or failing, but this is entirely the point of life. When we feel safe, we don’t learn anything new. By trying and failing we are opening our lives and ourselves to new possibilities. Experiment and explore and embrace failure, because if you are always successful you are not seeing life from every angle and you are not a whole person. You don’t have to try to conquer Everest, you could try saving it instead. Or challenge yourself to do one brand new thing every day no matter how small.
Seek out new places. The opening credits of Star Trek tell us to, “explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before,” and this is a great mantra when it comes to living life. You don’t have to journey into the wilds of Borneo, or immerse yourself in Mayan culture (although that would be fabulous!) it could just mean visiting a new coffee shop, seeking out independent shops in the back streets, reading a new author or listening to music you have bought, just because you like the cover. Or try speaking to someone you don’t know. Find out more about new people and broaden your experiences.
Take stock of your bad habits. Is there anything you do that wastes time or energy or money? If you can identify them, try and eliminate them from your routine and puts something else in its place. For example, if you always buy an expensive coffee on the way to work, make yourself a flask and use the money saved to buy a magazine that you wouldn’t normally read. Broaden your horizons through the written word.
Decide on a ‘fresh start’. For some reason, research suggests that you are more likely to be successful when it comes to exercise or dieting when you convince yourself you are having a ‘fresh start’, so start a new regime at the beginning of the year, the month or the week.
Observe the world around you. Have you ever really watched your neighbourhood? Do you know what your colleagues at work do? Try it and see what avenues of life this takes you down.
Network. If you want to get ahead with your career, network upwards. If you want to get ahead in life, network with everyone.
Make time for you. If you feel that your life is routine and humdrum it may just be that you need a little time for yourself. What is it that you like to do that helps you relax? A gentle walk? A hot bath? Some time curled up on the sofa with a pot of tea and a good book? Try to incorporate 30 minutes doing one thing that you love to do every day, and life will not feel so routine.
Be nice. Do something nice for one person every day and it will help you feel that your life has meaning. It can be as simple as holding a door open, or hugging a friend.
Sometimes the best of life, new energy, and increased creativity can be found outside of your usual routine. Keep your routines largely in place because they will make your life work for you, but find ways to break them too. You never know when breaking your routine will help to unlock great new ideas, both personally and professionally, and create space for new ideas and a more receptive and positive outlook.
Created by Tom Vermeersch (bio)
Tom Vermeersch is a certified Psychologist and Bach flower expert with more than 30 years of experience.
Dealing with British Summer Time
Some people are overly sensitive to the time change and it can take days, if not weeks, for them to feel right again, while others barely even notice.
Negative thinking can hold you back from making a success of your life and achieving your dreams. It also has a significant effect on both our physical and mental health; research has demonstrated that people who have negative thought patterns experience fewer opportunities and more stress and physical illness.
Staying healthy as we get older is vitally important. Are you healthy? Take our DIY test and look out for points of concern. Take action now.
Find out if you’re (secretly) a perfectionist
Can setting high standards for yourself ever be a problem? For most people, striving for perfection would be considered a positive thing. For example, musicians only reach concert standard after thousands of hours of practice and athletes can't reach peak performance without long hours of training.
10 subtle ways to appear more confident
No one feels confident all the time! But whether at work, as a parent or in your relationships, appearing confident is the secret to success. Follow our tips, and you'll appear more confident in any situation.
How to be less judgemental of others (and yourself!)
Do you feel you’re always criticising and judging everyone, yourself included? Do you feel bad about it afterwards? You’re certainly not alone! Read on to discover how you can judge less and start to accept things the way they are.
Are you truly happy? – Take the test!
Happiness depends on yourself. If you decide to feel happy, you are happy. Do you feel happy at the moment or rather not? Take the test and find out!
Standing Up To A Narcissistic Pervert
Whether it's with a romantic partner or a housemate, there's no doubt that a relationship with a narcissist can be very challenging. But are there ways to cope better? Or is it better to leave the relationship?
Seven tips for finding peace in a chaotic world
The world's changed beyond recognition in the last few decades. In 1980, there were only three TV channels to choose from, and not everyone had a landline - people often wrote letters to stay in touch with one another! Computer games were in their infancy, and video recorders were still a novelty. If you wanted something, you would go shopping, or perhaps order it by post and wait a week or two for delivery.
Almost at the end of your tether? What to do
Dawn’s breaking and you’ve barely slept all night. Instead of waking up ready to face the day, you feel as if you’ll never catch up with all the urgent stuff that needs doing. Stressful thoughts circle in your head, and you feel exhausted and burned out. Sounds familiar? You’re not alone!
Having structure and routine in your everyday life helps you to get things done, and to achieve your goals. Sometimes however, you may feel that the mundanity of your existence is grinding you down. Do you ever ask yourself, “Is this all there is?” or “Is this my life every day until I retire?”
It’s true that consistency gives meaning to your life. You know what you’re supposed to be doing and when. It can get to the stage however, when your schedule feels like it rules you, and you have ceased to find the magic in life. When you feel under pressure, it is time to stop and be kind to yourself. Take more self-care. How do you do this? It’s quite simple really. You break up your daily routine and you make every single day different in some way.
Notice your habits and do something different. Wear your watch on the wrong wrist, go to work a different way, eat something entirely new that you’ve never tried, go for a drink with someone different, watch a TV programme you would never normally watch, use a new shower gel, perfume or aftershave.
Give someone else responsibility for something. Whether this is giving part of your work to someone else, or asking a partner or child to shop and make the dinner, why not try it?
Try something entirely new. You may be put off doing something new because you are frightened of making a mistake or failing, but this is entirely the point of life. When we feel safe, we don’t learn anything new. By trying and failing we are opening our lives and ourselves to new possibilities. Experiment and explore and embrace failure, because if you are always successful you are not seeing life from every angle and you are not a whole person. You don’t have to try to conquer Everest, you could try saving it instead. Or challenge yourself to do one brand new thing every day no matter how small.
Seek out new places. The opening credits of Star Trek tell us to, “explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before,” and this is a great mantra when it comes to living life. You don’t have to journey into the wilds of Borneo, or immerse yourself in Mayan culture (although that would be fabulous!) it could just mean visiting a new coffee shop, seeking out independent shops in the back streets, reading a new author or listening to music you have bought, just because you like the cover. Or try speaking to someone you don’t know. Find out more about new people and broaden your experiences.
Take stock of your bad habits. Is there anything you do that wastes time or energy or money? If you can identify them, try and eliminate them from your routine and puts something else in its place. For example, if you always buy an expensive coffee on the way to work, make yourself a flask and use the money saved to buy a magazine that you wouldn’t normally read. Broaden your horizons through the written word.
Decide on a ‘fresh start’. For some reason, research suggests that you are more likely to be successful when it comes to exercise or dieting when you convince yourself you are having a ‘fresh start’, so start a new regime at the beginning of the year, the month or the week.
Observe the world around you. Have you ever really watched your neighbourhood? Do you know what your colleagues at work do? Try it and see what avenues of life this takes you down.
Network. If you want to get ahead with your career, network upwards. If you want to get ahead in life, network with everyone.
Make time for you. If you feel that your life is routine and humdrum it may just be that you need a little time for yourself. What is it that you like to do that helps you relax? A gentle walk? A hot bath? Some time curled up on the sofa with a pot of tea and a good book? Try to incorporate 30 minutes doing one thing that you love to do every day, and life will not feel so routine.
Be nice. Do something nice for one person every day and it will help you feel that your life has meaning. It can be as simple as holding a door open, or hugging a friend.
Sometimes the best of life, new energy, and increased creativity can be found outside of your usual routine. Keep your routines largely in place because they will make your life work for you, but find ways to break them too. You never know when breaking your routine will help to unlock great new ideas, both personally and professionally, and create space for new ideas and a more receptive and positive outlook.
Some people are overly sensitive to the time change and it can take days, if not weeks, for them to feel right again, while others barely even notice.
Read the complete article
Negative thinking can hold you back from making a success of your life and achieving your dreams. It also has a significant effect on both our physical and mental health; research has demonstrated that people who have negative thought patterns experience fewer opportunities and more stress and physical illness.
Staying healthy as we get older is vitally important. Are you healthy? Take our DIY test and look out for points of concern. Take action now.
Can setting high standards for yourself ever be a problem? For most people, striving for perfection would be considered a positive thing. For example, musicians only reach concert standard after thousands of hours of practice and athletes can't reach peak performance without long hours of training.
No one feels confident all the time! But whether at work, as a parent or in your relationships, appearing confident is the secret to success. Follow our tips, and you'll appear more confident in any situation.
Do you feel you’re always criticising and judging everyone, yourself included? Do you feel bad about it afterwards? You’re certainly not alone! Read on to discover how you can judge less and start to accept things the way they are.
Happiness depends on yourself. If you decide to feel happy, you are happy. Do you feel happy at the moment or rather not? Take the test and find out!
Whether it's with a romantic partner or a housemate, there's no doubt that a relationship with a narcissist can be very challenging. But are there ways to cope better? Or is it better to leave the relationship?
The world's changed beyond recognition in the last few decades. In 1980, there were only three TV channels to choose from, and not everyone had a landline - people often wrote letters to stay in touch with one another! Computer games were in their infancy, and video recorders were still a novelty. If you wanted something, you would go shopping, or perhaps order it by post and wait a week or two for delivery.
Dawn’s breaking and you’ve barely slept all night. Instead of waking up ready to face the day, you feel as if you’ll never catch up with all the urgent stuff that needs doing. Stressful thoughts circle in your head, and you feel exhausted and burned out. Sounds familiar? You’re not alone!
Read the complete articleBach Flowers are not medicinal but harmless plant extracts which are used to support health.
© 2026 Mariepure - Webdesign Publi4u
