“Overwhelmed” is one of the most frequent responses I have with leaders, especially women. Sometimes it’s the first word out of her mouth when I ask how she’s doing. Other times it takes a couple questions before it’s revealed.
I hate that for us. It doesn’t lead you toward your whole self.
Good news? What’s revealed can be transformed.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, healthy routines and habits can transform how you engage your life and make decisions. I’m ALWAYS looking for neuroscience based hacks to reducing overwhelm. I wanted to share 3 top benefits to creating routines with you today.
1️⃣ 🧠 Brain Boost: Routines help reduce your mental load by turning repeated actions into habits. For example: meal planning, workouts, energy bursts, meeting prep. When an activity becomes routine, it requires less conscious effort and decision-making, allowing your brain to focus on more complex tasks. This boost is linked to your basal ganglia, the part of your brain involved in habit formation, which frees up mental energy for creativity and problem-solving.
2️⃣🧘🏽♀️ Stress Less: Consistent routines can reduce stress levels by providing more stability and healthy control. When you know what to expect, it reduces uncertainty and anxiety, which are big stressors. Routines help regulate your body’s stress response, lowering cortisol levels and helping you be calm in spite of the storms.
3️⃣ 💤 Satisfying Sleep: Your physical wholeness is supported by sleep. It’s one of the four pillars! Sleep routines that include 7-9 hours/night help regulate your circadian rhythm (aka your body’s internal clock). Having a consistent bedtime routine signals to your brain that it’s time to wind down, increasing the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. This leads to better sleep quality, which is crucial for overall physical health, emotional regulation, cognitive function.
Once again, you can see how a simple shift in one thing has benefits in multiple wholeness dimensions. Similarly, ignoring creating healthy routines will result in a domino effect of undesirable results.
What’s one simple shift you make today in your routines? Tell me for extra accountability. *wink*
Last week I shared about why you must disrupt your routine. As with most everything, it’s a both/and – create routines and then disrupt them for the best results. You can read about that HERE and share with a friend who’d benefit. 🧡