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Find meaning and satisfaction inside and outside of your daily routine
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A routine is vital for many, but sometimes the redundancy of life can take the excitement out of everyday living and cause feelings of boredom or even mild depression. Often, though, all it takes is a little initiative and open-mindedness to shake ourselves from that funk. That’s why we chatted with life and recovery coaches to bring you simple ways to step outside a rote daily routine, and also how to find joy in the natural patterns of living.
Things You Should Know
- Change your appearance for a quick and easy personal reset. Get a new haircut, remix your wardrobe, or even get a tattoo or piercing to have fun with your looks.
- Identify your comfort zone, then take a step outside it by trying something that other people enjoy but you might not care for, like a new cuisine.
- Change your daily routine to dramatically alter your day-to-day life. Wake up earlier, take a new route to work, or even redecorate your home.
Steps
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Switch up your style or appearance. New hair, new you! Get a trim, and ask the barber what sort of cut they recommend for your face. Or, hit the mall or the thrift store and grab a new outfit (or 3). Often, changing your appearance is a shortcut to feeling reinvigorated and refreshed.
- Dye your hair , or use temporary dyes to switch up your hair color as often as you want.
- Get a tattoo or a piercing. They’re more permanent than a haircut, but a tattoo can be a fun way to document your values, friendships, or milestones. Be sure you consider carefully what you want and shop around for the best artist.
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Take a step outside your comfort zone. Life coach Sandra Possing says to “do things that scare you.” [1] X Expert Source Sandra Possing
Life Coach Expert Interview. 13 August 2020. Life often feels drab when we stay firmly in our comfort zones, which often isn’t actually very comfortable. Think of something that other people enjoy, but which doesn’t quite appeal to you, and try it anyway to bust out of that comfort zone !- Try a new sport, a new cuisine, a new class, caring for a new (and easy) pet, a new hobby (photography, painting, sculpting, collecting). The options are limitless!
- Recovery coach Kamila Tan adds, “I always encourage clients to open their minds and hearts, skip any judgment about a new experience before it happens, and then decide which of those new experiences they want to incorporate into their lives.”
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Add some variety to date night to spice up your relationship. If you and your partner don't have a date night at all, set aside time each week to be together doing things you love; it can help strengthen your relationship. [2] X Research source If you do have a regular date night, but it’s become a predictable routine (dinner and a movie, anyone?), go somewhere unfamiliar or try something new together to shake things up.
- Do something outside your normal routine; consider taking dancing lessons, going rock climbing, taking a couples' painting class, or even just trying a new recipe together.
- If you’re single, consider mingling at local singles’ nights, hopping on the dating apps, or just talking to someone you like. A relationship—even a casual one—can add that special something back to your daily life.
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Make new friends, and be more spontaneous with old ones. Sometimes we get too into the “roles” of our friendships that they become stale, or we forget that there are always new and exciting people waiting to enter our lives, if we just look for them. But studies show that lively and intimate platonic relationships help combat depression and ward off stress and disappointment. [3] X Research source
- If your conversations or time spent with your current friends is stale, invite them somewhere exciting to make new memories to talk about.
- Catch a great concert, set fitness goals together (for instance, to train for a marathon), or learn a new hobby or skill together to give you more great topics for conversation.
- Also, try to coordinate small activities on short notice to make things more exciting. Call up your friend right now and ask if they want to grab lunch!
- Make new friends by hanging out in places relevant to your interests, like a local gym if you're into fitness, or art galleries if you’re a creative.
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Shake up your work routine, or even your career. Work comprises the majority of our waking hours during the week, and tweaking how you spend those hours can dramatically shift your routine. Try a new route or mode of transportation for your commute, ask if you can work at a different desk or at home, or even ask for a new assignment or learn a new field within your company. [4] X Research source
- If your job is the main culprit in your feelings of repetitiveness, consider looking for new employment that might be more fulfilling. Take an online career aptitude test to see what you're well-suited for, then start looking in your area for a new position.
- Think about what types of careers might be more interesting and offer more opportunities for different experiences each day.
- Of course, be sure you don't quit your current job until you have something else lined up in writing, or else you might end up out of work.
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Change up your daily routine. Even if you can't change other aspects of your life, you can alter the parts that are in your own control to add more variety. There are a million different ways to live a single day, even if your schedule is mostly the same from one day to the next. For example:
- Get up an hour earlier than you normally do and go for a run or a walk outside. This helps your mood, can alleviate your anxiety, boost your immune system, and let you enjoy the best part of the day as you move. [5] X Trustworthy Source MedlinePlus Collection of medical information sourced from the US National Library of Medicine Go to source
- Try a new bar, restaurant, or recipe. Sticking to the same haunts every weekend is dull and prevents you from meeting new people and trying new things.
- Pick up a new hobby or art form. Something new to do on weekends can help alleviate your boredom, add variety to life, and give you something to look forward to when the week feels long and dreary.
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Rearrange, redecorate, or declutter your home. Redecorating engages your creativity and helps you achieve a sense of accomplishment. [6] X Research source What’s more, the layout and look of our homes often influence the ways we live, and switching that up automatically alters our routines.
- Move your furniture into new configurations. A new view from the couch can shift your perspective and lend a sense of freshness to a room.
- Paint your walls to alter the general mood of your home. Cool blues and greens are often refreshing and soothing, while warm reds or yellows are comforting and cozy.
- Declutter your space to help you also declutter your mind. A messy home can distract or frustrate your brain, which worsens your disposition.
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Make a bucket list of things to do when you’re aimless. Having a list of all the things you’d like to do, big or small, gives you something to look to for inspiration any time you’re stuck in a rut. Jot down anything and everything you’ve always wanted to try, from picking up that niche hobby to traveling the world, then place it somewhere you can see it every day. [7] X Research source
- Make sure your list includes some easy things as well as more difficult ones, and some free or cheap things as well as things that cost money. This gives you fun things to do now, plus things to work toward.
- Include things like places to visit, things to see, experiences to have, achievements you like to make, people you'd like to meet, things you'd like to experience with a friend or loved one, and skills you'd like to learn.
- Do 1 thing on your list every month. If you're feeling ambitious, up it to every week. By adding in a totally new experience every month, you automatically keep life from being too overly repetitive.
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Quiz
wikiHow Quiz: What Should I Do?
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Practice mindfulness to help you stay rooted in the present. Life coach Sandra Possing recommends mindfulness , or meditation rooted in your bodily senses, to stay in tune with the world around you. [8] X Expert Source Sandra Possing
Life Coach Expert Interview. 13 August 2020. It involves focusing your mind on the sensations of the moment and analyzing how we’re experiencing the world instead of considering our responses to reality "good" or "bad." [9] X Trustworthy Source Greater Good Magazine Journal published by UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, which uses scientific research to promote happier living Go to source- Practicing mindfulness has been shown to increase the body's ability to fight illness, stress, and depression as well as empathy, satisfaction with life, and our ability to create meaningful relationships. [10] X Trustworthy Source Greater Good Magazine Journal published by UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center, which uses scientific research to promote happier living Go to source
- Possing recommends a daily 5-minute meditation. Close your eyes and focus on your 5 senses for a full minute each. What do you see? Taste? Smell? Feel? Hear? [11]
X
Expert Source
Sandra Possing
Life Coach Expert Interview. 13 August 2020.
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Ask questions about the world around you to stay engaged. The world around you, repetitive as it may seem, is full of mysteries just waiting to be cracked open. Even the smallest things come with questions to explore. Look around you and start asking “Why?” and “How?” then turn to the internet or a local library to find answers. There’s always something to explore! For example:
- What sort of birds frequent your area? What do they eat? What’s their life cycle?
- What’s the history of the land on which you live? Who lived there 10, 100, or even 1,000 years ago?
- How do stoplights know when to change? Why are streets designed the way they are? Who decides where new roads go? etc.
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Look for moments of engagement in repetitive jobs. Many necessary jobs are repetitive in nature—assembly lines, fast food jobs,and accounting, just to name a few. You may not be able to switch careers, but you can try some of the following to make your work more rewarding:
- Listen to music or books on tape with headphones if you can. Have meaningful and challenging conversations with coworkers. Do something that engages your mind like learning a new language on your breaks.
- Set goals for your workday and reward yourself if you meet them, which studies show helps make work more palatable. [12] X Research source
- Find the positive aspects of your work: are you making the world safer, healthier, smarter somehow? Are you helping to keep people fed or bringing joy to people's daily lives?
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Reflect on and write about the small changes in your life. Sometimes, we don’t realize exactly how much our lives have changed since those changes have been so gradual. But many small changes over time add up. Think: Is there something that you were doing last year, last month, or even last week that looks different today?
- For example, maybe there’s a new coffee shop on the corner; a friend moved to a new apartment that you visit; you’ve spent time with a new book, album, or game; you’ve been thinking about new ideas, etc.
- Consider the seasons, as well, which are closely tied with our lifestyles and emotions. [13] X Research source How does living in winter look different from summer? How have you adapted your life to the weather?
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Develop a spiritual or philosophical practice. One way that many people have been able to accept and make meaning from the cycle of daily life is through religious, spiritual, or philosophical orientations toward life. [14] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source Use this time as an opportunity to explore what you believe and why.
- Consider joining a church or religious organization. All faiths have practices, rituals, and teachings that harmonize the repetitiveness of nature and culture with higher meaning.
- If you’re not religious, learn about existentialism or other continental philosophies that deal with the nature of reality and the purpose of life. A philosophical approach to the redundancy of life can help us take responsibility for our roles in it.
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Talk to a therapist if your emotions start to decline. If your feelings of repetition and dissatisfaction are chronic, or are too much to handle yourself, schedule an appointment with a licensed therapist or psychologist. Professional help can pinpoint and alleviate underlying problems you may not have been aware of. [15] X Trustworthy Source HelpGuide Nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, evidence-based mental health and wellness resources. Go to source
- In the United States or Canada, call 911 or call or text 988 to reach a suicide crisis helpline. In other countries, do an internet search to determine the right number to call or talk to your mental health care provider immediately.
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionHow can I make my life less boring?Sandra Possing is a life coach, speaker, and entrepreneur based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sandra specializes in one-on-one coaching with a focus on mindset and leadership transformation. Sandra received her coaching training from The Coaches Training Institute and has seven years of life coaching experience. She holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles.Try something new that scares you! You could take a class, try a new sport, or start a conversation with a stranger. Getting out of your comfort zone will definitely make things more interesting. You might even find a new hobby in the process.
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Tips
- Try to get 5-10 minutes of sunlight each day to keep your mind and body in working order, or take a vitamin supplement to get nutrients you otherwise miss out on. [16] X Trustworthy Source HelpGuide Nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, evidence-based mental health and wellness resources. Go to sourceThanks
- Limit your screen time to about an hour a day, if possible. Studies show that excessive screen time can be detrimental to mental health. [17] X Research sourceThanks
- Start a journal and make notes of your day or just the contents of your mind at the moment. Not only will this help organize your day but you can maybe gain insight about yourself as well.Thanks
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References
- ↑ Sandra Possing. Life Coach. Expert Interview. 13 August 2020.
- ↑ https://news.virginia.edu/content/make-date-night-habit-report-advises-weekly-couple-time-relationship-booster
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/platonic-love/201909/how-friends-alter-your-perception-stress
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-to-do-life/201508/countering-im-bored-syndrome
- ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/benefitsofexercise.html
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-creativity-cure/201404/rearranging-the-furniture-makes-me-feel-better-2
- ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/202111/how-create-your-bucket-list
- ↑ Sandra Possing. Life Coach. Expert Interview. 13 August 2020.
- ↑ http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition#what_is
- ↑ http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition#what_is
- ↑ Sandra Possing. Life Coach. Expert Interview. 13 August 2020.
- ↑ http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1969-11967-001
- ↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08941920309189#.VlimLL9qZcM
- ↑ http://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/12/believe.aspx
- ↑ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/i-feel-depressed.htm
- ↑ https://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/i-feel-depressed.htm
- ↑ https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/yale-study-probes-connection-between-excessive-screen-media-activity-and-mental-health-problems-in-youth/
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