What is a structured life

A structured life consists of a planned life where things are organized and mapped out, and there’s much clarity on what needs to be done and when.

Establishing structure entails following a daily routine and working in a set pattern that gives your life a rhythm and sense of balance.

Importance of structure and routines

Building some sort of structure in your day-to-day work allows you to focus on your priorities, work productively and effectively, and at the same time be able to free up time to spend with your family or do things you love doing.

Maintaining a structure in life, therefore, helps you be in control of things. You operate from a calm space and can better make choices and decisions.

When your day is organized, and you have the bigger picture of things in your mind, you find it easy to say no to things that don’t serve you, navigate the trivia, and stay away from distractions.

A structured life helps you stay on track, be more consistent at work and achieve goals faster.

Keeping life organized may seem difficult, especially if you’re not used to it. But simple everyday practices can help you pave the way towards more order and structure in your life.

Here are six ways to structure your life and shift from chaos to clarity and calm.

1. Know your priorities

An unorganized day can look like a stream of tasks, chores, and responsibilities that exhausts you physically and drains you out mentally and emotionally. What’s worse is, at the end of the day, you realize you haven’t accomplished much.

To structure your day, you must list your priorities and keep them at the front and center so that the low-impact tasks or distractions don’t off-track you or steal your attention away from the high-priority ones.

When your eye is on the most critical tasks, you can design and plan your day around your priorities and act in line with them to make rapid progress toward your goals.

2. Plan things out

A little bit of planning and preparation can go a long way in helping you figure out how you are placed in the day.

Highly successful and productive people follow a daily planning ritual and map things out so that they work intentionally and steer themselves toward greater productivity.

When you plan your day, you focus on doing tasks that are aligned with your bigger goals and help you make progress in that direction.

Planning also prevents you from saying yes to everything, ending up having a hectic schedule and getting distracted from things that truly matter.

Planning things out has a bigger pay-off not only in terms of efficiency but also in working without stress.

3. Build a morning routine

Depending on the nature of your work, you can decide on your wake-up time and create a morning routine.

Most people commonly include activities like journaling, exercise, reading, and meditation as part of their morning rituals. You can decide what needs to be included in your morning routine and create a plan accordingly.

Your morning routine should be what you can carry out comfortably without rushing to get things done and putting extra pressure on yourself.

Start small but stay consistent with your routine. Good habits take time to develop, but once your routine gets set, you’ll be able to live a structured life and enjoy its benefits.

4. Follow an evening routine

Like the morning routine, chalk out the things you’d like to do and activities you would perform as part of your evening and bedtime routine.

Most people include calming activities as part of their evening routine. While some like to reflect on their day and feel good about their accomplishments, others like to unwind by listening to their favorite relaxing music.

There are some who want to save time in the morning and therefore make it a point to select their next day’s outfit and decide on the breakfast they’ll eat before retiring to bed.

To have a streamlined day the following morning, you must spend a few minutes creating your to-do list and prioritizing it.

This will help you go to bed tension free, get a sound sleep, and hit the ground running the following day.

5. Practice time blocking

Each day a lot gets thrown your way, and as a result, your plate is always full.

To prevent getting overburdened and overworked, get into the habit of scheduling your day into small time slots to do particular tasks.

Similar tasks are batched together and allotted a bite-sized time slot. You can have as many slots as you want, depending on the total time available for work.

Time blocking not only allows you to structure your day but helps you gain control over your life so that you work with a clear head and can think straight while making important decisions.

Working in smaller segments of time also ensures you complete essential tasks within the timeframe and get to enjoy breaks within the time slots.

6. Make time for yourself

All your efforts in organizing your day will be futile if you’re exhausted all day long and don’t feel like working. Reluctance to work will lead to piling up of tasks and missing deadlines, and you’ll be trapped in your own structure.

To focus on your mental well-being, tend to your needs, and make yourself feel nurtured, you must block ‘me-time’ and use it to devote to yourself exclusively.

Your life should never become too busy for downtime. Breaks are needed to restore your energy and take care of yourself.

Taking time for yourself helps you structure your life by ensuring you feel refreshed and rejuvenated and approach your work with greater enthusiasm.

In Conclusion

There’s no one-size-fits-all structured life that works for everyone. Since every person has a different lifestyle and a unique way of approaching work, you must customize things and create your own structure which suits you and works best for you.

Follow your own routines, schedules, and protocols depending on your needs and comfort level. The idea is to create a structure that guides you to get things done efficiently and in a stress-free manner.

Originally published on drroopleen.com

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Dr. Roopleen is the author of ‘And So Can You’ and From Average to Awesome

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