18 simple and creative ways to break free from your routine
written by Jasmine Irven
As much as I love rituals and routines for the comfort and sense of stability they provide, I also recognize the importance of switching things up so that your days don’t feel boring or mundane.
Through quarantine especially, if most of your days are spent with the same people, at the same location, you might be feeling burnt out or uninspired (as I know I have at times).
So, one of my goals this year was to invite in more creativity. To switch things up in my routine. To try new things. To learn new skills. To give myself another creative outlet to explore. To get into flow more. To discover and rediscover.
Inviting in variety is such a great way to raise your vibe and break you from feelings of redundancy or boredom. And before you write yourself off because you don’t like change or like things the way they are, know that you can have both routine and flexibility; there’s no right or wrong way to do this.
So, here are 18 ideas as to how you can start flexing your creative muscle and invite more variety into your life.
01 take a different route to work/school/running errands
I recently listened to a podcast episode by Chris Harder that talked about the importance of your environment and how it impacts your willpower. He argues that, “you need to carefully craft your environment in a way that supports your big, audacious goals, and the lifestyle that you’re entitled to.”
If you’re not feeling inspired by the people and places surrounding you, look to switch things up. While at the more extreme end this might look like moving homes or towns, it can also simply look like switching the driving or transportation route you take each day to get to work/ school, or that you use to run errands.
What are the different route options you could take? Rather than always following the route that you take out of habit or because it’s fastest, look for one that’s more inspiring, that causes you to think outside the box, that takes you through a nice neighbourhood or out into the countryside. Add a detour to explore a new area or stop at a new market.
While this may not be the most efficient route, if it gives you the chance to explore new places or gives you space to let your mind wander, it’s worth testing out.
02 take a different route when you go on a walk
We can often get into the routine of walking the exact same route each day or week when we go outside. Ask yourself how you can begin to switch things up!
Experiment with longer or shorter walks. How do they feel? Do your normal route backwards and note if there’s any discomfort. Try a completely new route by picking out a series of “right - left” sequences beforehand and then sticking to that on your walk. Try a new hiking trail. Drive to a new town and go on a walk there. Bike instead of walking.
By switching up your walk you’ll again be inviting in new opportunities to get inspired by new visuals, sensations, and experiences. Try to stay fully engaged when you do this.
P.s. Rather than always listening to a podcast or music, consider leaving your phone at home or in your bag and just noticing your surroundings instead.
03 get your groceries/ coffee/ takeout somewhere new
Do you find yourself frequenting the same restaurants, grocery stores, and cafes each week? Try something new! Whether you’ve seen a place you keep meaning to try but then don’t because going to your regular spot is less effort, or you need to do some research to find something new, take the time to do so.
If you end up loving the new place, incredible! But even if you don’t, the experience of trying something new is in and of itself important. You’ll begin to recognize just how much more is out there for you to explore and discover.
04 resolve to try something new & play the long-game
Instant gratification is something that has become very commonplace for us today. Everything is on-demand whether we can’t remember something so we Google it to find our answer, we want to watch an entire series on Netflix back-to-back rather than waiting each week for it to be released, or we see something online and we’re able to order exactly what we want, immediately.
While this obviously makes our lives a lot easier, I do worry about the impact it has on our patience levels. In reality, there are a lot of things that don’t happen instantly — learning a new skill, growing our business, determining where we want to live or who we want to spend time with, discovering who we want to be and what’s important to us, etc.
These are all processes, and there’s a real beauty to having to continuously practise at or work to discover something.
When we become so accustomed to getting things immediately, I think we forget the beauty in the slowness.
So, a simple way to break free from this routine is to do something that doesn’t give instant gratification. Resolve to try something new with the knowing that you’re not going to be great at it right away. Knowing that it will take time, energy, and effort to see the results.
Whether this looks like starting a new side-business or learning a new language, dive in knowing that when you play the long-game process might be slow, but you’ll have an incredible transformation to look forward to.
05 look at your wardrobe with new eyes
While discovering your personal style and recognizing the clothes that you love and that suit you can be a really fulfilling process, I also think that this is another area of our lives that can sometimes become boring — especially if we feel like we’re restricting ourselves (staying away from certain styles, colours, or patterns, for example).
Give yourself the permission to look at things in a new way. How does your current wardrobe make you feel? Can you try new outfit combinations or modify a piece of clothing to experience it in a new way? Can you go thrifting (see below) and bring in a couple new statement pieces that reflect the season of life you’re in?
Allow yourself to try new combinations, even those that don’t fit in with the preconceived ideas you have about what will and won’t “look good” or “suit you”.
06 go thrifting
Thrifting is such a good practise for breaking routine because it truly requires you to look at things with new eyes. You never know what you’re going to find, and quite honestly it takes patience and creativity to search through the mass of items, see the potential in some, and clean them up or modify things slightly to suit your preferences.
Going back to the idea of instant gratification, thrifting is another great practise in patience. You might go thrifting a few times before you find anything that actually works and there’s a true beauty to that process!
07 take on a DIY project
DIY projects require outside of the box thinking. They allow you to flex your creative muscles in new ways and look at objects from a new perspective. Take something you already own or thrift something, and then challenge yourself to look at it in a new way.
What other purpose could the object solve? How could you alter the item to make it fit in with your space or your style?
Whether you follow along with a tutorial or complete the project on your own, you’re giving yourself the opportunity to do something new which is a great way to challenge the routine in your life.
08 cook something new
Here we’re taking the saying, “variety is the spice of life,” quite literally. Especially if you find yourself in the routine of eating or cooking the same things day in and day often (again, often because it’s easier), flex your creative muscle and try something new!
Go to Pinterest for recipes, modify a recipe you know off by heart by adding in new spices or ingredients, look up a recipe for something you’ve always wanted to know how to cook, etc.
09 look at a perceived problem in a new way
If there’s been something that’s been on your mind a lot recently and you find yourself ruminating on it, repeating the same patterns again and again, see if you can think about it in a new way.
Get it out of your head and onto paper, and really give yourself the time to look at it from all angles. If you’re currently perceiving it as a problem, is there a way to look at it from the perspective of gratitude or from an opportunity to learn?
Would it be helpful to get an outside perspective (be careful who you go to for advice!)? Is this something you need to sit with for a little longer or is it something that’s really not serving you and that you can let go of?
10 switch up your movement/ workout
Your body likes to move in new ways! Especially if you find yourself resisting movement because it’s boring or not-super-enjoyable, see if you can switch things up to discover a new form of movement that you really enjoy.
This will likely look different depending on your mood and the season of life you’re in so don’t be hard on yourself if some days you want to go to the gym and lift weights, and other days all you want to do are some simple stretches.
Give yourself the chance to listen to your body, knowing that it will be craving different movement regularly.
11 try a new form of self-care
How often do you try new self-care? Lean into your intuition and give yourself the chance to try new forms of self-care based on how you’re feeling in the moment. Rather than restricting yourself to a certain form of self-care and then getting bored with it, resolve to switch things up regularly.
For example, in my morning routine rather than laying out exactly what I want to do each day, I leave myself a block of time and choose what I want to do in the morning. While elements of that routine will always stay the same (having a big glass of water, washing my face, etc.), a lot of the other activities change depending on how I’m feeling! Some days I might read while others I might journal, some days I might do some yoga and others I might do a full-on workout.
P.s. we have a blog post with 34 ways to practise self-care if you need some inspiration.
12 switch up your daily routine
What does your schedule look like day-to-day? How can you switch things up to invite in newness?
If you have control over your work schedule, try batching content one week and then not batching it the next. Or, if you normally have your meetings in the mornings, try having them in the afternoon.
If you don’t have control over your work day, are there other spaces in the day that you can take more control over instead of falling into the same habits and routines? Can you eat your lunch in a new spot or go on a walk instead of staying at your desk? Can you make time in the mornings or evenings to try something new?
13 rearrange your furniture or switch up your artwork
Bring a new look and feel to your space by making changes to the layout or decor. Simple changes to the style of artwork, the placement of your couch, or the throw pillows you use can really have a transformative effect on your energy levels.
Search on Pinterest for new ideas, DIY small projects, window-shop local businesses, paint a wall, or swap out some pieces for a simple way to bring new life to your space.
Your interests and priorities change with each season which is really beautiful! So allow yourself to shift your space to reflect this, rather than allowing it to hold you back.
14 listen to a different genre of music
If you often listen to the same kind of music, consider switching it up! Break the pattern of listening to the same genres or playlists and see if there’s any music out there that you can add into your life that will increase your fulfilment.
For example, I’ve started implementing in classical music to my morning routine, study music to my work day if I need to concentrate, alternative music to my relaxation time, or personal work time, and jazz music sometimes when I cook.
15 switch up the books you’re reading
If you’re an avid reader I think it’s common to find a genre of book you like and then stick to that because you always know what to expect. But what if you switched things up?
Is there another genre that you’ve been thinking about exploring that you keep putting off? Or can you step super far out of your comfort zone and try something you always thought you would hate but have never actually tried reading?
You might be surprised, or you might simply reinforce opinions you already had but regardless at least you’ve tried something new.
16 listen to a podcast on a new topic
Similarly, give yourself permission to switch up your podcasts as well! There are no rules here. So much of the time we simply continue consuming the same content — especially since we’re so susceptible to confirmation bias.
In case you aren’t familiar, confirmation bias is, “a type of cognitive bias that involves favouring information that confirms your previously existing beliefs or biases”.
Rather than continuously falling prey to this (though it is inevitable to some extent), go out of your way to expose yourself to new concepts, opinions, perspectives, and viewpoints by consuming new content.
Try to listen with an open mind, rather than immediately dismissing ideas or information that doesn’t align with the beliefs you already have.
17 add in new creative outlets
I’ve written before about how I truly feel we’re all creative, and just need to find the right outlet to find our flow.
Think back to when you were 6 years old. What did you love to do? Paint? Doodle? Sing? Crafts? Have you neglected these outlets? Or, think of something that you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t let yourself explore. Sewing? Pottery? Writing? Photography?
There are truly so many opportunities to get creative! So let yourself to explore any number of the creative outlets you’ve been neglecting or putting off. To create without judgement or comparison, but instead with love and compassion and excitement.
18 spring clean your life
We recently spoke about the benefit of spring cleaning and how you can organize and reassess all parts of your life to invite in a fresh and cleansing feeling.
With each season (whether that’s a change in literal nature seasons or just a season of your life), comes the opportunity to shift areas of your life. To rejuvenate your rituals and routines, to find mental peace and clarity, and to connect on a deeper level with your higher self and purpose. To cleanse, refresh, reevaluate, and move forward with greater intention.
Give yourself some time to audit all areas of your life — your home and other aspects of your physical environment, your online presence and the impact of social media in your life, the people and experiences you’re inviting into your life, etc.
Reassess what is really serving you, what you can reduce or cut out, and how you can move forward in a way that feels good.
final thoughts
Know that routines and rituals are not bad — in fact they often ground us and can provide a level of comfort that’s really important (I advocate for them all the time!).
However, also know that being too restrictive with your schedule, routines, or other elements of your life also likely isn’t serve you.
Make room for change, invite in a level of flexibility, and know that you have the permission to switch your routines up for no other reason than because you want to.
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about the author
Hey there! I’m Jasmine, founder of the Sustainable Bliss Collective, a Certified Meditation Teacher, and lover of all things self-care, slow-living, and personal development.
I believe that ambition and self-care can coexist, and as such I hope to encourage and inspire you to take care of yourself, breathe deeply, connect with who you are, manifest your dreams, enjoy the blissful moments of each day, and make an impact in this beautiful world we call home.
Connect with me on Instagram here!
