Your Daily Routine Matters

As parents, we all understand and value the purpose of a good routine and although it can appear monotonous and boring at times it does serve a great purpose.  Routine creates many positives that influence one's life and in karate class, we structure the curriculum into three phases. These are learning, perfecting, and performing. This is designed to build a student up and help them perfect and eventually perform each curriculum as they progress through the ranks leading to a black belt.

Attendance and routine go hand in hand with martial arts training and it is important to recognize the benefit that one’s routine can have in their life. I'm sure you already know many of the benefits but here is another reminder that can help reinforce the why of what we do.

1. Being able to do the same thing each day and each week reduces a lot of decisions and pondering that one has to make. This inevitably saves time and makes for a much more efficient lifestyle.
2. Good habits. When things become routine a lot of good habits are formed and a lot of bad habits are broken. The routine tends to take over and guide us in a direction that is putting us in a better place.
3. What's important can be different from one person to the next, but if the goal is lofty the routine establishes good discipline. This ultimately leads to focusing on the things that are important and getting those things off our plates that require less effort and time.
4. Procrastination, as Anthony Robbins has stated, is the silent killer. This means people will often spend more time thinking and delaying a decision than just getting the task done. Having a good routine forces us to act and puts us in the task at hand in real time.
5. If each day you wake up and prepare the day’s meals, you're going to put yourself in a good spot as the day goes on. No more mid-afternoon having to run to Tim Horton’s to grab a snack when you already have something in your lunch pail. This is not only a healthier option it saves money.
6. If your routine is such that you are constantly striving towards a goal it is going to be very difficult to fail when you do something daily. Although some routines are better than others if the focus is positive, it can only result in a positive result.
7. When you are organized, have more time, and seem to achieve your daily goals it puts you in a very confident state. This is important not only for parents but for kids as well. When your child goes to school, karate, and activities and they are doing very well it creates a higher level of self-esteem. The truth is most of this success comes from showing up, trying your best, being organized, and doing things on a consistent basis.

I'm sure there are many other benefits that we forgot to add to the list, but it is important to recognize the value of a good routine. If you're feeling a lot of the benefits, then you're probably on the right track. However, if you're feeling a little bit of pressure and disorganization, perhaps it's time to look at your routine on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

The great thing is it's easy to make a change today and if that change can lead to better things, then we wish you great success in your 2023 routine.

Good luck!

Sensei Chris