How to Adjust Your Daily Routine When It's Not Working (Without Quitting Altogether)
You know that feeling when a new season hits and you're ALL IN on getting a better routine going?
You make the list. You set the reminders. Maybe you even buy a new planner. (No judgment – I've done it too.)
And then a few weeks in, something's not clicking... and instead of figuring out what to fix, you're ready to scrap the whole thing and start over.
Here's the deal… knowing how to adjust your daily routine – instead of just quitting and starting fresh – is honestly one of the most underrated productivity skills you can build as an entrepreneur.
So that's what we're doing today.
I'm going to walk you through the EXACT process I use to figure out what's working, what's not, and how to adjust (not abandon) the habits and routines I've set for myself.
How to Adjust Your Daily Routine: 3 Steps That Actually Work
ONE || Determine What's Actually Working
I know, I know. Obvious first step.
But here's what actually happens... most of us feel like a routine isn't working when really it's only ONE part of the routine that needs to change. Or we've got 5 habits we're working on and because we're not nailing ALL of them "perfectly," we feel like we need to throw out the whole thing.
That's the all-or-nothing thinking talking. And it's a trap.
So before you make any changes, go through your routine step-by-step and figure out which parts you ARE actually sticking with.
I track my habits every morning so I can get a clear picture of how consistently I'm keeping up with them. When I look back at a few weeks of data, I can see pretty quickly what has actually become a HABIT – meaning I don't even have to think about it anymore. I don't miss it. It's just part of my day.
Those? Those get removed from the active tracking list because they're done. Established. No longer need the accountability.
Take a look at your habits and routines and find the parts you're consistently doing.
Give yourself credit for those things – seriously, celebrate the wins.
Those are the parts you KEEP, even when you're adjusting the rest.
TWO || Determine What Isn't Working (And WHY)
This is where things get interesting... and where most people go wrong.
When something isn't working, we usually go one of two directions:
❌ "It's too hard, I'm quitting."
❌ "I just need to try HARDER and maybe this month it'll happen."
But neither of those is actually the answer.
Here's a real example from my own life. I had a goal to drink a gallon of water every day. And when I looked at my habit tracker? I was bombing that one. Like, consistently failing.
Instead of scrapping the water goal altogether... I asked myself WHY it wasn't working. And the answer was pretty simple – a gallon was just too ambitious for where I was starting. I was drinking water, but not ENOUGH.
So I adjusted. Instead of a gallon, I shifted to getting consistent with 64 oz first. That's a goal I could actually hit. And once that felt easy, I'd build from there.
Notice what I did there: I didn't quit. I didn't white-knuckle it and keep pushing for the original goal. I ADJUSTED to something I could actually be consistent with first.
The same thing applies to routines. I had a whole detailed morning routine mapped out for my daughter – and it lasted one day. (One. Day.)
But you know what? That wasn't a failure. It told me something really valuable... she needed more flexibility built in. Once I gave her more breathing room in the morning to eat breakfast and wind down before getting ready, we haven't been late once. That's a WIN.
So when something isn't working, ask yourself:
Is the goal too big for where I'm starting?
Is the timing off? (Wrong part of the day, wrong season of life?)
Is there a smaller version of this habit I could actually do consistently first?
THREE || Aim for Progress Instead of Perfection
Let's go back to that all-or-nothing mindset for a second...
It is SO easy to feel like a failure when we can't stick with a habit perfectly. Like, if we can't do it every single day without exception, what's even the point?
But here's the reality: perfection isn't the goal. PROGRESS is.
I've had plenty of weeks where I skipped my personal development reading or overindulged when I said I wouldn't. And you know what I didn't do? Wait until Monday to start again. I didn't quit. I didn't spiral.
I just... kept going.
When I look back at weeks like that, I don't see the days I fell short. I see all the days I showed up – which were the majority. And THAT is what builds the habit over time.
Things aren't always going to go as planned. You might have to skip part of your routine because life happened. That's not a reason to scrap everything.
That's just life, my friend.
The goal is never perfection. The goal is to show up MORE days than not... and when you miss one, to just pick back up right where you left off. No waiting until the next Monday. No "I'll restart next month." Just: pick up and keep going.
One More Thing Before You Go
If your habits and routines feel scattered or overwhelming, part of the problem might be that you don't have one place to actually PLAN and track everything.
That's exactly what the SYS Planner is designed for.
It's built around the SYS Method – Plan, Prioritize, Protect – so you're not just tracking random habits... you're setting up your week with intention and making sure the things that actually matter to your business and your life are getting your time and energy.
And if you're still getting started with building a routine that works for you, check out this post on how to set up your daily routines – I walk through how I structure mine and give you several real-life examples.
