The month of March this year was an unusual one for many people around the world. Here in Aomori, Japan, with school out early, I had more time than ever before to fill up, and that came with the challenge of figuring out how to make it productive. When I learned that my last couple weeks of classes were cancelled, graduations shortened, and all kinds of work parties and other large gatherings cancelled, I suddenly felt motivated. Now I had the time to catch up on tasks I had been putting off: I can file my taxes; I can complete some big projects I’ve only dreamt of having the time to do before; I can write, read, study, and get so much done.

One month later: well, I did some useful things, I guess, but nothing as major as I had hoped. And I did not file my taxes yet. 

However, in examining last month’s progress, I realized that a habit I had invested in over a year ago was paying off: my morning routine. There are many people out there in self-help books and on the internet who sell ideas about morning routines. The idea is nothing new. Finding how to make it work for yourself, though, takes a bit of effort. I started by shifting around what I was already doing and adding some extra tasks for myself. With my life feeling unbalanced at this time, when the world has gone a bit crazy and my work schedule keeps changing, I discovered it is comforting to have a routine that keeps me going right at the start of my day. 

Flashback to January of 2019. I came up with my new year’s goals as usual, then added my motto of the year “It’s called discipline,” a snappy remark when I find myself complaining about not having enough time to get the things I really want to do done. After making my goals, I brainstormed the usual steps to reach them, but then it occurred to me I needed something more. I needed the motivation to keep working on them even when I did not feel like it. For that, I needed new habits and a way to encourage myself to follow through with them. 

Who knew I would be motivated by drawing stars? I had a US National Parks calendar on the wall with nothing else to write on it and some sparkling ballpoint pens. I drew a shiny blue star if I completed my daily five minutes of German on Duolingo. A glittering pink star for going through the daily dose of flashcards on the Anki app (see my list of language-learning resources). A red one for exercising. Silver for reading a goal list I kept by my bed. These tasks were pretty manageable. I was already doing the language study each day with motivation from the apps that show records of my progress. I just made sure to get them done first thing in the morning now. Exercising happened a bit less often, especially in December when it was too dark to get up before 6:30. However, Overall I quickly discovered I can train myself by drawing stars in shiny colors.  

Welcome to the year 2020, where I have increased the number of tasks and stars. I separated exercise into practicing my Japanese dances (a red star) and yoga or Pilates (a gold star). To motivate myself to study Japanese more outside of the flashcard app, I get a green star for studying from a textbook or doing some other Japanese study task. I draw an orange star if I fit practicing the piano into my day at some point. With the increasing time commitment to these habits, I need to be more flexible. The tasks do not necessarily have to happen in the morning before work. To avoid the all or nothing attitude, I give myself a star even if I only do something for a short while because of time constraints. What matters most is doing it consistently enough to make it a habit.  

I would not say there has been anything particularly life-changing about adding this morning routine to my life. It more or less just built itself out of my situation: I am most productive and motivated in the morning, the sun rises early in Japan so I can easily get up earlier than I used to back in the US, and my lifestyle circumstances allow me the time and opportunity to test new things and fine what motivates me. This routine has gradually become my lifestyle and reinforced the lesson of small steps leading to greater things. At the end of the day, if I feel like I did not get anything particularly useful done, I remind myself that I built up my language skills a little, I cared about my health, and most importantly, I showed I myself that I can stick with things even when I don’t feel particularly strongly about doing them. 

So here are my tips for gradual lifestyle changes and creating a morning or any-time-of-the-day routine:

• Add one thing at a time. Or jump in all at once with five tasks to do every morning and keep sinking with it until you can swim. That’s a bit how I did it, but it felt like only adding a bit at a time because I did not stick with everything right away.

• Consider what you want to do first thing when you get up. Since the end of February this year, I started reading a bit from a not-too-exciting book (I avoid things that would distract me from continuing with my morning), and I found it wakes me up much faster than trying to study flashcards. 

• Have your daily tasks match with accomplishing your yearly goals. Give yourself something specific to reach and the steps you want to take to reach it.

• Give yourself a visual motivator such as drawing stars on a calendar or task-sheet.

• Be flexible and keep adapting to find what works in your situation. Even if you can’t get up earlier to complete tasks before work, there are many spare moments throughout the day to flip through flashcards on your phone or do a couple squats. 

Daily habits may not seem to yield much right away, but I assure you that, with time, you will see progress. No way would I have been able to learn enough words to pass N2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) without the daily study of vocabulary words even when I felt unmotivated to do it. I would not have been able to pick up so many Japanese dances from my teacher this quickly without practicing them for a few minutes each morning. If you are like me and have way too many little hobbies and skills you want but don’t make time to work on all of them, start adding the important ones into a daily routine and build from there. Keep sane and moving on when the world is crazy. Don’t forget to draw colorful stars or other shapes, too. Believe me, it’s motivating.