Habits, Routines, and Discipline

A lot of productivity books and articles talk about the value of developing good habits. They are key (I’m told) to success. And I mostly agree.

I’m also told that discipline is really important. And, of course, having solid routines fits in there somewhere.

Habits. Discipline. Routines. These terms were all mashed up in my mind. So I read quite a bit about this and give some thought to how these ideas interact in the real world.

Here’s the way I now think about it.

Start with discipline. Discipline is mostly about the desire to act consistently. You want to go to the gym every morning. But there are distractions tugging you in the other direction. You can exercise discipline to make yourself go. But discipline always requires intentional effort. Some days you have the energy to show that discipline. Other days you don’t. Discipline is about 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 that, deep down, you really don’t want to do. But you know you should.

Sometimes you convert it into a habit. That often means framing it in a way so that you actually want to do it. Maybe you start to identify as the type of person who regularly exercises. It becomes part of your identity. You no longer need to agonize and convince yourself to exercise. It’s simply who you are. And it would feel strange if you didn’t go to the gym. But you rarely start off there. You usually need discipline until it (eventually) becomes a habit.

And where do routines fit in? Routines are the consistent steps that you take to accomplish something. Maybe you have a routine for your gym visits. Every evening before bed, you get your gym bag. You also lay out your work clothes that you’ll take with you to the gym. You place it all near the door. You set your alarm for 6:00am. And you do these same exact steps every night.

Routines help you by minimizing the discipline you’ll need the next morning. All you have to do (thanks to the routine) is wake up and go. You don’t need to agonize over all the effort to that a gym visit entails and, sometimes, talk yourself out of it.

You do need to activate the routine, of course. You can kick off your evening gym routine by habit (triggered whenever you walk into your bedroom) or by discipline (you have a recurring alarm on your phone to remind you).

Here’s something I figured out. Discipline and routines are symbiotic. Discipline tells you to initiate the routine. And, the routine helps minimize the amount of discipline you need to accomplish your goal because you don’t need to reconsider each step. The routine lays it all out for you.

A habit, then, is discipline that’s been internalized. Habits don’t require conscious thought or debate. I think of them as discipline that’s been taken up a notch. No conscious thought or mental energy required.

Do you have a lot of discipline? Or do you strive to build habits? Or routines?