Habits and routines frustrate and confuse me. On the one hand, I thrive on routine. I know this to be true. When I feel like I’m drowning in tasks and riding the struggle bus, the culprit is usually my routine. If I am off of it completely or I’m trying to add something new, things feel chaotic. When life feels breezy, I’m most definitely keeping on top of meaningful routines.

The links on this page may be affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking, I will receive a small percentage (it costs you nothing). Visit my favorites page for coupon codes!
On the other hand, intentional habit tracking tends to throw me for a loop. The planner community loves habit trackers. I didn’t give it a second thought in the past, but I started to feel like I needed habit trackers.
How Habit Tracker Stickers Broke my Brain
Story time! When I discovered the planner community a decade ago, I was looking for a solution for rewriting tasks each day. I came up with the idea to make a sticker. Me being me, I immediately started designing it. I wanted to see if I could order my design printed on sticker paper from somewhere.
My Google search had unearthed the planner community! It became clear that plenty of other people had already been making and designing planner stickers. I realized my idea was already out there in the form of habit trackers. And I think that’s where I got my wires crossed about what is a habit and what is a task.
Habit trackers helped me check off chores on a 1.5” sticker instead of having to write tasks out every day. I trained my brain to think of tasks as habits. I suppose tasks can be habits if the goal is to develop cleaning systems to help you maintain your home. But habits in the sense of goal setting and self improvement can go deeper than basic daily chores and tasks.
It has been years since I taught myself about habit trackers. Now I’m trying to unlearn my previous associations and relearn with a more complete and thorough understanding.

Habits and Routines Resources
I’ve been using self-improvement books and well-researched guided workbooks to help me wrap my head around habits and routines. I read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and Atomic Habits by James Clear. And I have worked through both of the beautiful Habits and Routines workbooks from Cultivate What Matters.
I’m starting to see some distinctions between habits and routines. I love that the workbooks provide an easy place to figure things out. Self improvement books are wonderful, but there’s something magical about writing things out on the page. The workbooks even include thoughtful references to the science and research behind our human behaviors.
Habits Workbook
I started my goal setting journey the year with the habits workbook. Initially, I had been reluctant to write on the pages because the book is so beautifully designed. I didn’t want to mess it up! I started doing the activities on each page in a little notebook to preserve the beauty of the workbook. That quickly annoyed me. The part of my brain that resists rewriting my tasks over and over gently shook me into a realization. I was making things so much harder when I know that I thrive on simplicity. Just write in the dang book, Kristan.
So I embraced it. I scribbled in it. I made mistakes and got messy. And it felt great! Once I made that decision to just use the book, the thoughts just kept flowing. I remember one quote from the habits workbook that smacked me in the face:
“The number one reason we see people get stuck breaking down and living out their goals is because their goals don’t actually matter to them.”
Cultivate what matters habits workbook, 2023-2024. page 12.
Wow. Reflecting on this concept has been an eye-opener. I have had trouble with habits in the past because I tracked things that didn’t mean anything to me. While beneficial and important, tracking steps and water intake didn’t support a bigger goal. They were too arbitrary for me to assign any real value to them.

Habits are the Building Blocks of Routines
Another important thing I learned from the habits and routines workbooks was that habits are the building blocks of routines. Reflecting helped me understand that the things I do regularly impact who I want to be. Even if those things slow down or reverse my progress. If I wanted to achieve certain things, then my habits should help me get there instead of holding me back.
The habit of snoozing my alarm held me back. Not having time to put myself together for the day led to me not wanting to be on camera. I had goals to be in my videos and snoozing my alarm was a step backwards.
Watching a tv show on the couch during my lunch break frequently set back my plans. It often caused me to veg out while scrolling my phone instead of completing afternoon action items.
Habits Support the Goals You Want to Achieve
But not all of my habits were detrimental to my progress. I learned that my habit of planning my family’s dinners on a monthly basis had a positive impact. The habit meant I didn’t have to spend mental energy every week thinking of things to cook. I used that energy instead to notice the joy I feel while preparing meals for my family.
My menu planning habit positively impacts many of my goal areas including family, finances, and health. My routines benefit from this habit as well, including my weekly reset and my weekday dinner routines.
Routines Workbook
Of the two habits and routines workbooks, I definitely felt a deeper understanding when using the routines workbook. I inherently understood the concepts more to begin with and so I felt more confident when working through it. The routines examples helped me to envision what a routine could look like for me specifically. It also put into perspective what a typical routine might and might not include. Sometimes idealized videos of someone’s morning routine skew our understanding of what a routine could or should look like.

The routines workbook reinforced what I learned in the habits workbook about doing things that matter to me:
“A meaningful routine will point you in the direction you want to go in the big picture…[and] also has a clear goal.”
cultivate what matters routines workbook, 2023. Page 20.
Trying to emulate a vlogger’s morning routine that includes an hour of structured skincare is not ideal. It doesn’t put me on the path of getting breakfast on the table for my son before school. Getting chores done before work doesn’t work out if I spend that much time on skincare. Of course skincare is still important and I still want to put effort in there. But my morning routine wouldn’t look the same as that vlogger’s routine. The workbook helped me build a quick but effective skincare portion into my morning routine while still making sure I have time for the things that matter most to me (taking care of my family and our home).
Habits and Routines and PowerSheets Prep Work
When it came time to work on my PowerSheets prep work for my 2024 annual goals, I had already laid a great foundation of habits and routines to support the goals I wanted to achieve. In the workbooks, I had done some of the hard work in bite-sized pieces ahead of time. The workbooks helped me the most with my goal action pages when brainstorming how I could make progress on goals.
The knowledge I gained about myself and my goals from the habits and routines workbooks also helps with monthly planning. I can put together my Tending List in a more intentional way. My habits now have a clear purpose and intended outcome. And I’ve been able to put those habits together into routines that support various goals that are important to me.

Habits and Routines Workbook Order of Completion
I worked through the Habits Workbook, the Routines Workbook, and then the PowerSheets prep work in that order. However, I don’t think there is a right or wrong way to do it. Many people wonder which one they should start with. I think the best one to start with is the one that has the most need.
It might be difficult to discover helpful habits or develop meaningful routines if you don’t already have an understanding of your overall goals. In that case, starting with the PowerSheets prep work might have a more significant impact on your process. After prep work, doing the habits guide first seems like the natural choice since habits form the basis of routines. Habits and routines, when aligned with personal goals, create a path to a more intentional and fulfilling life. Trust your heart to guide you in choosing where to start.

Shop here with my Cultivate What Matters promo code KRISTANKREMER to save an extra 10% on your cart. Hint: click the link and the code will be applied automatically to your cart.
[…] Learn more about Habits and Routines […]
[…] this quarter are Home + Spaces, Community, Work + Learning, and the Free Choice category which is Habits + Routines for me. I made a new Goals Wildcard with those highlighted, and then I made a Routines Wildcard […]
[…] free choice category is dedicated to habits and routines. I really want to make that big push at the end of 2024 to just solidify at least one routine. […]
[…] to implement those habits so I can stay consistent. Check out this post for a more in depth look at how the habits and routines workbooks help me. Watch the video below for some real talk about habits and […]