TL;DR:
- Morning Routine Improvement: Practiced visualizing and physically rehearsing my morning routine five times each night.
- Social Media Habit Change: Replaced the urge to scroll with writing, five times, to break the habit.
- Creation of Routine5 App: Developed an app to share and explore effective routines.
- Effectiveness: Demonstrated that consistent repetition can transform habits into almost automatic actions.
The Backstory of Waking Early and Scroll of Doom
Hello, readers. This post is more than just musings; it's a deep dive into a personal experiment with the 5x (Five Times) Routine and how it has begun to reshape my routines.
You see, my mornings and I have always had a love-hate relationship. I desired to greet the dawn with open arms, but more often than not, I'd greet it with a groan and a pillow over my head. But then, I came across the idea that repeating a behavior five times could rewire brain behavior, making the action easier to perform.
So, on that fateful night, I lay on my bed, eyes closed, and walked myself through the morning routine – not once, but five times. I’d enact the morning to come. I visualized every detail, in my mind's theater, I rehearsed the sound of the alarm, the warmth of the blankets leaving my skin, the coolness of the floor beneath my feet, holding the door handle, splashing water on my face, the more detail the better. This mental rehearsal wasn't a one-off; I repeated it five times, 1 minute for each rehearsal, so 5 minutes in total. This engraved the sequence into my mind, and after that, I felt no difference, no spark of transformation, no immediate change.
But here's the twist – when the real alarm rang the next morning, something had shifted, almost imperceptibly. There was no monumental surge of energy, no cinematic sunrise montage. Instead, there was a subtle, yet profound nudge – a little less resistance, a little more flow. It was as if the rehearsal had smoothed the edges of my morning routine, and I needed just a gentle push to set the day in motion. I even need to use a bit of willpower to stay in bed. IT WORKED!
However based on my experiments, this didn't work when I was extremely tired, I didn't even wake up when the alarm rang, reinforcing the idea that there are limits – that the state of our bodies and minds can influence the 5x Routine's effectiveness.
I usually do it for several days to jump-start the habit, and when I'm slipping back into old habits, I just repeat this before sleeping, again IT WORKED.
My next story was with social media, it was like a silent current, pulling me away from productive shores. It began innocently – a scroll here, a like there – but soon, every free moment was a dive into the digital depths - the Infinite Scroll of Doom. My realization came sharply; I was an addict seeking the next pixelated high.
The 5x Routine, my newfound ally, came to the rescue. I started by identifying the moments I was most likely to succumb: the lulls in my day, the pauses between tasks, and the feeling of being stuck when working on tasks, which led to reaching for my phone and off to the social media abyss.
To change this, I repeat this behavior: I imagine that I feel bored or tired, then physically reach for my phone, and instead of opening social media, I pause for 2 seconds, then put my phone, take a deep breath, and reach for a pen and paper to scribble thoughts, doodling, writing down random things – anything to keep my hands and mind occupied. And as you predicted 'repeat 5 times', with each repetition for 1 minute, the new response began to solidify.
It helped me form a new reflex. The urge didn't vanish, but the compulsive response did, there was this pause when I reached and held the phone, I could put it down and take the paper and pen. This slight pause is all it takes to stop the habit, when boredom or fatigue strikes, my hand doesn't betray me. It knows the drill, pick it up, hold it, and put it down, the new pattern etched into my routine.
The 5x Routine, for me, became a tool, not a cure-all. It's like training wheels for habit formation; they don't pedal for you, but they can help you find your balance until you're ready to ride solo.
The Principle of 5x, Why Not 3x or 7x
The 5x Routine hinges on the power of repetition. Practicing a behavior five times in succession can embed it into your muscle memory, making actions feel almost automatic. For example, if you're striving to wake up earlier, rehearsing the morning routine – from hearing your alarm to walking to the bathroom – can cement this new habit. The key is consistency and detailed visualization. It's like rehearsing for life's daily performances.
During my experiments with various repetitions, I've tried that repeating a new action three times wasn't sufficient to ingrain it into my routine. It was like sketching a line in the sand, only to have it washed away by the next wave of distractions. It felt as if the actions were too short to leave a lasting impression.
Yet, when I extended my repetitions beyond five, the process started to feel burdensome. It wasn't just about the time it consumed; the monotony of the action drained its essence, turning what should be a transformative practice into a dreary task. I was seeking a sweet spot, a balance between effort and impact, and that's where the 5x Routine truly shone.
Five repetitions, each repetition for 1 minute, with a total of 5 minutes, struck the perfect chord, embedding the routine in my muscle memory but not overstaying its welcome, wearing down my resolve or interest. This method wasn't just about repetition; it was about creating an effortless flow of actions. It's fascinating how the body and mind can sync to a rhythm, making what once required conscious effort transform into a seamless part of my daily life.
This discovery reshaped my approach to habit formation. It helped me understand the nuanced dance of habit formation, where every action is a deliberate step toward automation. By the fifth repetition, my body started to absorb the routine, turning deliberate movements into intuitive responses. It was as if each practice session was a brick laid on the pathway of my subconscious, building a road to effortless action. The real beauty of the 5x Routine was in its simplicity and its profound impact on reducing decision fatigue and preserving my mental energy for the things that truly matter.
When doing new habits like waking up early, we need to make so many micro-decisions like opening your eyes immediately or waiting for a bit, waking on the left side or right side, sitting for a while or standing up immediately, going to the mirror or the toilet, wash face or take a pee. That's why it's hard. A source from an article in Psychology Today mentioned average person makes approximately 35,000 decisions daily, which is why adding new habits makes it harder.
Having 5x Routine helps conserve mental energy by reducing the countless micro-decisions we face for doing the new habit. Each repetition fortified the path, crafting intuitive actions out of conscious choices, like muscle memory reflexes.
So, I invite you to join me on this journey of reprogramming our automatic responses. It's not about dramatic overnight change; it's about incremental shifts that accumulate into significant transformation.
What's Routine5 Then?
There's more to this story. This personal experience was the spark that led me to create the Routine5 app – a platform that embodies the very essence of habit transformation I've experienced.
The app was born from a simple realization: routines have the power to change lives, but finding the right one can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Routine5 is designed to be a library of life-changing routines. It's a place where you can discover and trial routines using auditory and visual cues like sounds and colors that guide you through each step.
The personal victory with the 5x Routine didn't just end with better mornings and less screen time. It led to a greater vision: the creation of Routine5, a sanctuary of structured routines. It’s where you'll find my library of routines that span from analyzing new businesses to weekly and daily planning. There's even a routine I crafted for acclimating to the bone-chilling air of high mountains, a breathing pattern that brings warmth and steadiness amidst the cold (Wim-Hoff Breathing Technique). It works I went to a mountain with shorts while the others were fully geared, yup I survived without shivering.
Routine5 is not just an app. It's a commitment to continuous improvement, to building a suite of routines that don't just organize your day but enhance your life. It's for the business strategist, the meticulous planner, the mountaineer, and anyone in between.
Join us on Routine5, where each routine is a step toward a better you.
But the journey doesn't end there. After each routine, you're invited to share your experience. Was it effective? Did it resonate with you? DOES IT WORK? This feedback is vital, not just for personal reflection whether it worked or not for you, but also for community growth. It's a platform for like-minded individuals, all searching for that perfect routine that clicks, that feels right, that moves the needle.
Breaking Old Habits
Whether it's changing your sleep patterns or social media habits, the 5x Routine stands as a testament to the adaptability of human behavior.
Just as you can build new habits, you can rewire old ones. If you automatically reach for your phone when bored, replace that reflex with a new action, like grabbing a notebook instead. After five intentional repetitions, you'll notice a shift in control over the compulsion to scroll endlessly.
I've designed this routine #5xrouitne for 5x Routine that takes 7 minutes, with 2 minutes for Identifying and Planning the routine and then 1 minute for each rehearsal of the new routine to break your old habit.
- Install Routine5 - Habit Builder from Apple App Store or Android Play Store
- Run this Routine #5xroutine
- Steps of the routine
- Identify Trigger: identity what condition triggers your habit, be specific in identifying the trigger, it should be something that gets your attention: alarm sound, looking clock, a specific time like 9 am, feeling bored, or feeling the need for distraction, hyperventilating, etc (1 minute)
- Plan the Routine: What new Habit do you want to do instead when you get triggered, don't worry it doesn't need to be perfect, you can always change it later (1 minute)
- Rehearse 5x: Rehearse it on your mind or do it physically, with each rehearsal limited to 1 minute, and do it 5 times.
- Done and see how you react differently next time.
Routine5 isn't just a tool; it's a community. It's a testament to the collective journey of self-improvement, where each shared experience enriches the path of others. So, I extend an invitation to you – join us at Routine5, find your rhythm, and share your story.