Easy to lose, hard to build
A good morning or evening routine takes time to build. You start with one habit, and tend to it until it sticks. Then once that’s solid, you can stack another habit. It’s then rinse and repeat until you hit the sweet spot of time spent on routine vs tangible/intangible gains from routine. And a thoughtful routine really does help start or end your day right.
But if you ever fall out of your routine, because of illness or other unforeseen circumstances, you can’t just jump back in. You can’t just try to get back into your full routine. As tempting as it may seem, don’t rush it. Because when you try to act like that break didn’t happen, the routine can seem like a burden. When that happens, it’s more likely that you will fall off the wagon entirely.
(I know because this has happened too many times to me.)
What can you do instead? First, one thing. Start again with your foundational habit and build from there.
(And maybe this time, you don’t need the ultra-optimised 2-hour long routines promoted by productivity gurus. Maybe this time, build the shortest routine that resonates with you and enriches you.)