Life has its ups and downs. Even though this roller coaster ride is part of living in this world, everyone is looking for ways to be more consistent.
With consistency, you will have an easier time maintaining relationships with your family members and friends, meeting your goals, and performing well in school or at work.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who have trouble being consistent in life. How can you be more consistent?
In this article, I will provide eight rules to increase your consistency. But first, let’s start with a simple definition.
What Is Consistency?
Consistency means different things in different situations; however, the definition of consistency is making a consistent effort day in and day out, no matter what you do. There are numerous ways to apply consistency.
For example, students need to consistently work hard in their classes, and employees and managers should consistently work hard in their jobs every day.
Everyone should be consistent in the effort they put forth in their relationships with their family members, friends, and colleagues. (For a more philosophical understanding of consistency, here’s our collection of our favorite consistency quotes.)
If you want to achieve your goals and maintain your relationships, you need to be consistent in your efforts. Even though it is not possible to be at your best every day, you should try your best every day. That is the consistency you should strive for.
Even though it might be difficult, you can make this easier on yourself in a few ways.
Now, let’s dive into the eight rules to be more consistent.
1. Develop Consistent Habits
If you are looking for a way to be more consistent in your life, you first need to develop more consistent habits. You will be more consistent only if you start from the ground up.
There are a few ways you can do exactly that. These include:
Be Realistic in Your Goals
You will have a difficult time being consistent if you do not have an idea of what you need to do. Therefore, create easy, simple goals with objective results that are easy to measure.
You could start by defining what consistency means to you. Then, it would be best if you devised smaller steps to follow to reach that goal.
Stick to a Schedule
To be consistent, you need to know what you must do daily. Therefore, you should create a schedule for yourself.
Whether you use a planner, a calendar, or a list of reminders on your phone, this will help you stay on track. You will figure out what commitments you do and do not have time for.
Use Reminders
This is a new habit, so you must remind yourself what you are doing. Try to place reminders on your belongings, around your home, and throughout your workspace or school.
It is easy to forget new commitments and calls, especially when trying to change your routine. Put messages in visible locations so you remind yourself throughout the day.
These are a few ways you can develop more consistent habits. It is vital for you to live a consistent life if you want to be more consistent throughout your day.
If you want to learn how to build consistent habits, be sure to check out our eight-step process for forming new habits.
2. Handling Mistakes in Your Routine
No matter how hard you try to be consistent, you will make mistakes from time to time. Therefore, try to keep going even if you make a mistake.
Even if you are incredibly organized, you will slip up from time to time. Therefore, you should plan for mistakes along the way. If you make a mistake, try not to beat yourself up. This is something that happens from time to time.
Even if you break a promise, miss a deadline, or have to cancel on somebody, this doesn't necessarily mean you are ruining your consistency. External factors can get in the way.
Even though it is important to plan for these external factors and try to prevent them from knocking us off track, it will happen occasionally.
Always figure out what you can do next. That way, you can improve. Remember that consistency and perfection are not the same thing. Nobody is perfect. Be forgiving of yourself; however, do not let things fall through the cracks.
Watch the video below to start on the right foot when developing your morning routine. Learn about the 12 best morning habits to increase your focus, motivation, and energy for the rest of the day.
3. Increase Your Willpower
You do not expect to step outside your front door and run a marathon if you haven't done any athletic training. It will also take some time for you to build your willpower.
Becoming more consistent will increase your willpower and allow you to perform well even when you do not feel like it. Of course, you will only do that if you practice.
For example, you should avoid temptation when you can. If you want to be more consistent in what you eat, make sure you have healthy options. This will help you build the willpower to avoid eating junk food.
Furthermore, you should remind yourself of the long-term benefits of consistency. Whenever you need a source of inspiration, look at your list of goals.
This could motivate you to complete everything you have to do during the day, even when you do not feel like it. These simple steps can go a long way toward helping you increase your willpower.
4. Get Plenty of Sleep
To be more consistent, you must have the energy to do so. That means you have to get plenty of sleep at night. The average adult needs between seven and eight hours of sleep every evening. People who are still in school require even more.
A few ways you can get more sleep include:
These are a few ways you can get more sleep every evening. If you allow your body to recharge, you will have an easier time staying consistent the next day. Check out this post for more tips on how to get more quality sleep.
If you’d like to learn how to wake up early without an alarm and not feel tired, the video below shows the 7-step process for training your body and mind to consistently wake up at 5 a.m.
5. Give Yourself Time to Change Your Mindset
Even though you want to see results immediately, it will take some time. Changing your thinking is complex, and you may take a while to see results.
It can be not easy to uproot your entire life with a bunch of new practices at the same time. Therefore, you should give yourself time to determine what works best for you.
Also, it would be best if you were realistic but persistent. Generally, it takes approximately one month of consistently doing something to make it a habit. Remember to set smaller goes along the way. Try not to tackle too much at once. Minor changes will eventually add up.
Furthermore, you must set boundaries for your relationships and commitments. These boundaries can make it easier to keep commitments because you know what to expect from other people. You will never take on too much if you set these boundaries.
For example, if you do not want to work nights and weekends, set that expectation with your employer. You can even shut your phone off to remind your co-workers you are unavailable on nights, weekends, or holidays.
If you change your thinking, you will become more consistent. Keep this in mind when you are trying to change such a big part of your life.
To learn more about changing your thinking, know the difference between fixed and growth mindset.
6. Take Advantage of Motivational Tools
Humans are not robots. There will be days when we do not feel like doing anything. That is why we all need to take advantage of motivational tools.
What do you need to do if you need a bit of encouragement to do your work? Even though it can be easy to light our goals slide for a day, there are actions we can take to address this problem.
If you feel down, lazy, tired, or in the dumps, you can gather some extra motivation in a few ways. These include:
These are just a few ways to stay motivated even when you feel down. Consider using a few of these tools.
7. Only Make Promises You Can Keep
Another important habit you need to develop if you want to be more consistent is to only make promises you can actually keep. People like to be liked by other people, so we all tend to say yes when someone asks us for help.
Even though it is good to help us other than we can, it is essential not to make promises unless we can keep them. If you want to be more consistent in your life, you must keep your promises. On the other hand, it is easy to get overwhelmed, causing specific commitments to fall through the cracks.
A few examples of consistency include:
Consider a counter-proposal if you can keep some but not all elements of that commitment. For example, you may want to help someone move out; however, you do not get off work until 5 p.m. Offered to help them move in the evening instead of the middle of the day.
Finally, this includes making promises to yourself. If you promise yourself to do something, make sure you can do that. Then, remember to place reminders around your home that remind you of the goal you are trying to hit.
8. Make an Effort to Reward Yourself
If you are trying to become more consistent, make an effort to reward yourself when you do something well. After all, it is not easy to develop a new habit. Try to set time-based goals for yourself. Then, as you hit those goals, reward yourself for doing so.
There are plenty of ways you can reward yourself for doing something well. These include:
Rewarding yourself or being more consistent is important because this reinforces a positive habit. Everyone has different ways of rewarding themselves. Do not hesitate to brainstorm ideas and reward yourself when you do something well.
Are you wondering how to reward yourself? Check out this post for a variety of ways to reward yourself.
Final Thoughts on How to Be Consistent
Ultimately, there are a lot of people who are looking for ways to be more consistent. If you can find a way to be more consistent in life, you will do better in all areas of your life, including school, work, relationships, and personal goals.
If you are having trouble finding ways to improve your consistency, do not hesitate to ask for help from professionals. You do not have to do this on your own.
And if you're looking for more resources on how to be more consistent in your efforts for self-improvement, these articles might help:
- 9 Ways to Show Respect for Yourself
- The 7-Step Process to Plan Your Week
- 100 Examples of Personal Core Values List
- Values VS Goals: Which is Better to Pursue?
- 11 Free Time Management Worksheet for Students & Adults
Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals.
