TURNING COMMITMENT INTO ROUTINE
We’re a couple weeks into January, a month that is full of good intentions. People are feeling motivated! Hopeful! Ready to make changes! There’s often this lingering promise that whispers, “this time will be different…”
And then…life. Work gets busy, schedules shift, kids get sick, motivation fades, energy dips. Suddenly, this thing(s) that you felt so committed to feels harder to follow through on (or even get started on), and it’s easy to assume that because it now feels so tough, that maybe you weren’t ever even committed enough in the first place?
Well.
The issue isn’t lack of commitment. It’s that commitment is being asked to do a job it was never meant to do.
WHY COMMITMENT GETS ROMANTICIZED (& WHY THAT BACKFIRES)
We tend to talk about commitment like it’s a personality trait. Some people “have it,” and others don’t. If you really want something badly enough, you’ll find a way. Which can sound motivating, and is also exhausting.
When commitment is framed as constant intensity, it sets us up to believe that any dip in effort means failure (or some version of failure). That if progress slows down or habits are shaken even the tiniest amount, that it must be because we don’t want it badly enough.
But the reality is that commitment is like a spark. It’s the decision that we make to begin something new, or even to take the next step. Where we get it wrong is that commitment, like motivation, isn’t designed to be a long-term fuel source. Hear me out…
THE “COMMITMENT PHASE” IS SHORT
Commitment tends to show up loud and clear at the beginning of a change. That early energy makes things feel easier. You’re excited, you’re focused, you’re paying attention. BUT that phase doesn’t last — and it’s not supposed to.
I hate to call it a novelty, but it’s the best word I’ve got, and eventually it wears off and real life takes over. Stress may increase, time might feel more constricting or limited, the weather changes, motivation becomes inconsistent as momentum wanes. None of that is personal failure, it’s just what happens when goals meet reality.
And this is where most of us get stuck, because we assume the goal failed because the feeling of commitment faded. But the goal was never to stay endlessly committed. The goal was to use that initial commitment to build something more stable.
Enter: routine.
WHAT ROUTINE ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE
When we hear the “routine,” we often picture rigid schedules or doing the same thing every single day without exception. That image turns a lot of people off — and understandably so.
But routine (and parallely, consistency) isn’t about perfection or repetition without flexibility. It’s about predictability, and having a default that you return to when decision fatigue sets in. A routine might look like eating a similar breakfast most weekdays, even if weekends are different. It might be strength training on the same two days each week, even if the workouts themselves vary. It might be a short walk after dinner a few nights a week, not every night, and not always for the same amount of time. Routine doesn’t have to be (and, I’d argue, shouldn’t be) impressive or fancy.
HOW TO TURN COMMITMENT INTO ROUTINE
Turning commitment into routine requires a shift in how behaviors are designed. Most of us start with what we wish we could do. (Think: more workouts/more structure/more effort.) But routines stick when they’re built from behaviors that fit into real life – not our idealized versions of it.
That usually means shrinking the behavior down. If a habit requires a surge of motivation to complete, it’s probably too big to become routine. The version that feels “almost too easy” is often the one that lasts.
Routine also works best when it’s attached to something that already exists. (Think habit stacking, but broader.) Time of day, location, or an established habit can act as an anchor. When something is already part of your day, it becomes much easier to layer a new behavior on top of it rather than trying to create space from scratch.
Decisions matter, too. Routines reduce the need to negotiate with yourself. When the choice has already been made — what you eat for breakfast most days, when you typically move your body, how you reset after a busy week — there’s less mental energy spent deciding and more energy available to actually follow through.
It’s also important to design routines for low-energy days. If a routine only works when you’re well-rested, calm, and highly motivated, it won’t survive for long. Those that last are the ones that still function when you’re tired, busy, or overwhelmed.
And finally, routine needs flexibility. Missing a day doesn’t break a routine. What breaks routines is all-or-nothing thinking and the idea that inconsistency means starting over. In reality, routine is defined by how you return to getting back in the groove, not by endless streaks (looking at you, challenges that require something every. single. day.).
APPLYING THIS TO YOUR GOALS
This shift from commitment to routine is especially important when it comes to goals we set with our health in mind. Nutrition routines reduce the number of reactive decisions you have to make. Movement routines remove the constant negotiation around if you’ll exercise and shift the focus to how. Health routines create structure that supports progress without requiring daily motivation.
Over time, routines make consistency feel less like effort and more like habit. They’re often what allow people to eventually loosen structure (tracking less, planning less, even stressing less) because the foundation is already there. This is how goals stop feeling temporary and start feeling like part of life.
SO…
As we continue to forge ahead through January, you don’t need bigger promises or stricter rules. If you’ve found yourself stopping and starting and questioning if this will finally be the year you follow though on your goals, you’re not doing anything wrong, you just need better support.
You don’t need to commit harder. You need to decide which small behaviors are worth making boring enough to repeat. Because commitment might get you started, but routine is what carries you forward.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Does this blog post resonate with you? At Front Porch Nutrition, I coach real people through real-life nutrition — thinking through what your wants, needs, and goals are, and working together to make changes that last not just in the moment, but for the long haul. Get started with 1:1 nutrition coaching today!
