Every decision requires energy. Deciding once on a simple daily routine can help reduce mental load and free up capacity for recovery.

Routines reduce the number of decisions we need to make, leaving more energy available for healing, recovery, and the things that matter most, while supporting all of it.

Many people living with prolonged stress, or a post infection condition like Long COVID, are looking for the right thing to do to improve their resilience, reduce symptoms, and gain functionality. As part of this, they ask themselves:

Should I try this exercise?
Should I do breathing practice?
Should I start a morning routine?
Should I wait until I feel better?

Those questions are completely legitimate. When energy is limited, we naturally want to make the best possible choice, especially when contemplating investing in time, energy or money in a change. 

What makes decision-making challenging is that we often don't know exactly what we'll get from a new tool or approach. Decisions are made by predicted guesses. Until we've given something enough time to work, we won’t know for sure if it was the “right” decision. That’s why people like to stick with what they have already been doing – they know the outcome. Or better yet, their brain feels more comfortable keeping actions predictable. Unfortunately, when we are not getting the results we want, using the same approach we have been taking is likely to result in more of the same outcomes. 

How can we break that cycle? One way is to take a different approach, to build new habits that provide the results you are looking for. The challenge with this is searching for and finding the right approach. Knowing that every decision requires energy, we want to both make as few as possible but make enough to invest our time well. That’s why making a decision once and sticking with it can help the recovery process in itself. 

That's one reason routines can be so valuable. You make a decision about a simple routine for a set length of time. Decision done. 

Creating a routine and deciding on using it for the next 30, 60, or 90 days avoids the negotiation with ourselves and can be quite empowering. 

Start small. We tend to overestimate what we can do in one day but underestimate what we can achieve in a year when we stick to a (short) routine.

Something small, yet impactful, could be:

• A brief nervous system regulation practice before getting out of bed and starting the day
• A breathing exercise when you wake up or before you go to bed
• A gentle mobility movement before breakfast
• A two-minute walk after lunch

At the beginning of last year, we already wrote a blog post: Why Making Small Decisions Helps You Feel Better, and one point in the article is that decisions feed momentum.

There are many tools – like eye exercises, breathing techniques, or Vagus nerve stimulation – and all of them are most effective when used consistently as part of a routine. When something becomes part of your routine, you no longer have to spend energy negotiating whether to do it. The decision has already been made.

Routines create something powerful: they reduce mental load, provide structure, and make supportive habits easier to maintain, even on difficult days. That’s how we not only support recovery but also build resilience.

Warmly,  
Katie & Andrea

PS. Our Long COVID Symptom Management Program is designed to help you build a routine using tools for pacing, movement, nervous system regulation, nutrition, and personalize them. Making the decision to follow a structured program can also be empowering. Committing to a routine of following one proven pathway also means eliminating the need for other decisions.    

ThriveNinety Resources and Programs:
Recovery Kitchen
Pacing Essentials
Long COVID Symptom Management