Your day is spent constantly bombarded with decisions, from the moment you wake up until when your head hits the pillow. What are you going to wear today? What's for breakfast? When will you take care of the big items on your to-do list?

Decisions take valuable brain power. It might not be much, but with enough decisions over the course of the day, decision fatigue builds up. By the end of your day, when you have time for yourself, all you can manage is to sit on the couch.

Many decisions are unavoidable, but others can be simply gotten rid of. Enter: the routine.

The routine isn't necessarily meant to establish a strict regimen to your life, but can be beneficial in several ways. First, reducing the number of decisions you make frees up brain capacity for other, higher demanding decisions. In other words, you can put your brain power towards decisions that carry more weight behind them.

You're also more likely to feel content. Having a routine means you are reaffirming a decision you already made, and sticking with that will make you feel better about your decision.

Perhaps most importantly, routines help you use your time effectively, meaning the gaps in your day don't go to waste.

"A lack of routine is just a breeding ground for perpetual procrastination."
– 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think, Brianna Wiest

Create a morning and evening routine. They don't have to be fancy, but put some thought and substance into them and your life becomes simpler.