The Last 72 Hours: The Real Reason Routines Work

Last week, I talked about the “How” of Routines. How to identify what your current routines are, how to add or delete tasks to create routines that work for you, that support you and what you want to achieve.

And in the midst of that, I was also reminded of a truth about routines and I realized that that idea is a great follow-up to last week’s topic of how to establish routines.  We talked about the how, and this week I want to give a vote for the WHY. Why it is important to establish routines.

I follow a personal development expert and author named Brendon Burchard (www.brendon.com). He has written several books, hosts multiple podcasts that I listen to and has an on-line platform I have participated in. He has a lot of valuable ideas to share, and I marvel at how his business is structured.

One of his philosophies is the idea that however we are feeling at this moment is a direct result of our last 72 hours.

For example, if we are feeling awesome today, it may be because of something great that happened but also because we are well rested and hydrated and relaxed and productive. In the last few days, we’ve worked out a bit, eaten nutritious food and taken our medications or supplements as directed. And the opposite may be true as well - if we’re tired or sore or unmotivated or just bleh, it may be that we are sad or ill or fighting a cold, but it also might be because we haven’t been sleeping well, haven’t been eating or hydrating well, or have been especially stressed.

And, as I just took a writing break to shovel snow, when I am sore in a few days, please remind me of today’s shoveling!

Knowing that this moment right now is impacted by the cumulative effect of the last 72 hours - that seems like an endorsement for establishing and maintaining supportive and healthy routines and habits.

In my Career Readiness training, I talk about Sunday night Insomnia which is absolutely a thing and is a great example of “The Last 72 Hours” idea. As I explain, 

“Let’s imagine it’s a Friday night.  You’re grateful for the end of the week and stay up a little late with friends or watching a movie, but that’s ok, right? You sleep in on Saturday, which shifts your usual 17-ish hours of being awake to start a few hours later, so of course, you’re up later on Saturday, too, because you just weren’t tired. You sleep in again on Sunday, again shifting your awake hours and then - yikes, it’s sunday night and you need to get up for work in the morning!  You have a hard time getting to sleep at your normal time because you just aren’t tired… and then getting up early again on Monday morning is a struggle. You start the week feeling tired or like maybe you’re coming down with something, but you’re not, it's more likely a product of your last 72 hours.”

In the class, as we work on Routines and Time Management and Sleep Hygiene, I advocate for mostly sticking with your usual sleep schedule if Sunday night insomnia is something you struggle with.

I wrote a draft of this article last summer, when we were traveling for the annual concert on a mountain in Massachusetts.  I was tired the Monday morning after our busy weekend, and doing the math on that as I sipped coffee in the hotel lobby, I tracked the different time zones, the likely dehydration from the flight and not drinking enough water while we were outside for 12 hours on the concert day, the less than ideal sleep in a hotel room, etc. The weekend was AMAZING as it always is, plus in terms of metrics, we got lots of exercise and also ate well, but it also wasn’t a big surprise that I had a headache on the morning of the 3rd day.  72 hours, right?

I also subscribe to a newsletter from Megan Kristel with The Well Dressed Life (https://thewelldressedlife.com/), and in a recent newsletter as she wrapped up 2025 and shifted to 2026, she said “This year, I stopped treating how I felt day to day as something to work around and started treating it as something worth supporting.”

Which to me is the whole reason WHY we establish healthy and supportive routines and then pay attention to implementing them - to help us feel as great as possible every day. That doesn’t happen accidentally. What we do consistently, for better or worse, impacts us for much longer than just a moment.

So, how to work with this idea:

It starts with awareness.  

We become aware when we realize that our actions and behaviors today have a direct impact on our future selves.  We become aware of our current situation and of our routines, of establishing them and also adjusting them as we learn more about ourselves. 

Establish your non-negotiables.

In last week’s article and episode, I mentioned that as I was working on updating my routines, my list of tasks in my morning routine was “aspirational” and would take way too long for any normal person’s morning routine.  And that I had to adjust my expectations and my list.

This is true. There are some great ideas that I will NOT be adding to my day, at least not now.  And, there is a short list of tasks that MUST get done every day.

Recently, a friend asked “What do I do when the energy and motivation just isn’t there?” The  answer is to identify your non-negotiable routine tasks.  Of course, the first step is figuring out what those are, and we can start with physical needs.  Food, water, adequate hygiene, possibly medication or supplements.  What is the core group of tasks that have to happen, rain or shine, travel or not, feeling great or feeling poorly, leaving the house at 5 am or 10 am?  What is that short list?  It varies from person to person, but for me it would be to shower / brush my teeth and such / get dressed / take vitamins. The other tasks can likely wait if they had to.

Get Good at Asking The Question, “What have I been doing the last 72 hours that impacts me now?”

We can get better at pausing in the midst of our day to day to check in on how we’re doing and feeling.  When we do come to a point when we aren’t feeling so great, physically or mentally or emotionally, we can take a moment and ask the question, “oh right, I’m really tired today or I have this headache or I am really cranky - what have my last 72 hours been like?”  

And, to bring us back to feeling better, we can take steps - like OUR ROUTINES - to get back to normal. Thankfully, we have already done the work of figuring out our routines so getting back on track is easier than we think.

Next level awareness is tracking, which I have been doing as I work on establishing new habits and routines.

Awareness, right? PACT Goals, right? If we know that our habits and routines impact us now and in the future, we can use this idea to track and improve on our routines.  When we try a new habit out, we can look at today and also at the last few days and ask how the habit is working out for us. 

I have used wellness factors for examples today, but you can apply this idea elsewhere, as well. A professional example of the impact of the last 72 hours:

I have a few non-negotiable business tasks, the MUSTS of a business owner.  Even if I don’t have time to do anything else in the morning, I MUST check my calendar for the day, check email, check my to-do list for the day, and follow up on texts.

And if I am feeling stressed in the morning about the company, it is most likely because one of these facets of communication to myself and others has NOT gotten the necessary attention in the last few days.

Now that we know more, let’s use this information and philosophy for motivation to maintain our routines, to take care of ourselves this moment today and also ourselves in the days to come!