There was a time when I would end the day frustrated, staring at a half-ticked to-do list wondering, "Where did all my time go?" Tasks were piling up, I felt overwhelmed, and no matter how hard I worked, I never felt accomplished.

That’s when I turned to something that’s now almost sacred to me — building a routine. And the impact? Life-changing, trust me, like literally. Let me take you back to where it all started: Class 10(aah!!..here we go again).

A Breakdown Before the Breakthrough

It was just two months before my board exams. I had barely completed 30% of my syllabus and had done terribly in my recent tests. The irony? I had always been a consistent student — above 85% throughout — until Class 10 happened. Distractions, overconfidence, and procrastination hit me like a storm. I started taking things for granted.

One day, my dad sat me down. He didn’t scold me. He simply suggested something that, looking back, probably changed the trajectory of my academic life: make a routine. Not just any routine — one that includes study time, workout time, meals, family time, and even moments to relax. Every hour accounted for, every task planned with intention.

That day I made a routine. The next 15 days changed everything.

How a Simple Routine Changed My Life

I studied 9–11 hours a day, got 6 hours of sound sleep, worked out for an hour daily, and, guess what, I still had time to relax and spend moments with family and friends. I felt suprisingly more energized, confident, and in total control. More importantly, I started believing again. The result you ask? Well, I ended up scoring 95% in my boards.

Since then, building routines has become second nature. The same habit helped me:

Score 92% in Class 12,
Crack JEE Mains with 97%ile,
Get into an NIT,
And even now — as I juggle DSA, full-stack development, aptitude, blogging, and placement prep — it’s my routine that keeps me grounded.

The Atomic Habits Connection

Reading Atomic Habits by James Clear years later made me realize — what I was doing all along was identity-based habit building.

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." — James Clear

Each time I followed my routine, I was casting a vote for the identity I wanted: a focused, consistent, high-performing student. Like Clear says, success isn’t about motivation or big goals — it’s about small habits repeated consistently.

My routine was nothing but a system. I wasn’t aiming to “study more” or “be productive” — I was simply committing to a system that made productivity inevitable. That’s how routines win over willpower.

Why Routines Work (and Multitasking Fails)

Multitasking is often misunderstood. It’s not about doing 5 things at once — it’s about managing your focus across multiple tasks efficiently. Here’s how routines help:

Less decision fatigue: You don’t waste time figuring out what to do next.
Predictability: You create a flow, a rhythm. That rhythm minimizes context switching.
Time for everything: You schedule downtime, so work doesn’t feel endless.
Better focus: Each task gets a dedicated slot. You’re not writing a blog while half-solving a DSA problem.

Parting Thoughts

What routines really gave me was freedom. I stopped living reactively. I became intentional. I was no longer overwhelmed — I was in charge.

"You become your habits. Small things done consistently are what lead to big results." — Me, but probably James Clear too

If you’re feeling scattered or stuck, start by designing a simple routine — not perfect, but intentional. Commit to it like it’s your comeback story. Because it can be.

If it worked for me — the distracted Class 10 student turned NITian and now a placement-ready developer — it can work for you too.

How I Used Routines to 10x My Productivity and Finish More in Less Time