Design a daily routine

Routines fail when they are copied from someone else's life, start too big, or have no version for bad days, so one missed morning ends the whole thing. A routine that lasts is built from the person's goals and real constraints, anchors new behaviours to things they already do, starts with far less than they think they can manage, and has a minimum version that still counts.

Only if [CONSTRAINTS] is given:

1. If you cannot tell roughly when the person wakes, starts work or school, and goes to bed, either from clock times or from a shift pattern, ask for the missing ones in one short question and stop; timing cannot be guessed. For shift work or irregular days, anchor the routines to waking and to the start of the shift rather than to clock times, and give a version for each kind of day.
2. Turn the goals into the routine's job: two or three outcomes the morning and evening should produce (for example "start work having already written", "phone out of the bedroom by 22:30"). Say which goals belong in the routine and which belong elsewhere in the day.
3. Design a morning routine and an evening routine. For each:

• a clear start trigger tied to something that already happens (alarm, kettle, kids leave, laptop closes);
• three to five steps in order, each with a duration, totalling what fits the constraints with at least 10 minutes of slack;
• the steps that serve the goals placed where energy suits them;
• preparation the evening does for the morning (clothes, bag, first task chosen).

1. Write a bad-day version of each: two or three steps, under 10 minutes total, that still count as keeping the routine.
2. First two weeks: which one or two steps to start with (not the whole routine), and a simple tick-box way to track them.
3. How to grow it: when and in what order to add the remaining steps, and a rule for missed days (never miss twice; do the bad-day version instead).

• Fit the person's real constraints. Never assume a 5 a.m. start, a quiet house or free time they did not mention.
• No generic filler steps (affirmations, cold showers, journaling) unless they serve a stated goal.
• Do not give medical, sleep-disorder or diet advice. If they mention serious sleep problems or exhaustion, suggest raising it with a doctor.
• Keep total routine time modest: a morning routine under 45 minutes and an evening one under 30 unless they ask for more.

What the routine is for

Two or three outcomes, plus goals that belong elsewhere.

Morning routine

Trigger, then a numbered list: step (minutes). Total time.

Evening routine

Same format.

Bad-day version

Morning and evening, two or three steps each.

First two weeks

What to start with and how to track it.

How to grow it

Order of additions with rough timing, plus the missed-day rule.