How to Stay Grounded When Your Routine Gets Rewritten

This month I was called back into the office full-time after five years of remote work and travel. Five years. That’s half a decade of building a lifestyle I loved—one with freedom, movement, and space to think.

So yeah, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. The shift felt jarring and, quite frankly, threw me off my game. Not just logistically, but emotionally. I felt frustrated, resistant, and a bit boxed in.

But here’s what I did the night before I finally had to get back to the office: I packed my lunch, I laid out my clothes, and mentally prepared myself to show up.

And more importantly, I named what was happening. Not just a vague “resistance,” but the actual feelings underneath: the lowered sense of autonomy, the tension of stepping back into an old routine that no longer fits, and dare I say, a reinvigorated understanding that I can do something about it.

In my coaching work, people often come to me thinking they need motivation to act. But motivation is slippery. What gets people to follow through isn’t a burst of energy—it’s who they believe they are.

That’s the power of identity-based habits (shout out to James Clear for this one) - it’s when your actions align with the person you want to be. For example, to help me with my scenario I say to myself “I am the type of person that can adapt to change”, and so I act based on that identity. It’s not about being excited. That’s impossible to do every time you act. It’s about being consistent with your own values.

So here’s what I’m practicing:

✔ Name the discomfort.

✔ Don’t dramatize it—but don’t ignore it either.

✔ Act in a way that aligns with who I want to be.

Sometimes, accountability is just a packed lunch and a muttered “let’s get it” before heading out the door. That counts. And I’m learning—that kind of follow-through builds trust in yourself faster than waiting for the perfect mood ever will.