Let’s talk about routines. You know, those pesky little things we all roll our eyes at, but deep down, we know we need. My dogs are experts at routines—they expect their walks at the same time every day, and heaven forbid I mess with their schedule. In fact, they’ve taught me something important: routine is survival. Or at least, sanity.

Take my 6am elliptical workouts, for example. Do I want to hop on that machine every morning? Absolutely not. Most days, I’m tempted to hit snooze and call it self-care. But I don’t. Why? Because by 8pm, if I haven’t worked out that day, my legs feel like they’ve morphed into caffeinated toddlers. That annoying routine keeps me in check. It’s health, plain and simple. Embedding that routine means I’m not cutting corners when it comes to doing what’s right for me.

Now, on the flip side, I did decide to ditch my routine of watching the news every morning. Turns out, that was a good call. Not all routines deserve a place in your life. Some will drag you down, and it’s okay to let those go. But the ones that push you to be better? Those are worth hanging on to, even if they feel like a drag at 6am.

So here’s to routines—the ones we hate, the ones we love, and the ones we’ve yet to figure out. Like my dogs taught me, consistency isn’t glamorous, but it sure does get the job done.