Nonsense Verse How to make it stick? Like anything requiring discipline, I imagine one of the most effective techniques is forcing yourself to work it into your routine. When I used to go to the gym regularly, I did it X days a week, usually first thing in the morning (when I wasn't awake enough to talk myself out of it), got it out of the way, and felt better for it. When I used to be a ballet dancer, I did special stretching and strengthening exercises religiously--first thing in the morning, and first thing after dinner--because I had to, because I knew it was good for me. It was part of my routine, and I diverged from it only when deathly ill (and I mean deathly--I'm someone who once performed while stricken with bronchitis, that's how determined I was).